[TiffanyM67]

Ok, I'm going to start off saying my husband and I have four dogs who all get along great. The youngest dog, a 2 1/2 year old neutured male Pomeranian, we got from some people who had more dogs than they could care for. He was extremely skittish and prefers women to men. (Though he will play and sit next to my husband) Apparently as a puppy he fell out of a car window and broke his leg. They took him to the vet and put a cast on him. As a result, they wee pad trained him (it was winter time). None of our dogs are trained as such. When we got him, he didn't even know how to go outside. The first night we had him, he went 18 hours without peeing. I ran to the store and got wee pads, put one down and he went instantly.

I refused to let him pee in the house though, so I worked on putting used wee pads outside until he finally got the idea. Now when you go outside, he goes to the bathroom right away. He's actually the best out of the four at it.

Now, here is the problem. He still wants to go in the house, even if he was out 15 minutes beforehand. He will pee ANYWHERE. On the bed, on the couch, any room and floor. Sometimes its a lot (even if he peed a lot outside 20 minutes earlier) and sometimes it's a little. If you go to hook him on his leash, he will just pee rather than waiting to get outside. We do keep him in a crate at night and when we are at work. He WILL pee in his crate (and it's a small crate - he has enough room to turn around and stand up, but that is it). He will pee in his food bowl sometimes even. So he will pee where he sleeps and eats. No problem.

My husband finally said last night that it's enough and I have to get rid of him. One, I've never given an animal away. I feel as though if you get one, it's for their life. Two, with him always being so skittish, I feel bad putting him in a stressful situation of another new home. I also worry about the next person giving up on him, hurting him, or putting him to sleep. He is such a sweet dog. There is just this issue. I feel like the situation at my home might not be any good either anymore with my husband yelling at him more and more.

I just don't know what to do. HELP!

 

[FaithFurMom09]

are you cleaning up the pee? can you tether him to you so he doesnt have free range and you can watch for when he shows signs of needing to go? Can you re-train him as if he were a tiny puppy?

With our dogs we wrote down what time and what they did, then after a few days you could see a pattern for how often they go out and it was easier to know " ok at 3, she went pee, so about 6, shell need to go out again".

 

[TiffanyM67]

Cleaning up every time. Carpet cleaner if it's carpet, bleach if it's ceramic tile. Tethering would only work if I just sit/stand and stare at him. He has no problem going right next to you. And he won't stop if you clap or say no or something else to break his concentration.

There is no pattern. Sometimes he goes three hours without going. Sometimes it's 10 minutes in between. Sometimes 40. All randomly throughout the day. Sometimes there is a huge mess in his cage while I'm gone at work. Sometimes there is nothing.

Example, the other day took him outside. He peed, A LOT. It looked like a 50lb dog went. Came inside, played with a toy for about 10 minutes, jumped up on the couch and peed (what I would consider a small dog amount of normal pee) Ran off, and peed in his cage more.

 

[doxiemommy]

How long have you had him? Have you had him checked by a vet to rule out any medical issues?

It sounds like you did a good job of teaching him it's ok to pee/poop outside (which can be hard for a dog that was originally trained to pee/poop inside), but, I get the sense that he doesn't understand that outside is supposed to be the ONLY option. Do you know what I mean? So, he now gets that it's good to go outside, he just doesn't know going potty inside isn't an ok choice, too.

If I were you, I would go back to potty training basics as if he was a puppy. To me, that means taking him out as often as you can, to give him as many opportunities to empty himself outside as possible, and, second, it means you have to work on preventing accidents at all costs. Preventing accidents really means keeping him in your direct sight at all times that you are home. That way, he isn't allowed to sneak off and pee somewhere. If you have him completely in your sight, you will see the signs that he needs to go, and you can interrupt him, and rush him out.

If you are able to interrupt him and rush him out, you are actually teaching/training him at that exact moment, it's like saying "oops, no not here, go outside." But, if he's allowed to roam freely in the house, he can pretty much pee anywhere and you don't see it so you can't stop him.

Now, there are some problems in that you DO have to work! So, you aren't always home. Is there a possibility of someone coming in halfway through the day (you or your husband coming home for lunch, or maybe asking a retired neighbor or friend to come in) to let him out, just to give him that extra chance?

