Help Needed for Zeus.

[flamepony12]

We have a few issues.

Most of you already know about his allergy problems. We don't mind taking care of those at all, and we provide him with medicine to make them better, We'll spend as much money on vet bills as needed for him, etc. Towards the end of the summer he started eating plums off of our plum tree. They apparently acted as a laxative for him, and he started urinating/pooping in the house. At first we cleaned it up without a problem, but even once he STOPPED eating the plums, he continued using the house as a bathroom, almost as if he'd completely forgotten his housebreaking.

Since then, he's been marking all over the place, even inside the house. He'll mark anywhere from the sliding glass doors outside to the bedspread. We finally decided to have him sleep in a crate at night, which seemed to solve the problems for a little while, though he'd still occasionally lift his leg to pee OUTSIDE of the crate.

Last night, since he'd been sleeping in the crate successfully for a while, my dad decided to let him sleep in the living room on his bean bag chair, where he usually sleeps. We woke up this morning to (as gross as this sounds) poop EVERYWHERE. My dad is totally fed up by now. He always tells us that he's willing to care for ALL of Zeus' medical problems, but that we can't have an unhousebroken dog. We've even tried re-housebreaking him, to no avail. My brother is in tears right now, strongly believing my dad's words that he is going to rehome Zeus, and I'm just hoping there's something else we can do.

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.



-Devon

[kimlovescats]

I wish I had an answer for you, honey! Have you asked your vet for any suggestions? I hope you can get things worked out, so your Zeus can stay with you!

Hugs,
Kim

[BC_MoM]

I'd definitely call the vet and see if they have any suggestions. Have you ever seen those doggy diapers? If you're Dad's fed up with all the urine stains, smells and poop smells, you could try them for during the nights. Might be worth a shot.

I really hope it doesn't get to the point where you have to rehome him! If my parents were saying that, I would say, "Well, then, you'll have to rehome me too!"

[flamepony12]

We've talked to the vet, yes- he thinks it just may be a matter of re-training him. :/ We're looking into the diapers too.. heheh..

[Vela]

Well, you need to get an enzyme cleaner to clean up anywhere he has gone, and you need to treat him like a puppy who has never been housetrained. You need to start from scratch and treat him like a puppy and rehousetrain him. Good luck.

[sandragonfly]

oh poor zeus, you and family! I'm serious, exactly same thing happened to our family-dog, mocha. I knew no better back then but now I do.

I think re-training is best for now if you haven't tried yet, take him out every 2-4 hours, (depends on how often he went inside the house) don't let him back in until he does his business at 4th or 5th going outside. praise with his favorite toy/treat/food/whatever after he did, of course.

as for night, maybe could you have him crated in your room, and as soon as you hear him moving, take him outside immediately? or at least get up every five hours for now, then lessen hours by weekly if doing good. have you done that so everytime after you saw him peeing inside anyway? you should, but impossible since you're out a lot, right?

a lot (pretty long) walks would help extract his digestion/intestines to go sooner and relax better once back home.. how much does he drinks? sometimes exceed water isn't necessary, maybe a big bowl a day? would less his "I gotta go!!" ..

did vet says nothing about behavior issues? I know there's a lot of that in cats, but in dogs too? hmm. I mean, most? anyway, hope a solution will be found soon and you all live happily ever after!

[binka_nugget]

The vet's positive it's not a medical problem? If it's definitely not a medical problem, I would go back to basics and train him like you would train a puppy. Make the crate his "den".. even if your dad thinks he'll be fine one night, don't give in. All it takes is one mistake to set you back in training.

I suggest keeping him by your side, preferably on leash. When he's not by your side, he's in his crate. What do you do when you catch him in the act? He knew at one point that he wasn't supposed to go inside, so I would make it clear that going inside is a definite no-no when you catch him in the act.. then immediately bring him outside and praise.

It's so strange that he's doing this all of the sudden. :\ My first guess would have been some kind of medical problem because it seems so unusual that a housebroken dog would slip back and start marking for no reason.

[Daisy and Delilah]

It sure sounds like a medical problem to me too. Maybe another trip to the vet? Zeus is such a cute boy. I hope the problem stops and everything is ok at your house

[flamepony12]

Sorry for the delay, I have an update in case anyone's interested.

We haven't had time for a second vet visit, but hopefully we will sometime in the near future. He's actually been pretty good about not using the house as his toilet at night, except for a few days ago where he went all over the couch. We've been working with him though, and things are looking a little better. (: