Dog problems! Help!

[pssh]

So a week ago I adopted an awesome dog from my local SPCA. She seemed like the perfect dog and only had one accident the first few days. Then she started having lots of accidents no matter how many times we take her out. We also had to leave her in a baby gated area while we are away for about 6 hours every day. She had puppy pad to potty on, a bed, and a little water. She completely destroyed the potty pad, bed, bowl, and anything else in there. She also somehow got out while we were gone and peed on our carpet some more.

Today we had to leave her again and she got out once more and completely decimated our carpet to the point where we will have to get new carpets. She's a little dog, and I love the way she is when we are home (except the potty thing) but I can't handle her behavior when we are gone!

What can I do?!?

 

[serenitystarlite]

Crate her when you're not home. Either she'll learn not to pee in the house/destroy stuff, or she'll be a crate dog

 

[lisa h]

Fill out my how to ask for help form LOL. Seriously, some questions:
How old is she? What breed is she? Are the accidents only pee accidents, or is she pooping too? Has she been crate trained?
I think this will be a fairly quick fix, with a few adjustments.

 

[Syn]

Unfortunately, there are often reasons that people take a dog to the pound or are taken to the spca.
When I lived with my dad, with our last dog -- he chewed off a good section of our wooden fence.
We repaired it several times and he ended up costing us several hundred dollars. Each time he did this he got out.

After so long my dad finally got pissed off and stopped getting him from the pound.
No idea what happened to the dog (I've moved out since the dog escaped for the final time), but I can't imagine anything good happened. :\

Sorry for the mini-story, just my experience.

Any who, perhaps a strong cage/crate would be beneficial. If she is ruining carpets, it is probably a good investment.

 

[pssh]

She was found as a stray (though it seems like she had a previous home.) they think she is about 7, and possibly a terrier mix. She only pees. I was hoping I could use the baby gate as a crate (as the gated area is rather small.) Like 3x3 small. I've tried as hard as I can to make the area as positive as possible, and she doesn't mind it while we are home if she has a kong toy with food inside it. Once we leave though, she goes crazy to get out.

 

[reptimom]

Crating is best for the dog and for you. Dogs like having their own space. I recently dog sat for some friends - they have 4 dogs. One of them is crated due to the same issues you are having. When I arrived, I opened his cage and he, along with the other dogs, went outside. When he came back in, he went straight into his crate. They had is set up with his water bowl, toys and a dog bed and he was perfectly contented with it. That was his private space and he loved it. Unless you can be around more often and be consistent with the potty training - crating is your best bet. You and your dog will be much happier. Also, try leaving a radio on close to the crate so your dog does not feel alone. Good luck!

 

[Olimpia]

3x3 is too big for a small terrier. I'm just guessing since I haven't seen her, but you'll need a crate that is big enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lie down in comfortably. But NO more space than that. The more space you give her the more space she has to get into a corner and pee. A dog will not pee where she sleeps, so by making the crate small, she has no option left but to hold it. And that's how she'll learn to hold her pee. Then you can put lots of toys and bones (bully sticks are fantastic - hours of chewing) to keep her occupied.

Leave her in there every time you leave. And even during the day, when you know it's time for her to nap, try to get her in there too so she learns that the crate is a great place to just be (along with just leaving toys in there during the day for her to go into and play with), and not just a place she gets locked into when you leave.

As time goes on and she prooves she can go without accidents for a while, then she can graduate to a larger area, but still keeping it small. If you can gate off a corner of bathroom or kitchen, it would be best. And go from there.

But most importantly, get on a really strict schedule with her at first. In fact, before you leave for the day and you know she'll be in there a while) take her out on a long walk or a jog/rollerblade/bike ride, etc. so she's really tired. She'll be happier, and less stressed by your leaving. And don't leave her in there 6 hours at first, because she may only be able to hold it in for 2 hours. So make sure that at first someone can come by and walk her a couple times.

Hope that helps. We just got a puppy 3 months ago so we have pottytraining on the mind still lol It's an easier problem to fix than many others, it just requires patience.

 

[athena9995]

Sometimes dogs from places like that have severe separation anxiety issues. In that case, there are a lot of dog trainers that will come to your house and work with you. Don't give up!

 

[lisa h]

Olimpia has some great advice to follow. Just one more thing: do not put water in her crate with her. Water goes in, and so it must come out. She can have a good drink when you get home, and about one hour prior to being kennelled, making sure that she pees before you leave.

 

[Gensen]

Crate training is the way to go!

As others have mentioned crate training is the way to go and may be the only way you will house break her. My husband has been breeding dogs for 18years...

And remember when crate training they should only have enough room to stand up turn around and lay down... any more room than that and they realize gee I can pee in that corner and still lay dry in this one. Remember dogs are by nature den animals so they typically do not like to soli where they sleep.

While crating her offer her to go out frequently, try to get her used to the crate not only when you are gone but while you are home too and use it as a toll/aid in house breaking her.

Good luck!

