Need serious advice... frustrated to no end.

[agilityk9trainer]

I agree that your dog shouldn't have been kicked out of puppy class for wanting to play with the other dogs. I suggest you find a new obedience trainer. It will help tremendously.

Also, you need to find alternate methods of exercise for Noba. If it's raining and you can't get out, find a Doggie Daycare for Noba to go to. There, he will play all day with the other dogs. You can even find a Doggie Daycare that also provides training. Then, Noba can play until tired and also learn manners.

As far as the peeing goes, my understanding is that it takes several weeks for the testosterone to work out of a dog's system. He's still marking. What are you doing when he pees? What is your reaction to it?

[Nobas Mom]

I agree that your dog shouldn't have been kicked out of puppy class for wanting to play with the other dogs. I suggest you find a new obedience trainer. It will help tremendously.

Also, you need to find alternate methods of exercise for Noba. If it's raining and you can't get out, find a Doggie Daycare for Noba to go to. There, he will play all day with the other dogs. You can even find a Doggie Daycare that also provides training. Then, Noba can play until tired and also learn manners.

As far as the peeing goes, my understanding is that it takes several weeks for the testosterone to work out of a dog's system. He's still marking. What are you doing when he pees? What is your reaction to it?

Doggie daycare is something that I've thought about, but all the ones in my area have bad reputations... they allow aggressive dogs with docile dogs. The better ones are in Seattle which is over an hour away... but I will look into something like that!

He never marked the house before he was neutered, so it's new behavior. Unfortunately I don't catch him peeing, it happens when I'm not looking and I find it a few minutes later, so scolding him is not an option... ????? Any advice????

He's a great dog when he has adequate exercise... the peeing is the most frustrating thing for me. I live with three cats, and they just don't wanna play like he does... he doesn't understand that...

[agilityk9trainer]

so the food change occurred the same time the urniation problem did? I missed that somehow. There may well be a link there. A change in food can trigger diabetes. If he's drinking more water, I would have him tested. However, a urnine test can be done for diabetes (althoubh a blood test will be more accurate). The vet can do a quick stick test to see if he's splling sugar into the urnine. Blood tests will tell the actual glucose level in the blood. I think I would give my vet a call and see what they think.

If he's having a potty problem that is behavorial, and you aren't catching him at it, then what is he learning? That it's OK to pee in the house! Yes, you're right that you can't punish if you don't catch him in the act, but it's your responsiblity to make sure he's never alone and unwatched if he's having issues.

There are a couple methods you can use to keep him near you. One is the umblicial cord method. Get a long lead and tie it up to your waist or belt loop. Put the other end on your dog. Then, where ever you go, your dog will go to. You'll be able to watch for accidents. Downfall....the leash can knock things over.

The method I use is the baby gate method. Get a baby gate. As you move from room to room, have your dog with you. Baby gate him into the room you're in. Then you can watch him at all times. If you leave the room, he must come with you. This is 100 percent with him. When you need to shower, etc., put him in a crate.

If it's behavioral, catching him in the act will help. Remember, if you catch him, don't spank. This can actually backfire for you. Just say "NOO!" (not mean or harsh, more like an alarm). Immediately pick him up and take him outside. When he goes outside, give him a treat and praise him.

But first, I'd call the vet.

[Nobas Mom]

I'm gonna call the vet on Monday and schedule an appt for him. He is / was FULLY housetrained up until the last few days... never had an accident in the house, so I'm not sure what to do... the tethering method is what I used when he was housetraining when he was a pup... so it seems strange to "regress", but going back to basics may help. Thanks for the advice on that...

[Nobas Mom]

so the food change occurred the same time the urniation problem did? I missed that somehow. There may well be a link there. A change in food can trigger diabetes. If he's drinking more water, I would have him tested. However, a urnine test can be done for diabetes (althoubh a blood test will be more accurate). The vet can do a quick stick test to see if he's splling sugar into the urnine. Blood tests will tell the actual glucose level in the blood. I think I would give my vet a call and see what they think.

If he's having a potty problem that is behavorial, and you aren't catching him at it, then what is he learning? That it's OK to pee in the house! Yes, you're right that you can't punish if you don't catch him in the act, but it's your responsiblity to make sure he's never alone and unwatched if he's having issues.

There are a couple methods you can use to keep him near you. One is the umblicial cord method. Get a long lead and tie it up to your waist or belt loop. Put the other end on your dog. Then, where ever you go, your dog will go to. You'll be able to watch for accidents. Downfall....the leash can knock things over.

The method I use is the baby gate method. Get a baby gate. As you move from room to room, have your dog with you. Baby gate him into the room you're in. Then you can watch him at all times. If you leave the room, he must come with you. This is 100 percent with him. When you need to shower, etc., put him in a crate.

If it's behavioral, catching him in the act will help. Remember, if you catch him, don't spank. This can actually backfire for you. Just say "NOO!" (not mean or harsh, more like an alarm). Immediately pick him up and take him outside. When he goes outside, give him a treat and praise him.

But first, I'd call the vet.

On a lighter note, picking up a 55lb basset hound to take him outside is not an option... , just needed to interject some humor there!

[areias]

I would say obedience class, or an at-home trainer or behaviorist for helping you with personal troubles like the cat, nipping, etc.

