Desperate...Need Housebreaking Help
She peed on our carpet in the rec room. I blamed it on her marking where the dogs from the previous owner maybe had gone. We've since ripped out the carpet, bleached the concrete and have had new carpet installed. We keep her out of the carpeted area now. We just had new tile installed and now she's going all over it. Last summer I worked very hard to housebreak her using behavior modification with dog treats. I gave her a treat as soon as she went and praised the heck out of her. I think we did a good job overall, and it seemed to work. She does not poo in the house anymore, but does still pee. However, I'm a teacher and spend a lot more time at home in the summer and take her with us to events as much as possible. Things seemed to have gotten worse lately and when we come home she's peed all over our tiled area, and it's a lot of pee in lots of areas! In the past we've had her tested for a UTI, and it was negative, but have not had her tested recently. So basically, here's what I've tried: 1.)Behavior Mod with treats 2.)UTI testing 3.)D.A.P. pheromone 4.)Crating her-she hated it, does not like being enclosed and became extremely anxious and peed in the crate The peeing seems to fluctuate. Sometimes she does not go and other times it's a lot! Right now she's doing it a lot! I truly think she's doing it due to anxiety. I think she gets upset when I'm gone. She's very attached to me. My vet told me dogs don't get mad. Is this true??? What else can I do??? I can't keep going on like this!!! I love her with all of my heart. As a matter of fact, in my whole life I've never loved a dog like I've loved her. She's absolutely PERFECT in every other way, but I'm desperate. Also, our house is on the market, and we can't have surprise visits from realtors and potential buyers and have the floor covered in urine! Please help me! I don't want to give her up! |
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There are lots more knowledgeable people on the forum who can help but in answer to your question do dogs get mad? Do you mean get mad and get you back by peeing on the carpet? 
If that is what youre asking then traditionally dog behaviouralists have said "no" but recently some research has indicated that dogs and other animals do feel basic emotions like jealousy, embarrassment and a few others. It sounds to me (and I am NOT an expert) like it could be an anxiety problem your girl has. Mainly because you've ruled out some of the other problems. Hopefully someone here can give a more categorical answer and some strategies for dealing with the problem. In the meanwhile could you put her in a pen? Its not as closed in as a crate so she might cope better and at least the pee would be confined to one area while your house is on the market. Good luck with her and your house sale. |
| I don't have a magic answer for you, unfortunately, but it sure does sound like your dog has some major anxiety issues.
I've lived the last eleven years with a wonderful, but highly sensitive/anxiety prone sheepie. He functioned quite well for the first ten years, because his brother always took the lead (his brother was a dominant leader for him). He still had accidents during storms, and freaked out from loud noises (even sneezes). When Theeps (our dominant sheepie) passed away Portage's anxieties came out big time. As soon as we left him alone he peed, pooped, etc. all over the house. We had panic attacks and all sorts of horrible issues. He was in mourning, didn't like being alone, and missed his brother and the companionship he provided. We tried a few things. First and foremost we quickly found a new sheepie puppy. (We planned on getting another, but did move up our agenda for his sake.) We got medication for anxiety (something to take when he was freaking out that made him sleepy). I hated to give it, but when an almost one hundred pound dog is hysterical he's going to hurt himself or possibly someone else (unintentionally) and it killed me to see him so upset. We also made sure that he was super exercised. My husband took him for an hour walk before work and I dropped everything to take him for another as soon as I got home. (Fortunately he's perfect on a leash and walking him is a real joy.) We also took him for extra car rides, etc. whenever we could. Keeping him as busy as possible, limiting the time spent at home