posted
I am going out of my mind here. I have a puppy that we are training to be a service dog through Paws With A Cause. We have her for about one year to teach basic obedience and to take into public for socialization. After that year she goes to headquarters to learn more specific tasks for a specific client.
Anyways, she will be 5 months old on Wednesday and she is still frequently having accidents in the house. We had a problem with pooping when she was little, but we got that completely contained within a month's time. She was really good for a while, but now it is just constant with the peeing on the floor. Sometimes she tries to tell me she has to go out and other times she barely even squats...she will just stand there and pee.
I praise her every time she pees outside and I yell when I catch her going on the carpet and immediately take her outside to finish. I feel bad because I have to keep crating her because I am sick of having to clean up pee all the time.
Now she does have a bit of a medical problem. She has puppy vaginitis (pus comes out a lot)and a somewhat recessed vulva (no breeze down there to dry her up). My vet says that lots of puppies get this and it will usually clear itself up, often after they are spayed. However, she will not get spayed for another month. I have to wait until she is 6 months old. She has been on Clavamox which didn't work, and Cephalexin which also didn't work. The vets said they can try to put her on something stronger, but she is still a little young for some of the heavy stuff unless it is absolutely necessary.
This could possibly be the reason for her frequent urination, but I am inclined to think it is not. On some days, she will literally pee a little bit every 15 min when she is out of her crate. However, I can put her in her crate for 3-4 hours and she will hold it. This has to be a behavioral thing.
Can anyone give me any tips on how to make her stop this? I feel horrible having to crate her so much because I want her to be able to get out and play. She is supposed to be getting all this socialization right now and I can't even take her into stores without her whining and/or peeing in them. I really need help.
Posts: 306 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
If she's capable of holding it overnight, my first thought would be that it's a behavioral issue more than a physical one. She knows how, she just doesn't want to for some reason.
However, since this is a puppy and not a human toddler we're discussing, I have no idea what to suggest. Do they make Huggies for Hounds? Maybe if she feels that she's wet, it might discourage her?
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Check this site and post your question in “Problems and Solutions: Ask away”. BarnCat is vet and I’m hoping she can give you some advice. Many trainers (including Sarah Wilson) hang out there. Good luck!
Posts: 333 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
There could also be a pain component to "keeping it in;" i.e., it might be so painful that she will hold it in when she has to (in the crate, where the consequences are worse) but can't bring herself to otherwise.
I'd strongly suggest another long conversation with the vet that knows her. Additionally, you might consider the excellent national call-in/write-in public radio program, Calling All Pets, especially to address any behavioral component. It's hosted by Madisonian Tricia McConnell, a trained animal behavioist with direct, sympathetic, practical advice.
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Edited to add: accio's suggestion sounds good, too.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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I had a night full of that kind of surprises lately... First, I sat on the sofa to watch the TV when I smelled something strange... hmmm... <investigating carefully> Yup! there it is, straight in the middle of the carpet, a cute little present from my doggy. Ok, so I cleaned that up, and continued watching. Then on my way to the bathroom... oh yes, some residues of the present... <cleaning fervently> Ok, that should be all right now. Now I got to go to my room for... oooooOOOOOOOHHHHHNOOOOOOOOOOOOIsteppedrightintoit!!!!! <die, doggy,die!> And of course, a few hours later when I leaned over the bathtub to draw a bath. There it was. _another_one. This time definitely belonging to the cat (apparently she saw the dog having so much fun and thought 'weeell, why not'. At least she had the decency to do it in the bathroom, not on a carpet)...
In short, that was a night full of surprises and emotions Posts: 218 | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
Sounds like you're doing a good job with your reactions to her peeing in the house, so another thing to ask would be what you use to remove the urine odor from the carpet/floor. If any scent remains (and there's a lot of scents that we can't perceive!), she'll be much more likely to think that those spots are "okay" to pee on. Our puppy was still peeing in the house at 6 or 7 months old, if we didn't notice her signs and get her out the door fast enough, but she'd generally always do it in the same spots. When we tossed the entryway mat and the rug that we apparently couldn't clean thoroughly enough, the problem pretty much stopped.
Nature's Miracle is supposed to be good at removing even the scents a dog can smell, but as I've said, we had mixed results. I don't know if there's stronger stuff out there, but it'd probably have to be made with this purpose in mind, I know some carpet cleaners can actually make the smell more powerful to the dog.
Other than that, hopefully the spay will clear up any medical issues with it, and she'll grow out of it! Good luck!
Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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