POTTYING INTHE HOUSE!!!!!
 Macie Grace just turned 3. For the last 6-8 months, she will go downstairs at night and pee and poop on Oliver's pillow. Since last April, I have replaced his pillow 7 times because Miss Naughty Pants has soaked thru his pillow and the inside pillow is NOT washable!!! If I block her off from going downstairs, she holds. I do know this is a dominance thing against Oliver. She is perfectly healthy. The vet has told me to kennel her at night for 6 weeks, which I have done a number of times. She will be good for a number of days then reverts back. I crate her during the day because she gets 'busy' so I feel guilty doing it at night as well. BUT I have. Macie acts guilty and knows what she did. She will give it wide berth going past it in the morning. It irritates the pajeepers out of me she doesn't let me know she has to go during the night. Lord knows she is very assertive, when I'm around, that she has to go. She has also gone after Oliver, snarling at him and knocking him down. NOBODY gets to hurt my boy!!!!!! He is aprx 12 1/2 and has some problems getting up so I help him sometimes and he's on meds. I am so ready to duct tape corks in Miss Macie Grace at night. She is a happy, smart funny dog and loves to be snuggled and kissed. AND SHE IS SO DAMN CUTE!!!!!!  Any other suggestions? |
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| sounds like a good time to bring in a behaviorist. If the vet has eliminated any physical issue, then why not seek out help for a behavioral one? |
| Does sound like a dominance issue. Without knowing more about how your household treats the various dogs, your signals, etc, impossible to say one way or other. What do you do to her when she growls? Immediate, fast action, a show you are in charge is necessary. Yes, she should sleep in the crate EVERYNIGHT. It is not punishment, it is because she cannot control herself...mentally. You need to walk them together showing Miss Smarty Pants you are the leader (you are holding the leashes) and she is no better than Oliver. If she gets snarky, a good swift correction by you, sudden and assertive. Words don't work, they don't understand. In essence you are growling at her when she misbehaves, snap the leash, make some nasty sound. When she corrects herself, move on, no words. Make sure she is getting enough physical exercise so her brain isn't "becoming constipated" and she is more anxious. Challenge her physically and mentally, but also love her once she has earned it. Tough love in that she has to be a good girl to get lovin' from you. Hiring a behaviorist is a great idea. Remember though, in pack behavior, the ill and infirmed are picked on unless the pack leader (you) forbids it. |
| I'll reinforce the suggestion for a behaviorist, too. Have them come to your home so they can observe the interactions between Macie, Oliver, and the uprights. She's very likely sensing Oliver's infirmities, and is establishing her dominance. As for crating overnight, I wouldn't feel guilty about that. It's not a punishment. But it is the only way you can be sure she leaves Oliver's pillow - and Oliver - alone while you're sleeping. Good luck! |
| I realize my answer isn't going to solve any problems but you seem hesitant to crate her at night. Have you thought maybe of putting a diaper on her at night? I don't think she is doing this because she has an urgent need to pee. I suggest the behaviourist also, but in the meantime try a diaper. Depends work as do the largest child size pull ups. You may have to run a thin piece of tape around the waste band so they don't slide off. Either the diaper or just block her from the other dog's bed during the night? Just till you can address the actual problem. Shellie |
I may feel guilty putting her in the crate but no problem putting her there. I don't even sucker under watching that cute face walking 'the last mile' to go in. Depends are out. When she gets snarley with Oliver, I am all over it with stomping my foot and a firm "NO" and she backs off. (ok, sometimes I even pulled her hair  ) But it works. Macie loves Oliver and continues to get him to play. He does pretty well and can be just as noisy. I spend time playing with each one separately and together. Macie Grace barks and barks whenever I hug and kiss Oliver. If I ignore her, she stops. She too gets lots of lovin as well. In the past, I used a product named 'No-Go' which is classified as a house breaking assistance tool. When I had Gracie, I sprayed it on the patio so she would quit going potty there. It worked. Of course, after it rained I needed to spray again. After a short period of time it wasn't necessary. A behaviorist is not in my budget so I will keep her crated the 6 weeks and try again and use the spray product. By the way, what ever happened to the old school method of pushing their noses in the pee? It was effective. Poop, no. NO! I haven't done it, don't plan on it either. I know we will get there it's just a matter of when. And how stubborn Macie will be.  She is a very loving sweet girl who gives lots of kisses and paw. If she weren't so darn cute.......................  |
dogmom wrote: A behaviorist is not in my budget so I will keep her crated the 6 weeks and try again and use the spray product. Crating at night may not be a 6-week proposition. You say you've done this before, and the behavior comes back - night crating may be for the rest of her life, or at least for the rest of Oliver's. |
| Can I ask why depends are out? |
I would have quite a mess cleaning up the pieces because she would tear them off. This AM @ 2:30, she was whining in the crate so I let her out. She did potty and I praised the dickens out of her.  When I let her back in, she raced thru the house and up the stairs. I let her stay and she snuggled with me and after maybe an hour, she went downstairs because it's cooler and she does like to be with Oliver. I told her 'no pottying in the house'. When I was getting ready for work, she came back up. ALL WAS WELL DOWNSTAIRS!!!  Again, I praised her and told her she was 'good girl big girl'. And she pranced and wiggled plus I got a kiss. Can't help loving the little stinker. Ok, I failed by not putting her back in the crate. BAD MOM!!!!  |
| You of course have ruled out bladder infection. I hope your success continues. Do work with her and Oliver together on leash to enforce the "we are #2 to Mom being #1" |
| Crating her at night is one solution, but maybe she really needs to go out once in the middle of the night. Have you tried limiting water before bed, in the hopes that she won't have to pee? Sometimes that helps. I think she originally chose Oliver's bed to potty on because it had a stronger dog odor. Then you "punished" her for it (harshly, I'm sure ), and I think her reaction when she is around his bed is not one of guilt, but one of anxiety. "Something bad happened there, so I am going to give it wide berth" sort of thing. Honestly, I think her reactions concerning Oliver have more to do with anxiety than anything else.I think most folks gave up on the method of putting the dog's nose in their own mess as punishment for a couple of reasons. First, it habituates a dog to the smell of their "output", actually making them less likely to care if they pee/poop in close quarters, like a crate. Second, it creates unnecessary anxiety about a dog going potty. Think about it from a dog's perspective. They don't care where they pee. YOU care where they pee. It can be confusing for a dog to know that you can pee here, but you can't pee there, and it may take them awhile to figure out what exactly you are trying to communicate. Lastly, positive/negative reinforcement really only works within 3 - 5 seconds of the act you are trying to reward/punish. After that, it's much more difficult for a dog to make the connection. Most times, a dog might have pooped or peed hours before you find it, so when you take them to it and say "no", they have no idea why they are being yelled at. Oscar was difficult to housebreak (just like our first OES), and deaf on top of it, so I had to use sign language and he had to be looking at me for us to communicate. My buzz words were "calm" and "consistent". I took him out, and used the sign for potty when he was peeing, and then gave him nummy treats when he peed outside. When he had an accident inside, I calmly cleaned it up, no muss, no fuss. I figured it was my fault that I didn't get him out in time. I did not punish at all for accidents inside, but went overboard with the reward when he pottied outside. That's what worked for us. Laurie and Oscar |
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