Regressing or Readjusting?
It's Levi; not surprising, right? He seems to be improving with his potty training, but we are having some setbacks. Josh and I were home this weekend for 4 days. We did not have a single accident! During the weekend I began to take up the carpet in the basement. It was pretty rank in some areas from Levi's accidents. So I took up the carpet, scraped off the old backing on it and bleached the stinky areas. The basement still has some carpet towards my grooming station that I have yet to rip up. Levi has been peeing in the basement again (this time on the concrete thankfully). So I clean it, and bleach it. There is no point to scolding Levi because by the time I find it, it has been there awhile. He tends to go while I'm at work. Do you think this is happening because the carpet is gone and it's something different? Or do you think he's re-adjusting to our work schedules? I'm still convinced that he needs to work on strengthening his bladder where he can hold it for longer periods of time. He can ALMOST hold his bladder through the night. But he seems to go potty in the basement after 3 to 3.5 hours. We've had him little over a month and he is improving. Maybe I'm being impatient... |
|
|
| I don't know what to say. Maybe block his access to the areas he most prefers to pee in? Our Rudy's been working on it for the whole six months he's been here. It's been over a month since he pooped in the living room, and he went almost a month without peeing in the house, and then did so in the bedroom two days in a row when hubby slept late. I understand why that happened... Two nights ago, when he was freaking out and barking hysterically at the owls, he suddenly peed. And that was only a few hours after his final out of the night, so I know it was more about being excited than anything else. I guess I'm saying that, with an older dog who wasn't properly trained before, they just do have those kinds of setbacks. I imagine it'll take ours a LONG time to be completely reliable. At this point we're crating him during the day (and because he swallows things). We're hoping that he can be trusted in the future, but who knows? I'd just say block his access to that area, and see if that ends the accidents or if they move elsewhere. Also, I noticed that when I'm home I definitely let Rudy out more often, so he doesn't have to hold it for longer periods. Maybe that's what's going on for Levi. Longer periods, coupled with missing you and schedule changes just might make him more likely to pee. I'll definitely check back and see if there's any advice (I'm sure the wise people here will have lots) because I'm also looking for anything that will help our crazyRudy as well. |
| Maybe its the bleach. My vet told me not to use bleach or disinfectant to clean up accidents as the smell can encourage dogs to go there again. I buy a product with enzymes in it that break down urea and are supposed to completely remove the urine smell. I think it helped. |
Mim wrote: Maybe its the bleach. My vet told me not to use bleach or disinfectant to clean up accidents as the smell can encourage dogs to go there again. I buy a product with enzymes in it that break down urea and are supposed to completely remove the urine smell. I think it helped. Mim, do you have a name brand that I could try to find? Maybe the bleach is making the problem worse. I did notice that once the carpet was up and the bleach on the stinky bits, the urine accidents have been consistent. Tracie, Josh and I finally realized that Levi has a chewing anxiety problem. When we are in the house, he's fine, he'll chomp on his plushies and chews. But once we leave the house, it is utter chaos. Every piece of mail, and even a few remotes, dvd covers, and the like are just chewed to bits. We think he is having a hard time being comfortable with our absence. We had stopped crating him because he seemed to do better without the crate. But now with this chewing anxiety, we may have to put him back in the crate when we leave. He doesn't swallow the objects he just chews them to bits. I woke up to the river Jordan of urine in my basement... he didn't even WAKE me like he had been doing prior to the carpet removal. Of course Josh said 'well... don't you regret taking up the carpet now?'  |
| Erin, the product I use is callded Urine Free, I think its an Aussie product but maybe you can get it there. I'm sure there must be some similiar product there so here's a web link with info about the product and it says it has tips about urine removal but I havent looked at those. http://www.urinefree.com.au/ Good luck I hope Levi gets better soon. Tiggy hates being crated, even over night, so I came up with a more mutually acceptable solution. Tiggy prefers to sleep up against the baby gate in the door from our living room to the rest of the house. Its as close to me in the bedroom as she can get. So now I put a bit of X pen around that space. She is happy because she's sleeping in her favorite place and I am happy because she's in a small enough space that it taught her to hold her pee till I get up in the morning and let her outside. Maybe Levi would be happier if you could just pen him in a little space where he likes to hang out but he'd have to hold his pee and your mail etc would be safe. |
| Thanks, Mim! I'm sure I can find something comparable. Since you mentioned the bleach, the more I'm suspecting that may be part of the problem. He has been peeing on the concrete since I first used the bleach. Hopefully this will get us back on track!! I have been thinking of using baby gates for the kitchen. That way the cats can still use the basement (where their safe room is) and he is limited to linoleum only. |
| Nature's Miracle is our U.S. equivalent. It does work well. Did you try crating him or did he go nuts since he was an outside dog? If you can't crate him, I'd definitely confine him, even if it just means gating him into the bedroom with you at night or blocking off the basement while you're gone. Some dogs will pee in places just because they can or for no reason at all! It's like they really need that confinement or structure to keep them from doing it. And if they're doing it when no one is around, they never get caught in the act or corrected so they keep doing it. The secret peeing is the worst to break, I think. |
| Yes, Jill, crating is hard to do with Levi. If anything, the crating stresses him out real bad. He yowls and will instantly pee from stress. But gating off areas may be the best idea. Last night, I got up two times during the night and before I rolled back over in bed, I took out everyone. Levi and Wendel peed a long time each. And the last time this morning Levi pooped, so I was happy to have a clean basement!! I'll buy some nature's miracle this weekend, I think I saw it at Petsmart. I scrubbed the basement floor with Mr. Clean with febreeze, so maybe that helped some with the bleach smell. I'll also invest in another baby gate. You're right! It's the secret pee that is frustrating. I still can't make up my mind if he goes simply because he doesn't know any better or because his bladder isn't trained enough to hold it longer. Maybe both. |
| How old do you think Levi is? Tiggy secret peed at night or if I was out for longer than usual during the day up till she was nearly 2.  It wasnt because she didnt get potty training she just couldnt hold it for very long. Every time she peed in the house it was easier to do it again. That's why I got the enzyme cleaner and it did stop her going back to the same places to pee again.She hates being crated so I put a few bits of X pen around her sleeping place at night to make a crate sized pen. She is confined to a small area but doesnt feel like she's in a crate. She was happy and she stopped peeing during the night. She is able to wait longer and longer as the months go by as her bladder gets stronger from holding on longer. Good luck. |
| Mim, Levi was born 1/3/2010, so he's still very much a puppy. I bought Nature's miracle and boy does that smell better than bleach! I think I have identified part of the problem. Levi is a very mouthy puppy. He licks EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. It's how he greets. As a by product of that he drinks a lot of water. He will drink over 3 quarts a day and pees constantly. I have decided to experiment last night. I usually fill all three water bowls (a total of 9 quarts) whenever it's empty. Last night, I left only an inch of water in each bowl. I woke this morning and no accidents. I think Levi is drinking too much water during the day and therefore, can't make it till lunch. I have decided to restrict the water while I'm away from the house. When I get home at the end of the day, I'll fill the bowls to maximum capacity. 3 inches of water between the dogs should be fine. And I'll replenish the water at lunch when I get home. I'm thinking that restriction of water will be okay... does anyone think it would be harmful? |
We're working with a foster now (Winston Churchill) that was kept outdoors his entire life so he has no potty manners. He's doing really well being crated at night and loose in our sunroom during the day with a belly band on. He HATES wetting himself and will not soil his crate so it's beginning to all click for him. Of course we're home to let him out frequently throughout the day so that does speed up the process. Regardless, they never seem to be fully housebroken soon enough.  It probably seems like Levi has been with you a long time and he should be getting it by now. In reality it often takes new dogs much longer to understand what is expected of them. The stress of leaving him during the day is probably causing the excess intake of water. Puppies are just naturally destructive so tearing up things is no big surprise. Keeping Levi confined to a crate or small puppy-proofed room in full view of the other dogs would help him deal with your absence as well as preventing your home from being destroyed. For cleanup, we buy Odoban concentrate by the gallon at Sam's Club and it seems to work really well. |