alone, and the meds when absolutely necessary got him through the roughest times. When "evil Hudson" (our new pup arrived) Portage cheered up immensely. Not being alone (even with this little terror) really helped him. Also, all those walks we were taking him on emptied his bowels and bladder and readjusted his routine. That might help your sheepie a bit. I can only say what worked in our situation. We also recognized during the weeks before Hudson arrived that there would be some problems, and didn't let that get us down. For one solid week he pooped in our bed every day. I would come home, strip the bed (yes, gross, but we love him unconditionally), walk Portage, put the sheets and blankets in the washer and dryer, and play with Portage while I waited for them to be finished. All the extra exercise really seemed to help, and the accidents almost totally stopped for the few weeks right before Hudson came. I know this is very different from the problems you're having, but I think lots of exercise and routines might help. Have you tried obedience classes? They really boost confidence. Do you have opportunities for your sheepie to play with other dogs/go on LOOOOOOOOng walks with you, etc? Also, I'd talk to your vet again, and see a behaviour based trainer. I've never had female dogs, but I'm sure I've read here about some sort of medical problem female dogs can have that causes chronic incontinence. Perhaps that's something you should explore. It might have a physical side, and be corrected with medication or surgery. I hope someone has some really good advice for you. I feel badly for you both. Take care, good luck, and all the best. |
| I have one other comment in addition to the wonderful suggestions by the previous posters:
Do you actually see her pee? Or do you just find the puddles? Is it possible that she in incontinent? If this is a possibility, there are some wonderful drugs that can quickly control the problem. We adopted a dog last August that was completley incontinent (puddles EVERYWHERE  ) However, once the vet ruled out any urinary tract infections, the dog was put on Proin. The leaking (and puddles) stopped overnight 
Good Luck, Jennifer, Baxter, Cassiopia and Abby |
Quote: My vet told me dogs don't get mad. Is this true???
We adopted a rescue with several issues including severe separation anxiety and house training issues... "house training issues" was actually included in her rescue description. We tried the DAP plug-ins and also Rescue Remedy but neither had any positive effects. This dog had been in 2 other homes and a humane society for 3 weeks by the time she was surrendered to OES rescue at the age of 10+ months. She was brought in to be a member of the pack which consisted of 5 other dogs at the time. The other dogs did nothing to help curb her anxiety... she needed her humans. Before you bring in another dog, test her with one to see if it calms her. You don't want two to end up with two unbalanced dogs. First, rule out all possible health issues. Drop off a sterile urine sample at the vet for another check. Have them check for both infection and struvite crystals. Mine had struvite crystals which causes an urgent need to go, a urinary ph imbalance (ph gets too high) and recurrent bladder infections. The infections were caused by a persistent urachus and were corrected with surgery... the crystals and urinary ph imbalance are being kept in balance with an oral acidifier. Once she's cleared of a medical condition, consider the challenge to possibly be separation anxiety. Dogs that have become too attached to people will exhibit this unhealthy behavior. Mine would pee and poo in inappropriate places (like the bed and chaise lounge ) even when there was just a closed door separating us (I had to leave the bathroom door open when showering  )
She is NOT doing this out of spite or to get back at you... it sure seems that way sometimes though  She just can't help herself. It's called anxiety for a reason... some things are simply beyond what she can endure right now. When we came home to an accident or mess (ours was also destructive), we found the best thing to do was to simply put her outside for a few minutes (fenced yard) while we cleaned up the mess. Don't even address the problem or she'll become even more stressed. If you catch her in the act, then yes, tell her "outside" or make a loud sound to stop her.
Mine couldn't be crated either... she did the same thing and would break your heart with her mournful howling. Mine would come downstairs with us to do laundry and wander off to the furnace room to poop so we made her stay in sight at all times. So supervise and when she can't be supervised, consider using a puppy-proof room. Gradually work on building her confidence... she has to learn that you will of course return to her. If she's not already in a training class, consider one. And if another family member can attend classes, it may help transfer some of her affection/bonding to them. It's just not healthy for a dog to be too bonded with just one person. If you leave her alone, leave the TV on so there's some sound in the house. We leave the Weather Channel on because they're always talking. You might also take her for a walk or have a good play session in the back yard before you leave. It will help burn off some of the pent up energy. Have safe toys you can leave her with just before going out the door... as soon as you get back home, pick them up until the next time you leave. This helps to keep the special. If all else fails, consider talking with your vet about medication. We used meds for about a year... about half the dose to curb her problems but we were home most of the time except for errands. Don't rely on them to stop the behavior but these in combination with retraining techniques may help her to settle in. Do a search online for techniques on how to desensitize your dog to your comings and goings. I skimmed through a couple, you might start here- http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_p ... xiety.html http://www.petlibrary.co.uk/dog-trainin ... ?Itemid=34 Yes, there are times you wonder what in the world you got yourself into. But when you've worked through separation issues with a dog that had been given up by others who couldn't handle this challenging behavior, it's so worth it. You'll have a loving, devoted and more balanced dog to enjoy for many years to come. Good luck to you both. |
| Thanks for all of your suggestions. I'm trying more exercise, special bones when I leave, and I'm going to take her back to the vet for another UTI and crystal check. She's still going in the house, but less frequently. I sort of hope it's an infection or incontinence so we can easily fix it. |
Hi! I took our girl to the vet yesterday and got some really good information from her. First, when she looked in her ears, she saw they were infected!!! She tested to find out exactly what was growing in there and they found staph! Started treating her right away with a good ear cleaning and antibiotics!!!  Yes, I am aware of how to keep the sheepie's ears clean, but never thought she might have had an infection! Vet said it could contribute to the peeing behavior if she was uncomfortable with her ears along with the anxiety! Also the vet ran a urine culture to check for uti and crystals. We'll get results Monday.
I told the vet everything I'd been trying and the suggestions I've gotten from all of you! While she said I've been doing a lot of things well, she did have some more specific ideas! Here they are for anyone who is interested: 1. Do not acknowledge her for 30 min. when we get home, except to let her out to go potty. NO petting, or talking, but the one I was surprised about was no feeding her for 30. It creates an association with us coming home and something awesome, DINNER! After 30 min, call her make her sit and then give her a treat. That way we're initiating the contact, not her. Then give her dinner! Makes sense to me. It's really hard not to come home and talk and pet her! It happened last night and I had to stop myself dead in my tracks! 2. Basically she said dogs have black and white time. Black is when we're gone and white is when we're home! We need to minimize the difference between those times! Make sense to me again! She suggested giving her a food puzzler when we're gone, but be careful she does not associate it with us leaving, creating anxiety  . Make sense!
3. She said we're doing great with exercising her! That's great! Been taking her to the dog park and then following it up with a cool down walk. She seems really happy there and loves to herd the dogs there! We're going to try this plan for about 3 weeks and see if we can ease her anxiety. The vet did not want to put her on drugs right away if not necessary, I was very glad about that! 
Thanks for all of your suggestions! It's so great knowing there's help out there! |
| You sound so much more positive and hopefully!! I personally believe that helps too. Dogs are so sensitive to their peoples' moods and if they sense that you are anxious they figure there must be a reason so they get anxious too.
I totally hear you re not feeding, petting them as soon as you get home. I fell into that trap too. I was so glad to get home and see my gang that I would pet and feed them straight away. I created some monsters!! 
Two dogs and a cat who all went crazy when I got home, jumping at the door to get in, barking, howling and generally getting in the way. It took a week or two of me putting up with them and they got the message. They have to wait till I'm ready. Glad to hear your making progress. Keep us posted. |
| I went back to work today for the first time since the holiday, and was really curious to see what we'd come home to! Guess what? No pee!!!! Very happy! We left her a Kong treat with food that will fall out when she rolls it! Also ignored her today when we got home...very, very hard to do! I felt like I was neglecting her! I fed her after a 1/2 hr, let her hang out a bit, and then went to the dog park for a GOOD run! She loved it!
The vet called back today and the test for UTI was negative. She thinks it's behavioral. We're going to continue with the plan and make it work! Yeah for us! Thanks for your support and good wishes! |
Sorry dont think you've mentioned your girl's name. But good girl, that's such great news.  
And good on you for taking the time and effort to find a solution. It is so hard to ignore them when you get home but on the other hand its better than being all exasperated with them while you clean up a mess with them under foot. Good luck with continuing to come home to a pee free floor. |
| We tied bells to our door and taught our dog to ring the bells when she wanted to go out. Our older dog is now ringing them too. Worth a shot. |
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