What the HELL!!!

staffy

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#1
My dog will not stop scenting in the house. It's almost an everyday occurance now. I don't know what to do. He only ever does it when we are not at hile we home. While we are in the house he is fine, but while we are at work is when he does it. We have been trying the NILIF method, but it does not seem to be working. I hate to do it , but I think we might have to start crating him again. I fell bad doing so because he hasn't had to be confined to a crate since he was a pup. Please, can anyone shed some light on this???:confused:
 

Saje

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#2
scenting = marking?

It sounds like you need to work on the problem - you being away from home - and make that a comfortable situation for him.

You also need to use a cleaner like petastic to get rid of all the urine smells that he can smell but you can't.

Is he neutered?
 

staffy

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#3
Yes I meant marking. He is neutered and he have never done this in the past. It only started about a month ago. It's like he's 4 going on 4 months.
 

Saje

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staffy said:
Yes I meant marking. He is neutered and he have never done this in the past. It only started about a month ago. It's like he's 4 going on 4 months.
Were there any changes in your guys life at about the time this started happening?

I would recommend keeping him in a room that is easy to clean. I'm not fond of crates but if he's ok with one you might want to use it again. The puppy at our house is in the basement when we are gone because we don't mind it pooping and peeing in there. It's much better than our kitchen!

I also think that before you leave and when you come home you should ignore him for 10 minutes. That way he will learn that your being absent isn't that big a deal. If you come home and fuss he'll be like 'oh I missed you so much!' which is nice but it doesn't help with your training.

I'd also make your time away from him as comfy as possible. Leave a shirt that smells like you in his room. Have some ambient noise like the radio or tv on. And leave him lots of toys to play with. Kongs and puzzle toys are great.
 

staffy

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That's what we thought. That maybe in some way we are doing something different, but we are doing the same old things we have always done in the past. I need some like Yoda type advise..
 
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yuckaduck

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Any new additions to the family? A child, a rabbit, a hamster, a cat? Anything he may feel the need to mark territory for?

My husband often threatens to tie a knot in Yukon's when it is raining outside and he pees in his crate because he does not want to go out. Maybe that is a solution:D :D :D :D

Just kiddin'
 
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#9
staffy said:
Nope, only pet or child we have is him. Tie it in a knot? I'm gonna super glue it closed!
LOL! I've been tempted myself!

Has it just recently gotten cold there?

The problem with us wanting our dogs to pee outside is that the carpet looks an awful lot like a great toilet to them. It's warm, cushy, and absorbent. Why go anywhere else?

If you lived with some aliens, and they yelled at you every time you went to pee in their toilet, what would you do? Hold it, wait until they left, then pee in the toilet! This is exactly what's happening to tons of dogs. Where you see $50 a square foot carpet, they see a urinal.

So what you have to do is go back to square one potty training, which I know is a huge pain in the rear. Monitor the dog when he's inside. When the sniffing/sneaking/skulking starts, race over to the door and cheerfully and excitedly talk him into coming outside with you. I've even had to go as far as temporarily putting out a square of old carpet in the yard and encouraging them to use it! Then, once successful pottying has occurred, praise and party for at least a full minute. Then head right back inside and do something that he thinks is fun. Make it cheerful and exciting to be a dog peeing outside! Don't even give him the chance to potty inside again for a few weeks. Use your crate if you have to, but try not to use it for too long. He has to make the connection between looking for a place to pee and your showing him where to go. Make sure every potty is outside, and for every outside potty a party.
 

staffy

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#10
CreatureTeacher said:
LOL! I've been tempted myself!

Has it just recently gotten cold there?

The problem with us wanting our dogs to pee outside is that the carpet looks an awful lot like a great toilet to them. It's warm, cushy, and absorbent. Why go anywhere else?

If you lived with some aliens, and they yelled at you every time you went to pee in their toilet, what would you do? Hold it, wait until they left, then pee in the toilet! This is exactly what's happening to tons of dogs. Where you see $50 a square foot carpet, they see a urinal.

So what you have to do is go back to square one potty training, which I know is a huge pain in the rear. Monitor the dog when he's inside. When the sniffing/sneaking/skulking starts, race over to the door and cheerfully and excitedly talk him into coming outside with you. I've even had to go as far as temporarily putting out a square of old carpet in the yard and encouraging them to use it! Then, once successful pottying has occurred, praise and party for at least a full minute. Then head right back inside and do something that he thinks is fun. Make it cheerful and exciting to be a dog peeing outside! Don't even give him the chance to potty inside again for a few weeks. Use your crate if you have to, but try not to use it for too long. He has to make the connection between looking for a place to pee and your showing him where to go. Make sure every potty is outside, and for every outside potty a party.
But it's not like he's totally going pee, he's just taking a little tinkle. We were just out for Thanksgiving and he did it 3 times at 3 different places and on no carpet. He's just walking around marking. We just don't get it, he has never done this before. He has a giant backyard to go in and he goes out all the time. We got the results back from the vet and everything came back fine, the urine and blood tests came back fine. HELP!!!!!
 
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#11
Does your dog have seperration anxiety? Could that have developed? I'd also try to make the situation comfortble for the dog.
 

staffy

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What do you mean by separation anxiety? And comfortable? He has it made he has 3 beds one upstairs, one down stairs and one in our sun room.
 
