Don't Pee Here Stuff?!

[Tambrey]

As you all may know...we have a rescue beagle...have had him for a few months now...

Well, Oliver just will not get the point of housebreaking, so for Christmas, he got a crate
He is not overly thrilled with it, but he tolerates it well, with no howling or anything...and he will stay in it overnight and go outside the next morning when I take him for a walk...to be sure he is not waiting too long since he is new at this, I have made a point to get up earlier than usual and take him for a walk...

Anyways, the other night we were at a friend's house, and the weather was nice enough that we left him outside all day long...we got home, hubby let him in, he ran around the house sniffing, then went right over to the high chair and lifted his leg (we have no young children...yet...just the high chair in the dining room that holds a teddy bear

Today, I again took him for his walk, fed and watered him, brought him inside for a while, then back outside to do his business after eating and drinking...a little after lunchtime, I brought him inside to spend some time with me...within five minutes he went and lifted his leg on a box of gifts we had received....I immediately reprimanded him, he got excited and ran towards the door to go outside...

Is there anything I can spray inside the house that tells him to not pee here?! I have a dropper thing for housebreaking puppies on newspapers or pads that has a scent to tell them to pee here...I am wondering if there is an opposite product to discourage peeing inside?! Other than a water bottle and a loud voice and taking him back outside?!
What do I have to do with this dog to get through to him that he has to go to the door before he starts to pee?!

[E's]

There used to be "Indoor NO" in a spray can, but it stank to high heaven and you had to put it everywhere... don't know if it's still on the market... and there are various citrus scented sprays to deter cats.

However, in the case of a dog, I fear there is only one thing that could really work, and that is retraining. I read in a book I had when Winnie was a pup that the way dogs see the matter is this: their human's upset reprimands, even swats or whatever, are STILL attention - which the dog craves. Thus, the secret is ignoring accidents while giving lots of attention - praise - to successes.

I gave the book away so can't quote word for word, but here is the gist of the proven directions:

First, choose a word or short phrase that will always indicate to the dog that it is to 'go.' Take care in choosing this word or phrase, to avoid confusion [I chose "hurry up!" and have since wished I'd chosen something else because now I can't urge my dog to move along faster... I think "Duty!" is a good one.]

Having chosen the signal phrase, watch closely and when the dog starts to 'go' indoors, DO NOT make any objection at all - just quickly, without comment or chastisement, take the dog outdoors and to its approved relief spot, then give the command. Praise lavishly for any result. "Good dog!"

Continue taking the dog out to its spot on a regular schedule, always using the chosen command. Remember to praise, praise, praise each success... but IGNORE lapses, except to quietly usher the dog outside.

The hardest part for me to learn was not to scream "No!" but Winnie had just a couple of accidents (pee only) in the first few days I had her, and was completely housetrained by the age of 8 weeks... so I am not qualified to say how sucessful retraining would be, except that this method was in a wellknown dog raising book.

[Marty]

I agree with E's.....but you can also leash the dog to you at all times when inside, so you can immediately take him outside as needed.

[JMM]

I agree that he needs some retraining and also much less freedom. It will really help if instead of leaving him outside you go with him each time and reward him for eliminating in the right place. Inside, if you are not directly watching him, leash him to you or put him in his crate. A belly band can help "band aid" the situation, but you still need to put in the training time. A schedule of feeding, play time, going out, etc. will also help to have him eliminating outdoors on a regular basis.

The more times he succeeds at going in the right place and is rewarded, the more likely he is to repeat that behavior.

I also agree that I would ignore any accidents in the house. LOL I like the saying about hitting yourself with a newspaper for forgetting to watch the dog and take it out.

[Tambrey]

Oh, when I first take him outside, he is on a leash and we go for a walk, and he gets lots of praises for going peepee outside...then if the weather is nice, I let him stay outside for a while...he loves to lay in the sun...but of course, if it is cold and yucky, he comes back inside with us...

and yes, many times when he is inside, I keep him on the leash until he settles down, because he will chase the cats to play, but he also runs onto the back of the furniture or jumps on the table, right along with the cats!! So until he calms down and gets interested in his own toys, he stays on a leash...

We just keep trying to give him more freedom inside, so he does not have to stay so confined, but he seems to not get it or something...I think he knows he is supposed to peepee outside, but his cue to me is to go pee on the dining room table rather than go to the door...grrrrrrr...as soon as I catch him at it, I tell him NO, and that he is supposed to go peepee outside, and he immediately gets all excited and runs right to the door jumping and dancing the whole way to go outside...
Somehow I need to retrain him to go to the door first, and not the dining room table or some other piece of furiture to lift his leg on!!