Older Dog problems?

Question

My dog is 5 yrs old and house trained but for the past few months he has been weeing in the house .I have told him off for this and tried various things but he still goes ,he even goes from the living room to upstairs and does it in my bedroom ( but not if I catch him ) I have to watch him all the time I havent a clue as to why he's doing this Also I cant leave him alone or I come back to a kitchen full of pee or poo (YUK ! ) Any Ideas why he has started doing this ?

Answer 1

It is difficult to come up with anything specific as various things could have triggered this but first of all - was he fully, reliably house trained before he began urinating in the house?

If he wasn't and he had done the odd wee without you noticing he might have just slipped back into going where and when he wants which is what dogs do if they think they can. If so he might just need re-training - see advice further on.

Have you acquired any new pets cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters?

Have you been away and left him in kennels?

Has there been anyone staying at your house?

Have there been any animal visitors?

Has anyone new come to live in your house?

Has anyone left home?

If you have answered 'yes' to any of these he might be feeling insecure and be compelled to mark his territory.

He might have a urinary problem so you could take him to the Vets to be checked out. Take a urine sample with you - saves a second visit.

The fact that he pees and poos when you are out could indicate that he is worried or stressed at being left. Has he always been like that or is this something new? Could he have got a fright when he was on his own? Could, say, the window cleaners have startled him? Have you changed your routine?

If this is new you might need to get some one-to-one from someone qualified to give advice on behaviour problems. Try the Association of Pet Behaviour Councillors web site or the Association of Pet Dog Trainers site.

In the meantime when you leave him don't make a fuss when you go and don't make a fuss of him when you come back. If he has made a mess don't tell him off! I know this sounds weird but you can increase his anxiety and make him worse by yelling at him every time you come home.

Try a cage or, an indoor kennel, as I prefer to call them. He is less likely to make a mess but you have to introduce him gradually to being confined because, again, you don't want to make him worse.

You should also try to identify all the places he has urinated and clean them again with a proper deodorant which you can get from your Vet. I recommend one called Totalcare which also removes stains. Using ordinary household disinfectant doesn't get rid of the smell as far as the dog is concerned and he will keep going back to the same places as long as he can smell his own urine.

Restrict him around the house -don't let him upstairs - baby gates are really useful. You can get them cheap second-hand and sometimes friends and neighbours have them to give away.

Treat him like a puppy and take him out into the garden regularly. Don't speak to him or encourage him then, while he does what he has to do, use whatever word you use for toileting and praise him enthusiastically.

If you catch him in the act in the house tell him off but don't make a big deal of it - just watch him more carefully. If you find a mess don't tell him off at all because that one is your fault for not watching or restricting him properly.

The aim is to avoid or reduce the times he messes the house and to increase the times he does it outside (and is praised).

To go back to your original question the 'why' is not really that important. What is important is that you reduce any obvious stress and break the cycle of his behaviour and re-train him in a positive way.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

This might sound daft but it could well just be boredom, Do you take the dog for regular walks, Dogs don't seem to have the same prospective of time that we do, you can leave a dog on its own for 5 minutes or 5 hours and its just as happy to see you when you return, because they just go to sleep. If the dog is only doing this when you are in the house but not paying it much attention, then however strange it may seem boredom is quite possibly the problem. From the dogs point of view, it may well think its better to get your attention from doing something you don't like, than not doing anything and not getting any attention at all.and this may well have started from the dog originally having a genuine accident and realising that it got attention from doing it. I am assuming that in the past the dog has always let you know when in needs to go outside, if this is so then an infection or movement problems should not stop it from doing so now, if it has time to sneak off and find someplace to do this it would still have time to come and let you know that it needed to go out.

Answer 3

If you want them to be friends, here's my way to try to help: Step one: Bring both dogs to the backyard. (You should be holding the new dog and someone else should be holding the forever dog) Anyways, distract the new dog with a treat. The person holding the forever dog should slowly walk the dog forward. If the new dog starts barking and snapping at the forever dog, bring some toys and more distractions out. (Toys, etc) Do the routine over again. Look at the dog and give her treats. When you master the routine and she does not snap at the forever dog, it's time for step two. Step two: (The dogs should be on leash too by the way) It should be a trail, not close to the traffic. Walk the new dog near the forever dog (Suggestions: You could use a muzzle too) If she snaps or bark, lightly tug on her leash and walk ahead. Do the routine over. Say "Good girl" and give her a treat if she doesn't bark/snap. Remember, distractions. Hold the treat in front of her and walk. Final Step three: The new dog should be able to walk near the forever dog. Bring the forever dog's blanket out with the forever dog's scent on it. Let the new dog smell it. When she seems calm about it, with the muzzle on, let the new dog sniff the forever dog slowly. If she snaps when the forever dog gets close, say no and repeat step two. In the end, they should be able to be friends. The new dog might just be a little scared and territorial. Let her sniff the forever dog's scents. Eventually they'll get sue to each other. I hope this helped.

Answer 4

Has he been neutered? It sounds to me that he is marking his territory and all the telling off in the world won't help because he is just doing what comes naturally. Maybe a female dog (tried ***** the right word, but Yahoo blanks it!), in your area has just come into season. She could be a few miles away - but he will be able to smell her.
Take him to the vet and make sure that there isn't another problem - but I think that castration will do the job.
Shame that not all problems with males are this easy to cure!

Answer 5

Hi this is a very difficult problem with older dogs as there is no clear explanation as to the reason they start...the only way around it can be getting a dog cage & setting it up like a bed for when you are around but close him in it when you are not...dogs don't like to sit in their pee & is less likely to go to the bathroom in his cage...saves you tons of cleaning up the yuk...Regards Jake
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PetsSecondChance

Answer 6

Assuming he is not unwell (go to vets first) he might be just thick and not getting the idea that he has to wee outside, so tries to hide away.
Is he quick at other aspects of training?
If not, then you have a slow learner, and just need to help him understand more! Please don't get physical with the punishments -it will just confuse him and ruin his trust in you - and he will hide all the more!
You could try this - it worked for me with a slow learning Labrador! Get some bells. Tie them onto string. Tie it onto a door handle. Get your dog. Shove his nose into the bells and say 'YOU WANNA GO OUT?' and open the door a crack. Keep doing this (not so he's sick of it, but keep trying every hour or so) until.....he rings the bells himself. Horay! Bonus! OPEN THE DOOR immediately saying 'YOU WANNA GO OUT?' and praise LOADS and he'll at least understand that when he rings the bells, the door opens. Then........he'd have to be a complete special case not to realise once he's done that, he can poo and wee outside. But, just to reinforce it, when he does wee outside - give him LOADS of treats and praise :o))) JACKPOT! he's done it. Good luck

Answer 7

When my dog was a few years younger (he's 14 now) he had a problem with the loo, he was constipated when he tried to go outside during the day, but overnight he had left a deposit and it was runny.

We took him to the vet who gave him caline and morphine (spelling?) and told us to feed him Chappie as it had more cereal to help with his bowels.

He has been fine ever since.

I would take him to the vet, especially as it is not the norm for him to be doing this.

Answer 8

As this is not an old dog so he may have a problem best sorted by a Vet..........If it was an old dog ( 8 years or more ) I'd say you must accept that you can't teach it any new tricks.

Answer 9

Somethng must have upset is toilet routine. By any chance were you away and was someone else looking after him? Has is diet changed? Or could he have an infection? Maybe if you take him to the vet to get him checked out you might find the root to your problem.

Take Care

Answer 10

My 8 year old did that and he had a kidney stone. Take him to the vet. It's very likely a bladder condition.