Maggie McGee IV wrote: The stress of leaving him during the day is probably causing the excess intake of water. Puppies are just naturally destructive so tearing up things is no big surprise. Keeping Levi confined to a crate or small puppy-proofed room in full view of the other dogs would help him deal with your absence as well as preventing your home from being destroyed. For cleanup, we buy Odoban concentrate by the gallon at Sam's Club and it seems to work really well. I agree, Nita. The biggest problem is Josh. He leaves for work after I do and he doesn't want to crate Levi. It's driving me crazy! I tell him that until we can trust Levi fully, I'd prefer him to be crated during the day. Josh doesn't clean up the messes, so he doesn't feel the impact of this decision like I do. Another thing I noticed; Levi likes to chew anything that is Josh's or Josh touches often. Such as the remote controls, Josh's video game and blue ray containers (he doesn't touch the discs themselves) and other items, like belts. He doesn't chew anything that is mine, so I'm thinking that he really misses Josh a lot while at work. I was thinking of confining him to the kitchen using baby gates, but I think that the crate is the best idea. Anyone have some suggestions how I can get hubby to cooperate???????? |
* Capt. Obvious Danger wrote: I was thinking of confining him to the kitchen using baby gates, but I think that the crate is the best idea. Anyone have some suggestions how I can get hubby to cooperate???????? We had some things destroyed when Nelson was a puppy, including furniture, walls, baseboards and kitchen cabinets, TV remotes, toilet paper, etc. We didn't use a crate because we just never had a need for one and DH had the same opinion of crates as Josh. When you look at it from the perspective of safety to both Levi and your possessions, the decision is much easier. We've crated a lot of fosters here and only a few really objected to it. Seriously, most dogs just lay around and sleep during the day so if you have room for a 48" crate, Levi can have plenty of room to move around and shouldn't be all that unhappy. Winston Churchill was never crate trained and goes willingly in it at night because it involves good treats.  A nicely filled Kong or other long-lasting treat should keep Levi occupied and hopefully Josh will be willing to at least give it a try. My hubby is now a believer in crating because he's actually seen how well it works with all of our fosters.  |
| I go back and forth in my head about crating Mady when we go to work (she is cratefree at night and never gets into trouble, just sleeps on the floor beside the bed). I am home at lunch for an hour, so it is really just four hours at a stretch for her. The way I keep going with the crating is that I think about her safety (I can give myself nightmares about all the things she can choke on). So maybe put the fear in Josh that, if Levi is cratefree before he is a trustworthy grown up dog, he is in danger of getting himself hurt? Imagine if he swallowed a battery!! Oh God, I need to go lock up my remotes. Can you install a puppycam so that Josh can look at him all snug as a bug in his crate? That might reassure Josh that the crate is not evil. |
| Kim, Josh seems to have forgotten all of Asterisk's puppyhood. She was crated from age 8 weeks to 6 months. She has never been a chewer, but until I could be confident that she could be trusted in the house without accidents or getting into mischief, she was crated. Josh has forgotten what work it was to make Asterisk into the perfect girl she is today. He is completely charmed by Levi. I think the difference is that Asterisk never came from a bad start, neither did Wendel. Levi did, and Josh is very bonded with him. He thinks it's cruel to crate Levi. In fact, when I went to work today, Josh was working from home. Levi managed to chew off the back of Josh's cell phone (dented it, but didn't consume anything) and he peed in the basement. Josh said surprised "but I let him out 3 times!" I asked him if he went outside with him to make sure he went or made sure that he was out for 5-10 minutes. Of course he didn't and he wasn't. YARGH! It's SO much harder training my guy than it is this dog!!! |
* Capt. Obvious Danger wrote: In fact, when I went to work today, Josh was working from home. Levi managed to chew off the back of Josh's cell phone (dented it, but didn't consume anything) and he peed in the basement. Josh said surprised "but I let him out 3 times!" I asked him if he went outside with him to make sure he went or made sure that he was out for 5-10 minutes. Of course he didn't and he wasn't. Oh that story is SO familiar!!!! One of the reasons it took Tiggy so long to get it was the fact that Wayne would sit staring intently at his computer, forget to put Tiggy out, not notice her quietly asking to go out and then not notice her pee on the floor. * Capt. Obvious Danger wrote: YARGH! It's SO much harder training my guy than it is this dog!!! If you find a successful method, please pass it on. PS I think you're right about the water. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|