[DaniManer]

Hi Everyone! I’m at my wits end I don’t know what to do. I have 2 rescue Maltese. One boy and one girl. My boy is great and I don’t have any behavioral issues with him. But recently my girl has me ready to pull my hair out! She’s always been a sneaky pee-er; instead of telling me she needs to go out she’ll just sneak off and try to find some corner to pee in. I even tried to train her with the potty bell to no avail. I live in an apartment so I can’t just let them out into the backyard, but I still take them out 3-4 times a day.
However things have gotten WORSE. Now she does this thing where she pees somewhere and just LAYS IN IT. I can always tell bc her back legs are always wet, her fur is yellow and pissy smelling. Now she’s started just peeing anywhere. A few weeks ago she was laying near my feet on a blanket on the couch and just peed!! Now she’s developed this lovely habit of peeing on my couch!
im at my wits end and I don’t know what else to do. I feel bad having her in the kennel all the time; especially when her brother is out and is able to cuddle on the couch. But I refuse to let my expensive furniture be ruined by a 6lb dog with no job. I even have puppy pads around just in case we can’t get out in time. I don’t know what else to do.

 

[pandora]

First things first a vet check to make sure its not medical.

Then its back to basics. It sounds as if she has never been properly toilet trained. I have no idea what a potty bell is but if she is unable or unwilling to hold her urine a bell is not going to help.
Back to puppy basics letting her outside every 30 mins / every hour, everytime she wakes up, every time she eats or drinks, everytime she plays, and each time she does something outside praise it like youve just discovered its made of pure gold.

Puppy pads confuse things on one hand youre telling her its ok to pee on stuff inside (the pad) and on the other hand you say its not (your couch) so take it all away and start from scratch. If she sneaks off its up to you to know where she is 24/7 even if that means shutting her off from other rooms or keeping her on a leash indoors with you so you can instantly react if she needs to go.

It takes work but if you want to solve it thats the only way.. No quick fix no magic wand..

 

[Kyllobernese]

First things first a vet check to make sure its not medical.

Then its back to basics. It sounds as if she has never been properly toilet trained. I have no idea what a potty bell is but if she is unable or unwilling to hold her urine a bell is not going to help.
Back to puppy basics letting her outside every 30 mins / every hour, everytime she wakes up, every time she eats or drinks, everytime she plays, and each time she does something outside praise it like youve just discovered its made of pure gold.

Puppy pads confuse things on one hand youre telling her its ok to pee on stuff inside (the pad) and on the other hand you say its not (your couch) so take it all away and start from scratch. If she sneaks off its up to you to know where she is 24/7 even if that means shutting her off from other rooms or keeping her on a leash indoors with you so you can instantly react if she needs to go.

It takes work but if you want to solve it thats the only way.. No quick fix no magic wand..

 

[Kyllobernese]

I would get a pen for her and only have her out on leash to break her habit of sneaking off to pee. I know it is harder in an apartment to just open the door and take her out, depending on what floor you are on. How old is she as that will give you an idea how long you can expect her to hold it?

 

[LeoRose]

Definitely rule out medical causes first. Spayed bitches frequently leak urine, or she could have a UTI. Both can be treated with the proper medication.

 

[storyist]

Yes, if she's spayed, spay incontinence is something to talk about with your vet. The bitches I've had that developed spay incontinence could be sound asleep and a puddle of urine would appear behind them - which would account for your finding her with urine on her hind legs. It can be treated with daily meds.

 

[Lillith]

Agree with all about ruling out medical issues first. It's not very normal for dogs to lay in their own waste.

If medical is ruled out, it is likely she was not properly toilet trained to begin with. The sneaking off to pee indicates she may have been scolded for having an accident. When dogs are scolded for going potty in the house, they are not learning that going INSIDE is bad, they are learning that going IN FRONT of you is bad. So, they sneak off to pee.

Treat her like a little puppy who has no idea about toilet training. She should be supervised 100% of the time, and when you can't, you can crate her. I would crate her in a bare crate since she already pees on blankets and couches. This may because of her past and she was forced to pee in her crate, or perhaps she was potty pad trained, so to her, soft things = potty pads. When she is out and active, make sure that she gets plenty of potty breaks and you reward her and praise her for going outside!

Yes, it will be rather inconvenient and you might feel bad for having to crate her sometimes, but it's only temporary. If you remain consistent, you'll soon have a perfectly potty trained dog!

 

[3GSD4IPO]

I had a dog with UTI issues because she was spayed before her first heat. She had an inverted vulva and had to have episioplasty surgery (I will NEVER again do a juvenile spay but that is a different discussion).

I would get to a vet and be sure your dog does not have a medical reason FIRST.

I would also get an X Pen and put the dog in that with Pee Pads for now.. on leash with you watching her and getting her out frequently when not in the X pen. Reward heavily with happy praise and high value treats when she does go to the bathroom outside.