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Post by ember on Dec 3, 2013 22:37:19 GMT -5
I have so appreciated reading some of the posts on this forum to see that other people have been experiencing some of the same new pup adjustments I have. Overall, I have been so happy with how my grey, Lucy, is settling in over the last month. I have, however, been having some issues with peeing that I was hoping someone might be able to shed some light on. Lucy is fantastic in her crate - she puts up with my shift work and never has accidents in here crate (up to 9 or 10 hrs). She goes to the bathroom very well outside, and right from the start I praised her and gave treats when she eliminated outside (I still take her out myself as she won't do the stairs down to the yard from my deck!). However, no matter how recently she has been outside to pee, there are times (seemingly when she's not getting attention - if I am on the phone or if I go upstairs to shower) when she will pee on the rugs without any indication she wants to go out. It is hard to discipline this, unless I catch her in the act, so I just take her straight outside and praise her if she pees there. Since peeing on the carpet has been something that gets her instant attention if I catch her, it almost seems like she does it when she wants the attention - she even "faked" a squat without peeing once when I was on the phone! Obviously these are big dogs and therefore not insignificant wet spots...I'm going through quite a lot of rug cleaner and soaking socks on an unnoticed rug patch is not nice! I'd appreciate any insight or advice - thanks in advance!
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Post by Mag's Mom on Dec 4, 2013 8:36:15 GMT -5
Hi, first of all, congratulations on adopting Lucy..such a beautiful girl. I know that on a lot of forums, there are suggestions about making sure your houndie doesn't have an infection. Maybe a visit to the vet just to rule that out? So frustrating for you!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2013 11:58:51 GMT -5
I'm not a dog professional by any means, just a dog lover and owner. I have one pup who does this whenever there is change in the house. I firmly believe he telling me he's "pissed off"! If you would like to chat, feel free to call me. Martha 519--582-8080
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Post by newtothis1 on Dec 5, 2013 18:13:56 GMT -5
I would check for an infection. I only had one dog that started peeing in the house and it turned out to be a bladder infection.
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whovian
Junior Grey Lover
River (a.k.a Iruska Cool Chic) has claimed me as her "friendbeast"
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Post by whovian on Dec 6, 2013 8:08:27 GMT -5
First congratulations on adopting Lucy! She's a gorgeous girl.
It took me almost 2 months to get River properly house trained. She would usually only pee in one of two spots - on her one bed or right in front of the front door. This was after she'd had multiple opportunities to pee outside. I wouldn't say that she peed for attention. She peed on that bed every time I moved it. At first I moved it around a lot because our main floor is mostly hallways and I was trying to find a place where she could lie down and be social and not get stepped on. And then she'd pee on it because I'd moved it while cleaning. I think she felt that she had so little to call her own, she wanted me to know that that was her bed and she didn't want me to take it away from her. So even if she wouldn't lie on it because she felt too exposed when I had it in one spot, she still understood it as her property.
All that said, my case was very special. River had a broken hock when she came home to me, and I think she really needed big squishy soft things to stand on to pee. I think squatting outside meant causing herself a lot of pain. Cold, rainy days when she was already hurting were often the backdrop of me dragging out the shop vac and the vinegar. Often on those days we would go outside and she would sniff as if she was going to pee and then not do it. One day we were outside for 3 hours in the rain and she still peed on the bed.
I didn't realize that pain was probably the root of the pee problem until everyone started raking up their leaves in the fall. Then she would be almost giddy as she trotted up to the top of a leaf pile to squat. I don't expect that this is helpful for you as my problem was likely unique. I know how frustrating cleaning up all that pee is though (and you're right - there can be a lot!) See if Lucy does it after you've made some kind of environmental change - moved that carpet, or changed the furniture around. If there is no infection, you may want to take her on longer walks. River is a marker and pees about 10 times in a 20 min walk, but I am OK with all that marking happening outside. Also long walks, especially if you incorporate a lot of training into the walk, is a lot of 100% doggy attention. When Lucy gets home from a long walk, she may still not like you paying attention to someone else. With any luck though, she will a) have had a lot of attention from you and feel satisfied and happy, b) have an empty pee reserve and/or c) be too tired to care.