 

[pssh]

Well, we are going to buy a crate. The weird thing is, she never peed in her gated area. She won't pee in it. Even if I'm sitting in the same room doing homework for hours, she won't go in there. She can also hold her pee for 6+ hours. It's just occationally someone (who is not! me) takes their eyes off her for a second and she pees. She won't do it while we watch if that makes a difference.

There is also no carpet in her gated area. She got out again and tore it up (which seemed soooooo unlike her (but apparently she had separation anxiety chewing problemsand refuses to chew on toys!) she does like toys except puppy-resembling squeeky toys and stuffed animals (they are her babies )

Side note: she hurt herself on the nails under the carpet and stuff, and now she has a quarter sized open wound. Can I just clean, gauze, bandage, and change it often or she we call the vet?

 

[KingJulien]

Chalk up one more crate training fan. My pit terrier, or am staff, or whatever you want to call him, he's a pit bull, was adopted at age 2 and we crate trained him. Any time we are gone, and at night he is in his crate. I made it comfortable for him and put a nice bed in it (after he got through the destructive phase). He goes to his crate easily, all I do is point and say "crate", but that took some time.

Dogs not only feel safer in a crate, it reminds them whose home it is. If the dog is the only one home, he may think he has the run of the place. When I didn't crate my dog, I would get attitude and back talk. As in, he would bark at me if I had something he wanted. That's not something you want in a 70 pound dog made of muscle. Peeing on the floor could be a sign of nervousness (seperation anxiety) or dominance (marking territory). In either case, an appropriately sized crate and consistent training will solve the problem.

Adopting is great, as long as you get a dog that has a generally good temperament and you are willing to put in the time and effort. My dog, after 5 years in our care, has mellowed out a bit and is a wonderful dog. He is polite, sweet, and eager to please. We don't have to crate him at night any more, but he usually sleeps in his crate because that's where his comfy bed is.

 

[KingJulien]

Well, we are going to buy a crate. The weird thing is, she never peed in her gated area. She won't pee in it. Even if I'm sitting in the same room doing homework for hours, she won't go in there. She can also hold her pee for 6+ hours. It's just occationally someone (who is not! me) takes their eyes off her for a second and she pees. She won't do it while we watch if that makes a difference.

There is also no carpet in her gated area. She got out again and tore it up (which seemed soooooo unlike her (but apparently she had separation anxiety chewing problemsand refuses to chew on toys!) she does like toys except puppy-resembling squeeky toys and stuffed animals (they are her babies )

Side note: she hurt herself on the nails under the carpet and stuff, and now she has a quarter sized open wound. Can I just clean, gauze, bandage, and change it often or she we call the vet?

Unless it's really deep, I would try neosporin or some topical cleanser and a bandage, you may have to get creative about how to hold it on. Just treat wounds like that as you would for yourself. If you see puffiness, pus, or if it feels hot then there's infection and you need a vet.

For chewing, try a nylabone. Not the clear ones, the white ones last forever. Even with my pit bull, with the "locking jaw"

 

[pssh]

Does she have to sleep there at night? She likes to snuggle up and hog my bed with me. Or sometimes she uses me as a bed while I'm asleep.


Edit: oh man, those things do last forever! My dads lab has had his since he was a puppy and he still has it (though it pretty nasty and quite a bit smaller...

 

[KingJulien]

Does she have to sleep there at night? She likes to snuggle up and hog my bed with me. Or sometimes she uses me as a bed while I'm asleep.

I would put her in there at night, consistently. Maybe after all the behavior issues are over, you could let her back in the bed. Remember that for dogs on the furniture and in your bed = same status as humans. I think her peeing may be a weak attempt at dominance, since she won't do it in front of you. Nervous "accidents" occur in front of you.

She will be fairly easy to train I think. Just be consistent with the crate training for several months, then you can try letting her in the bed. If she gets back to bad habits, go back to the crate training.

 

[KingJulien]

Edit: oh man, those things do last forever! My dads lab has had his since he was a puppy and he still has it (though it pretty nasty and quite a bit smaller...

Nylabones are awesome. Dogs learn pretty quickly that they are the only things they are allowed to chew. If you see her starting to put anything in her mouth inappropriately, give her the nylabone, and keep one in the crate as well.

When my dog an I play rough, he will start to nibble on my jeans since he knows he can't nibble on me. If I tell him no, he goes and chews on his nylabone. He hates it when he's naughty, and he knows the nylabone is ok. He's very good.

 

[pssh]

That sounds cute. She likes to nibble on my woven/knotted bracelets when she gets excited. She also digs under blankets when she gets excited and runs around under them.

 

[KingJulien]

That sounds cute. She likes to nibble on my woven/knotted bracelets when she gets excited. She also digs under blankets when she gets excited and runs around under them.

Awwwww. I love when they hide in the blankets. My boy has a way of stealing the blanket off of the sofa that's just adorable. Got any pics of your new girl?

 

[elrojo]

I can't recommend Leerburg discussion board highly enough for all things dog! There are tons of trainers, behaviorists, vets, you name it. And many have varying methods, which you can tailor to suit your own dog. They also have a free podcast which is full of information.

 

[pssh]

Sweet, I'll check it out,


I only have cell pics.