Need serious advice... frustrated to no end.

[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.