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#13
staffy said:
What do you mean by separation anxiety? And comfortable? He has it made he has 3 beds one upstairs, one down stairs and one in our sun room.
All I mean by "separation ankiety" is that the dog could be a bit anxious when you leave. And I thought that if your dog knew you would come back he might be a bit more relaxed. My dog, Liberty, got really anxious when dad left so we taught him dad always comes back and now he's ok with dad leaving and coming back in one day. Maybe that could help your dog.
 

bubbatd

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#15
Bubba was completely trained and never marked, but when we had to move in with my daughter and then this house , he marked both places. The vet said that he was leaving his scent , so we could find him in case we didn't know where he was. Sob!!!
 
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#16
Dad took short trips like taqking us to school or going to a store for a short period of time and always came bacck pretty soon after. The trips should be as short as you guys can maake them. Overtime, your dog probably will learn that you guys always come back. Good luck!
 

MyDogsLoveMe

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#17
Something else maybe to consider is possibly a bladder infection. I had a pek once who was 3 and all of a sudden she was peeing everywhere. Took her in to the vet and she actually had a few stones. Just a possibility
 

Athebeau

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#18
You mentioned you had a health check done, I assume a urinalysis was done (with 1st morning void) to rule out a bladder infection.

My older female Cassie was misdiagnosed when she started having problems "holding" herself. The test results came back fine, due to her age I came to the conclusion of incontinence. A few months of living this way she developed an infection and had to go on antibiotics...not only did her infectin dissappear...so did her urinary incontinence problem. Did I feel like a heel for letting her go that long, and I kick myself for not taking in another urine sample (first void - very important). This was back in the day before I knew about homeopathic remedies and herbal support.

When my male started having "accidents" I had him tested twice before I found out he was suffering a bladder infection. I think my Vet needs new equipment:). I used homeopathic remedies to solve his problem. He developed this problem after he was nuetered at 4 years of age...never had a problem when he was intact...so, I assume it had something to do with an adverse reaction to the surgery.

If your sure it's not health related, I would then take a look at the whole situation. You dog may be comfortable, but, does he relax when you leave? What you could do if you don't already is: leave music on, or TV so your dog has human noise in the background. Give your dog rescue remedy or other calming herbs like chamomile or valerian root to help take the edge off the stress of your leaving.

Make sure that you never punish a dog for house soiling. If you catch your dog in the act take the dog immediately outside and then praise for going in the "proper" spot. If on the other hand you come home, find a "mistake" and get upset, your dog is now assoiciating you with being unpredictable and scary which in turn will make the situation worse. Most dogs that suffer from aniexty attacks usually do the worst damage about an hour or less before the owner comes home. The aniexty of not knowing what mood the owner is going to be in when they come in the door can stress some dogs out. A negetive reaction can be as small as negative facial expressions, a stern tone of voice, remain calm and nonthreatening.

For some homeopathy remedies you could try Aconite for incontinence associated with fear or anxiety or Staphysagria may help an emotionally sensitive dog who is mortified at the slightest correction.

I have used vinegar and water to clean up areas. vinegar seems to neutralize the scent of urine. Some dogs will continue to go in the same place if they can smell their scent.

As already suggested keep your dog contained to one room, like the kitchen. If you feel your dog has a hard time holding his bladder, maybe you could litter train him. Provide a diet with fresh foods and plenty of variety for urinary tract health. Make sure you supplement with omega-3 fatty acids. If your dog is suffering from stress (seperation anxiety) supplement the diet with B-complex and antioxidant blend.

If the problem persists; avoid dry kibbles in favor of wet foods and homemade diets. Feed raw fruits and vegetables - tofu, bulgur and yogurt, broccoli, millet, cod, spinach. In rare cases urinary problems may be caused by an allergy.

For herbal support: astragalus -supports the immune system if an infection is present; also helpful as a general tonic.
Chamomile and marshmallow work together to soothe and promote healing in the lining of the urinary tract.
Cornsilk fresh from the produce department is an excellent remedy for any chronic inflammation in the urinary tract.
Cranberry or blueberry prevents adherence of bacteria to the lining of the urinary tract.
Dandelion- good tonic for the urinary tract.

Good luck;)
 
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#19
you have to catch him in the act, while his leg is raised
and beller at him "BAD DOG" I did this to one of my guys
scared living jesus outa him - and he hasn't done it since ha ha ha

Bonnie
 

DanL

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#20
I agree w/ GSDMom, you have to catch him doing it.

Also- get a crate if you don't have one. It might take some training (mainly for you) to get used to the crate but you'll be better off in the long run. The only dog we have who is not crated when we go out is our 12 year old mix because she is 100% trustworty.

Our pug was having some dominance issues and was marking in the house, mostly after he'd get in a spat with our other male, a 9 month old GSD pup. They would have a spat, he'd lose, and then run away and mark something. We caught him a couple times, yelled at him, and now, if he starts getting aggressive or trying to be dominant with the GSD, he goes in the crate. Reinforcing who is boss has helped, and limiting his ability to mark by constant supervision or crate time when that isn't possible has really helped.
 

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