That long walk strategy always worked with my labs who tended to chew things when they felt you weren't giving them enough attention :-P
Hopefully that helps. Hang in there! Keep us updated on your progress.
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whovian
Junior Grey Lover
River (a.k.a Iruska Cool Chic) has claimed me as her "friendbeast"
Posts: 171
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Post by whovian on Dec 6, 2013 8:27:11 GMT -5
Also, you're right not to reprimand Lucy of you can't catch her in the act. But, I never found it hurt to make a big deal of cleaning it up. Don't direct your frustration towards her or anything, I'm not saying that. But I kept the cleaning supplies downstairs and made more trips than was necessary to get the cleaning supplies out. I would make it obvious that it was a big process to clean things up. She was very curious the first few times and would stand at the top of the stairs everytime I went down. Most importantly, I wouldn't give River any attention while I was cleaning. Usually she would go and lie down and watch me. And afterwards as her bed was soaking in vinegar, she wouldn't get to lie on it for at least a day.
You can't train them by yelling at them after the fact - they won't understand. But I think dogs are smart enough to understand consequences - if I pee here, I won't get to lie here for a while, or if I pee here the Human person will just ignore me entirely for at least half an hour.
If you can find a connection between what you do and when she pees, do it more often. I started moving River's bed around all the time. She had other places she could go to lie down, so I don't think it was too traumatising. And eventually she learned that just because I am moving it or changing the sheets doesn't mean I am taking it away.
There, I am done my novel now. I tried to keep it short, but this was one of the hardest parts of my adoption process and I put a lot of thought into it. ;D
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Post by ember on Dec 6, 2013 17:15:00 GMT -5
Thanks! All good points. I was wondering about the urinary tract infection, but it didn't seem to make sense that she could go all day in her crate while I was at work. If it persists, I may still get her tested anyway. whovian - thanks for taking the time to fill me in on your situation! Even if a bit different, still helps to know others have gotten through similar stuff. You are totally right though - Lucy only has two spots where she does it. I'm trying to make sure I have really good cleaner so I know she isn't just going back there because she can smell her mark. We've been good for a few days now, though (knock on wood). New challenge - she won't do stairs still, so we put in a ramp to the back yard from the deck...getting good at going down, but still having to move each paw for her individually to get up! She's a smart cookie, though, so I'm sure it will be no biggie in a week or so. Thanks again for the input.
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whovian
Junior Grey Lover
River (a.k.a Iruska Cool Chic) has claimed me as her "friendbeast"
Posts: 171
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Post by whovian on Dec 6, 2013 22:44:18 GMT -5
Undiluted Vinegar works really well actually - it neutralises the smell and gets rid of the colour almost instantly. Except then you are left with the vinegar smell. Baking soda will help with the smell, but I usually just let the vinegar soak in for 15 min and then rinsed the item well with water or use my wet vac and a bucket of water. If vinegar smell persisted when the surface was dry, baking soda neutralised the vinegar residue and I vacuummed up the dry powder a few hours later.
Best bit - it's a very cheap, natural cleaning supply.
Good luck. Glad to hear you've got a few days on your pee free tally.
River and I found some outdoor concrete (Good grip surface) stairs to practice on (went to a university campus on a Saturday) . The skill didn't entirely transfer to wooden stairs, but it helped a lot.
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whovian
Junior Grey Lover
River (a.k.a Iruska Cool Chic) has claimed me as her "friendbeast"
Posts: 171
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Post by whovian on Dec 6, 2013 22:45:36 GMT -5
Lucky doggy to have a ramp though! Next step: agility training? Sent from my SGH-I747M using proboards
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