Also, at this point, since he has been accustomed to peeing in his crate, I'd just ditch the crate idea for now. Usually, it can be a good tool for keeping dogs safe, and stopping them from peeing/pooping all over the house. BUT, the idea of not peeing or pooping where he sleeps and eats apparently doesn't matter to this guy. He just thinks of his crate as another option to go potty in. Can you use another option instead? Like perhaps, putting a ex-pen up in the corner of the kitchen, and keeping him there? I mean, the crate just isn't really serving its' purpose right now.

I would check with the vet, though. Good luck!

 

[AgedHolligan]

I tried the tether trick and it worked out great for me. The first 2 weeks i had my puppy i couldnt get her to go outside i tried the wee wee pads putting them outside and everything. Nothing worked. Once i put her on leash with me at all times it made it much more easy to know when she needed to go. I also never gave her the option of the wee wee pad after i started to tether her. And after about 2 or 3 days i could recognize her behavior when she needed to go. And shes 5 months now and in the past 2 months shes only had one accident in my house and that was because i miss read her behavior. Now she i guess knows how to signal me. She will just sit there infront of me and stare at me. I take her out and then she goes. I give her praise but no treats for making out side. Not sure if this helps you at all but figured id throw it out there for you. The tether trick worked wonders for me and my dog.

 

[georgiapeach]

You could get a belly band for male dogs at Petsmart or Petco. Put a feminine pad inside, so you don't have to wash it as often.

I agree with tethering the dog to you, too. I wouldn't let this dog loose in your house right now, period. When you leave, I'd put a pee pad in the crate. It's better than the frustration you're feeling right now.

I'd get the dog checked for a UTI, just to make sure it's not a health issue.

Use an enzyme cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle to clean accidents. Use plenty of it, esp. on carpet - it needs to soak down to the subfloor.

 

[TiffanyM67]

He does NOT wander off to pee. He goes right next to you, across the room from you, while hooking the leash on you, it doesn't matter.

I am positive teathering will do nothing.

Tried the belly bands. I'd check after 1/2 hour and they'd be soaked.

 

[Bordermom]

I know you don't want him going inside as an option but I would put in a litterbox or something for now, so he's got that as an option. When you leave put him in an xpen with the litterbox so he does stay dry. It's a pain but you may have to bath him and then rebath him every time he pees on himself (if he's in a crate and pees, then lays in it for example) so he's really, really used to being clean. It may take a few months of that to work.

Do you react when he does pee in the house? If you are too hard on him it could be a stress thing (I'm harmless, don't hurt me, I'll pee to prove it), but it could also be a 'well nobody cares if I pee in the house' thing too. You could leave a light line on him when in the house and the second he starts to go, pick it up calmly and tote him right outside. Go back to potty training 101 and if he can only hold it for 15 minutes before he pees inside, take him every ten minutes, then build it up.

 

[Crantastic]

Tethering in itself doesn't "do" anything. It's just so that you always know where he is and can interrupt him faster. He should never get the chance to pee inside.

You didn't answer the question about whether or not you had him vet-checked for a urinary tract infection or some other issue -- a dog peeing this much is not normal, and it sounds like it's a lot of pee. Does he drink a lot?

 

[TiffanyM67]

We have not had a vet check him out yet. We used to let him have free range of the water, but once all this started happening, we have cut it down - especially towards the end of the night.

 

[titiaamor]

It does sound like SUCH a pain.

Maybe you both could refrain from yelling/noise making and just calmly pick him up and take him outside? The tethering would make this more convenient.

Also, a vet check may resolve this problem.

I like BM's solution, too.

 

[Amaryllis]

Have him checked for a urinary tract infection and diabetes insipidus aka water diabetes. That us a lot of peeing and I suspect a medical issue.

 

[Pawzk9]

He does NOT wander off to pee. He goes right next to you, across the room from you, while hooking the leash on you, it doesn't matter.

I am positive teathering will do nothing..

If you haven't tried it, you can't be positive it won't work. If nothing else, it might make you more aware of when he is sniffing and circling.

Tried the belly bands. I'd check after 1/2 hour and they'd be soaked.

But your house was not? check and change as often as necessary. I second (or third or fourth) the idea of running this by a good vet and seeing if at least part of the problem is physical.

 

[juliemule]

Vet check for sure.

 

[spotted nikes]

Definitely needs a vet check for UTI, or stones/crystals.
Then a belly band. and rehousebreak.