As far as the peeing goes-I would get bloodwork done. My cattle dog has had a "peeing problem" since I got him-he's 9 months old now, but always had to urinate frequently (every 1/2 hour) and thus causing accidents in the house. While we were doing the bloodwork and other things, diabetes insipidus, Addison's Disease, and kidney failure were the three things we were looking out for. The bloodwork showed no signs of any of them, we gave him measured amounts of water and his urine concentrated and no accidents happened-he was actually diagnosed with polydipsia, he just drinks too much water. So although everything IS checking out okay with the urinalysis, bloodwork should be done to rule out anything else (such as the kidneys, etc). The urinalysis should be showing whether or not there is sugar in the urine, which could be a sign of diabetes. The bloodwork is usually about $100 and well worth knowing what is going on. I would talk in depth with your vet about the problem, there could be a number of underlying causes not visible by simply a urinalysis.

If all else fails, is he crate trained? You may need to go back to square 1 and re-housebreak him, have him in his crate when someone isn't supervising him. When you have him out, have him close by or tied to you with a leash so you can catch him before he goes and usher him outside.

I wouldn't rehome him. Having a dog without problems is hard enough to find a home for-if he continues his problems in a new home, they may not have the patience and may be continuously passed on until he ends up at a shelter (where he may or may not find a home) or until he ends up on a chain in someones backyard. Unfortunately, that is how a lot of "problem" dogs end up.

[areias]

LOL agilityk9-we posted practically the same post at the same time .

[agilityk9trainer]

LOL agilityk9-we posted practically the same post at the same time .

Great minds think alike!!

[angelchampy]

If the change of diet and peeing started at the same time, it might be the food. Maybe something in the food is making him more thirsty - more thirst - more pee. Maybe you should change him back. Neutering may have a hand in it too. But that would be temporary. It sounds like it has something to do with the food change.

[Nobas Mom]

Hi, I thought about the food change being a part of the problem, but I really don't want to switch him back. He was on Iams and now he is on Innova Evo and I love the quality of the new food so much more... he went to the vet the other day and they ran a full blood workup on him, results should be back by Friday. Vet said he is healthy and happy, and the urine test should nothing, so we'll see on Friday!

[Nobas Mom]

I would say obedience class, or an at-home trainer or behaviorist for helping you with personal troubles like the cat, nipping, etc.

As far as the peeing goes-I would get bloodwork done. My cattle dog has had a "peeing problem" since I got him-he's 9 months old now, but always had to urinate frequently (every 1/2 hour) and thus causing accidents in the house. While we were doing the bloodwork and other things, diabetes insipidus, Addison's Disease, and kidney failure were the three things we were looking out for. The bloodwork showed no signs of any of them, we gave him measured amounts of water and his urine concentrated and no accidents happened-he was actually diagnosed with polydipsia, he just drinks too much water. So although everything IS checking out okay with the urinalysis, bloodwork should be done to rule out anything else (such as the kidneys, etc). The urinalysis should be showing whether or not there is sugar in the urine, which could be a sign of diabetes. The bloodwork is usually about $100 and well worth knowing what is going on. I would talk in depth with your vet about the problem, there could be a number of underlying causes not visible by simply a urinalysis.

If all else fails, is he crate trained? You may need to go back to square 1 and re-housebreak him, have him in his crate when someone isn't supervising him. When you have him out, have him close by or tied to you with a leash so you can catch him before he goes and usher him outside.

I wouldn't rehome him. Having a dog without problems is hard enough to find a home for-if he continues his problems in a new home, they may not have the patience and may be continuously passed on until he ends up at a shelter (where he may or may not find a home) or until he ends up on a chain in someones backyard. Unfortunately, that is how a lot of "problem" dogs end up.

Believe me rehoming him is NOT an option, I just had that passing thought due to sheer frustration and the thought that he is not happy anymore. I couldn't bear to part with him. I'm hoping the vet work-up will show nothing, and that it comes down to newly developed behavioral problems. I just started this second job about three weeks ago, he had his neuter surgery last week (and was cooped up all week recovering) and this week the weather has not been conducive to going outside much, so I'm hoping he's just acting out...

[agilityk9trainer]

Believe me rehoming him is NOT an option, I just had that passing thought due to sheer frustration and the thought that he is not happy anymore. I couldn't bear to part with him. I'm hoping the vet work-up will show nothing, and that it comes down to newly developed behavioral problems. I just started this second job about three weeks ago, he had his neuter surgery last week (and was cooped up all week recovering) and this week the weather has not been conducive to going outside much, so I'm hoping he's just acting out...

All of those things (new schedule, surgery, weather) can cause a reverse in potty training behavior. However, as he's drinking more, you will want to do the vet thing first.

And, yes, you will have to "regress" in training. This is common with dogs. My students are always amazed and frustrated when their dogs suddenly don't seem to know a behavior they had rock solid a day before. Suddenly, the dog won't sit, and looks at their owner like they've never even heard the word. A good trainer's response is to expect this and to take the dog back to square one and retrain. The good news is the retraining is usually much shorter than the original training.

Even dogs who have had a behavior for years can suddenly lose it. Don't worry. It's common. My MACH sheltie just lost his "straight" or "go" directional in agility. One day he'll "straight" a series of obstacles up to 60 feet away from me, and the next day, poof, it's gone. I just had to go retrain it. It's back now, as strong as ever. The trick as a competition trainer is to catch these behaviors falling apart before they cause you problems in the ring. For housedog owners, the trick is to catch them before they cause frustration and further problems.