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Post by apollo on Sept 6, 2006 8:59:20 GMT -5
Apollo has been with us now for 3 weeks now. We've been able to extend our time away from Apollo for approx. 4 hours now where he won't have an accident while he's alone, however yesterday something unusual happened. While I was in the kitchen preparing dinner, Apollo urinated on the floor. He's never done this before (no signs that he needed to go out, usually he'll whine at the front door if he needs to go).
Has anyone experienced anything like this before. For the life of me, I can't figure out why he went in the house. House training has been going very well, and out of nowhere he decides to pee in the dining room.
Any insight would be much appreciated.
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Post by rprovost on Sept 6, 2006 10:32:21 GMT -5
Unfortunately I don't have much advice . I really hope its just a fluke and things go back to the way they were. Was there a change in his schedule at all? Or something different happening? One interesting thing we noticed when we first adopted Nina was that she was peeing on the floors and her bed quite often. I think it was marking her territory or something of the sort. We tried taking her out AS SOON as we got home and its cleared up. Another thing you could try is using a signal for when he has to go out, like bells, that he can ring with his nose when he has to go out. You could try to get in the habit of saying "outside!" and ringing the bells everytime you let him out and maybe he can learn to ring them when he has to. I wish I could be of more help. I hope more people on here have more advice. Another place to check out is greytalk.com. There are much more people on the board and they will probably have better advice than I can give. Did you pick up the book "retired racing greyhounds for dummies" or "dog training for dummies"? We have both and have found them useful. If no one has replied when I get off work, I'll check out the advice in the book when I get home and post again . Good luck, and most off all, try to be patient. It's really hard, I know, but once you get past the training and adjustment stage, things will just get better and better. Good Luck!!!
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Post by jiffer on Sept 6, 2006 13:47:27 GMT -5
When he went, was it a prolonged "gotta pee" pee or a short marking? Did he stop when you caught him?
There are a few things that could cause an accident in front of you:
1) He had to pee really bad and you missed his tell 2) He has a UTI 3) He is settling in and decided to mark his territory
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Post by apollo on Sept 6, 2006 14:37:13 GMT -5
It's possible that I missed signs of him having to go, although he generally whines or paces and we let him out immediately. I don't believe he has a UTI (at least that's what the Vet indicates) as he was just checked out two weeks ago (both blood and urine tests). To answer your question, is was a prolonged pee and he would not stop when I caught him in the act. He actually continued (and I guess froze) when I told him NO. I immediately took him outside but he did not do anything (all pee'd out I guess).
The one thing that concerns me is his inability to hold for more than 4-5 hours. We previously had a Doberman, and she was able to hold for up to 10 hours if required. Although we rarely left her alone for that long, we could trust her for long periods of time.
Does anyone know how often the Greys are let out when their in the kennel? Apollo can clearly hold all night for at least 8 hours, however during the day he wants to go out more frequently. Of course when someone is home it's not an issue, however when my wife goes back to work in the spring he will need to be left alone for 6-8 hours. Does anyone have any advice?
After adopting Apollo, we now know that he was returned twice, and I presume it is a result of him having to pee so frequently?
Any help would be very much appreciated.
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Post by rprovost on Sept 6, 2006 15:32:45 GMT -5
Zooks did that once, we told him no, and he kept going - he HAD to go. It does sound odd that he can't hold it for more than 4-5 hours. Our guys can hold it for at least 10, but we don't like to let them go that long. Has the vet tried to find out of theres a reason he can't hold it? Could it be something as simple as a small bladder? Others would know better than me, but maybe he was just marking - A LOT. Oh, I just thought of another way to help, we used to give our guys treats everytime they went outside. We would make a big deal of it and praise them and pet them and give them a little treat. It helps them learn that outside is good and inside is bad. I really hope you have some luck resolving Apollo's issues. Does he drink a lot during the day or anything? It seems weird he can't hold it for very long. Good luck!
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Post by apollo on Sept 7, 2006 9:01:18 GMT -5
We've read every book about greyhounds. I am taking Apollo to the vet this morning for more blood tests and on Friday we have a trainer coming to the house for a consultation. The trainer owns a greyhound, which is good. Unfortunately we did not know about this forum b/f we got Apollo and Bill never told us about Apollo's urine problem. I'm assuming he knew? Maybe not. Whatever. Apollo is a sweetie and we don't want to give up on him. We do have a baby at home so we need to get this figured out. Will keep you posted.
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jason
Hound Nut
Posts: 1,708
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Post by jason on Sept 7, 2006 9:41:55 GMT -5
best of luck with apollo, he looked so happy with you guys!! (we were the other couple there when you guys chose apollo)
do you have contact info for the trainer?
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Post by Susan C. on Sept 7, 2006 19:36:22 GMT -5
It's possible that I missed signs of him having to go, although he generally whines or paces and we let him out immediately. I don't believe he has a UTI (at least that's what the Vet indicates) as he was just checked out two weeks ago (both blood and urine tests). To answer your question, is was a prolonged pee and he would not stop when I caught him in the act. He actually continued (and I guess froze) when I told him NO. I immediately took him outside but he did not do anything (all pee'd out I guess). The one thing that concerns me is his inability to hold for more than 4-5 hours. We previously had a Doberman, and she was able to hold for up to 10 hours if required. Although we rarely left her alone for that long, we could trust her for long periods of time. Does anyone know how often the Greys are let out when their in the kennel? Apollo can clearly hold all night for at least 8 hours, however during the day he wants to go out more frequently. Of course when someone is home it's not an issue, however when my wife goes back to work in the spring he will need to be left alone for 6-8 hours. Does anyone have any advice? After adopting Apollo, we now know that he was returned twice, and I presume it is a result of him having to pee so frequently? Any help would be very much appreciated. Hi I am sorry that you are continuing to have problems with Apollo - pretty much all the same problems we had. We were the second home he was in, I have no idea why he was returned from the first home - Bill said something about separation anxiety - which is why we thought by coming into our home with another dog he would be all right. My understanding was that he was in his first home for a couple of years - he had a very short racing career was retired after 3 races. PLease keep us posted
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Post by apollo on Sept 8, 2006 9:00:13 GMT -5
Thank you, everyone, for your information and support. We will not give Apollo up. Fortunately I am off on maternity leave until May of next year. My husband has the name of the trainer, he will post later.
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Post by apollo on Sept 8, 2006 9:30:28 GMT -5
We're definately not going to give up on Apollo......he's a very sweet dog and what he really needs a loving home. We're meeting with a trainer today who happens to be a greyhound owner. Apollo's been through so much in his life, and the more we find out about him, the more resolve we have. He's really calmed down a lot since coming to our home and he sleeps through the night comfortably now. We've restricted his water to 1 litre/day (as per our vets instructions) which appears to be helping. It's likely that he has some separation anxiety, however does not appear to affect him every time he's alone. We'll keep you posted on his progress.
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Post by Tigger's Mommy on Sept 8, 2006 11:14:21 GMT -5
We had a lot of trouble with Tigger when we first got him. It took us almost two and a half month to house train him. Some dogs are just more stubourn than others. Just be persistant. I know that even if Tigger never stopped peeing in the house I'd still love my little man to death! We eventually had to re-crate train Tigger, and after free rein of the house, he was not impressed with going back in the crate. Eventually I think he just got sick of being locked away from us.They're like babies, some just learn slower then others. Don't give up! Once they learn it feels sooo rewarding!
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Post by Susan C. on Sept 8, 2006 12:05:50 GMT -5
We're definitely not going to give up on Apollo......he's a very sweet dog and what he really needs a loving home. We're meeting with a trainer today who happens to be a greyhound owner. Apollo's been through so much in his life, and the more we find out about him, the more resolve we have. He's really calmed down a lot since coming to our home and he sleeps through the night comfortably now. We've restricted his water to 1 litre/day (as per our vets instructions) which appears to be helping. It's likely that he has some separation anxiety, however does not appear to affect him every time he's alone. We'll keep you posted on his progress. You have made a LOT of progress with him, we could not get him to settle nor sleep through the night. Unfortunately it was hard for us to limit his water as we did not want to limit Gigi's and if his was dry he would just drink hers. I am sure he will continue to improve. He just wants to please. He does need a good home he deserves it, as they all do, but ours wasn't the right fit, just not right for Apollo. It would have been a disservice to Apollo to have him continue to stay with us. Believe me we did not give him up without a great deal of sadness and reluctance as was indicated by my post the day we returned him. Please don't get the impression that we made the decision lightly.
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Post by rprovost on Sept 8, 2006 12:23:12 GMT -5
It sounds like you're slowly getting things worked out. He has a wonderful home and you are very understanding of his problems. Best of luck and keep us updated. It's good to hear you've read the greyhound books - we didn't at first and we struggled a bit with Zooks. Take care!
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Post by apollo on Sept 8, 2006 12:41:42 GMT -5
We know that it would be very difficult and heart breaking to return any dog. I couldn't imagine even after 3 weeks giving up Apollo. In your situation it was the best option available to you, especially after trying for 9 weeks. I feel that everything will ultimately work out for the best for both your family and Apollo.
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Post by Susan C. on Sept 8, 2006 13:25:07 GMT -5
We know that it would be very difficult and heart breaking to return any dog. I couldn't imagine even after 3 weeks giving up Apollo. In your situation it was the best option available to you, especially after trying for 9 weeks. I feel that everything will ultimately work out for the best for both your family and Apollo. I think so too. Apollo now has a great home and it sounds like he is settling slowly which is greyt for him. It is very hard to return a dog - I hope to never have to go thru that again nor the kids.
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