[bethneebabe]

Hi everyone,

We have had our little rescued Lhasa Apso Teddy for 1.5 years and he is about 6 years old now and it has been great overall. He is a great little companion. About 3 weeks ago we had to put our cat down. I didn't think him and Teddy were best friends or anything but they did spend the day together when we were at work. Since the cat died, Teddy has been peeing on our clothes and blankets on our bed when we are asleep. The cat was the 'top dog' in our house and I am wondering if its a dominance issue. We took Teddy to the vet and there are no medical problems (thank goodness!) but if we don't tie him up at night it seems that within a few days he goes back to peeing on our stuff. It's only in our bedroom and at night. He doesn't even try to wake us up to take him out! He gets two walks a day (we were up to 3 but he just didn't seem all that interested).

Other than going back to keeping him on a leash in the house at all times and tying him up in our bedroom at night, is there anything we can do? Will he have to be like that forever? I really love that he used to be able to sleep on our bed with us but I don't know if that is a good idea anymore. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[mandymmr]

does he have a crate?? If yes when he potties I would tell him bad dog potty on the floor and put him in his crate for a time out. I fyou don't have a crate I highly suggest getting one!

 

[FourIsCompany]

It's not a good idea to use a crate for punishment, but many people do put their dogs in their crate at night to prevent them getting into mischief. If you get a crate, be sure to train him to love it by playing crate games and don't rush it. You could also shut him out of the bedroom at night.

 

[jesirose]

does he have a crate?? If yes when he potties I would tell him bad dog potty on the floor and put him in his crate for a time out. I fyou don't have a crate I highly suggest getting one!

Why would you want him to potty on the floor? What?

Crates help a lot for stuff like this. Also make sure the soiled areas were cleaned with enzyme cleaner

 

[mandymmr]

Why would you want him to potty on the floor? What?

I didn't say I would like them to potty on the floor. I am saying if she catches hum doing it to do what I suggested. I didn't say hey yeah go ahead and let him potty on your floor!

That is a HUGE no no in my house! all I have to say is "did you potty on the floor" and they know immediatly head down and they run to the back door!


I think you mis understood what I was saying!

 

[jesirose]

You said tell him "bad dog, potty on the floor."

He's not pottying on the floor, he's pottying on the bed. So why tell him to go on the floor? For that matter, why tell him anything at all, they don't speak english. This dog isn't going to know what that phrase means. Yours might because they've gotten in trouble for "potty on the floor" and know they're going to get sent outside. This dog doesn't.

 

[mandymmr]

You said tell him "bad dog, potty on the floor."

He's not pottying on the floor, he's pottying on the bed. So why tell him to go on the floor? For that matter, why tell him anything at all, they don't speak english. This dog isn't going to know what that phrase means. Yours might because they've gotten in trouble for "potty on the floor" and know they're going to get sent outside. This dog doesn't.

okay okay how about just "bad dog no potting IN the house"!!!
does that work for you???

 

[TooneyDogs]

Whether it's a lapse in potty training, territorial marking or social marking you need to go back to housetraining 101....it's the same fix no matter what it is. A Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) needs a vet visit as well.

If it's social marking, which I suspect it is, you also need to repair/strengthen the relationship. When dogs pee on personal property, shoes, clothing, bedding, etc. (all the things that have your strong scent on them)...they are trying to say in the loudest/clearest way possible that they want to be closer to you and are unsure of where they stand right now.

 

[jesirose]

okay okay how about just "bad dog no potting IN the house"!!!
does that work for you???

The point is, they don't speak English, so it doesn't matter what you say. You can say anything, the important part is to teach them WHERE you want them to go, not just tell them they were bad.

Whether it's a lapse in potty training, territorial marking or social marking you need to go back to housetraining 101....it's the same fix no matter what it is. A Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) needs a vet visit as well.

If it's social marking, which I suspect it is, you also need to repair/strengthen the relationship. When dogs pee on personal property, shoes, clothing, bedding, etc. (all the things that have your strong scent on them)...they are trying to say in the loudest/clearest way possible that they want to be closer to you and are unsure of where they stand right now.

They ruled out the UTI. I agree with this post, just go back to treating the dog as an 8 week old puppy, and work on other training as well

 

[Cracker]

Marking in housebroken adults (physical issues already ruled out) often occurs after a stressful event, like the passing of the cat. Doesn't matter whether they seemed to be buddies or not, he was still a member of the household and not only may your dog be confused by the disappearance but he may also have sensed YOUR grief and loss. I am sorry about your cat, by the way. It's so hard losing a pet.

I would go back to the restricting of the dog at night and making sure your things are not 'available' for him to urinate on. Given time, and the inability to practice (and therefore ingrain the habit) he should get over this. If he is showing any other signs of anxiety I would think about getting a DAP diffuser to help diminish his stress naturally.

I had a cat once, who suddenly started peeing on my bed when I came home from work (and only then)...man that was stressful. I had his urine checked and he was fine. I started looking for a pattern, trying to figure out what was triggering the behaviour.

Here's how the logic panned out:

He only did it when I came home from work, and only on days where I was stressed/ready to quit/totally ticked off at someone. He would, immediately after I opened the apt door, go running off to the bed, eyes wide and squat. This made me nuts, but I had an idea. My entering the room was the "comon denominator". Was he reacting to MY state of mind, going to the one place he felt safe or connected to the "relaxed' me (ie the bed) and then strictly out of stress/fear/anxiety losing the ability to hold it?

So, out of desperation I started "checking in" with myself before I walked into my apt. Am I stressed out? Angry? Depressed? Can I let it go? Deep breaths and conscious decisions to leave work at work. Well, what do ya know. The misurination stopped within two days..I'm assuming because it took time for me to get better at the "letting go" part of this. Healthier for the cat by far and also great for MY mental health.

Our pets are very sensitive to changes in their environments, though some more than others. Animals are very aware of our mental and emotional states. They are sensitive to both the body language changes, even very small ones, and are also very sensitive to the changes in our smells as our stress hormones CHANGE how we smell to them.

Just something to ponder.