 |
Hey, Katie K-9!KatieK9@readthecitizen.comwww.KTK9.com 651-429-5433 |
Hey, Katie K-9,
We have a one-year-old Chihuahua named Coconut and he has a very bad peeing problem. Whenever he gets excited to see us he pees or if he gets scared he pees. We try not to get him excited but when he sees us he pees all over our floor. Sometimes he just pees for no reason. I've heard of people putting diapers on their dogs but I don't think he would really like to wear it all day. What do you think?
Thank you!
Eva (11 years old)
Hey, Eva and Coconut!
When Coconut pees when he gets excited or scared, it is called submission urination. Never scold a dog when they do it. Instead, take the triggers away: like bending over the dog to pick him up. Ignore him when you first come home until he settles down, and have guests ignore him for the first 15 minutes. If he does something wrong, keep your correction short, like, "AHHH, bad dog," and move on.
It does not have anything to do with potty training. It is a "lacking confidence" problem, which is very common with little dogs, because most owners don't really take the time to obedience-train them and mostly just carry them around.
Coconut needs to start using his brain, learning to walk on a leash, to do a "down/stay" with you across the room or while you're eating dinner. Teaching tricks is good, too. Confidence is built through teaching obedience and through the learning process. You take the guesswork out; now the dog knows what you want and how to do it. Be patient and start teaching. Sign up for an obedience class.
Good luck, and keep smiling!
Katie K-9
Hey, Katie K-9!
My sister has a two-year-old French Mastiff. For about the first year of her life, the Mastiff was mostly an outdoor dog. Since she's been in the house, she doo-doos several times per week in the house. A vet told my sister that once dogs start going in the house, there's no way to re-train them. Is this correct?
Melissa
Hey, Melissa!
WRONG! There are many dogs that take a lot longer to catch on to what potty is called, where to put it and how to let their owners know they have to "go." But it can all come together with the diligence of their owners.
You need to set up a good potty training program and stick to it. Everyone else in the household needs to be on board with it, too.
Any dog can be potty trained at any age. Here is a quick overview of a potty-training schedule:
- Give set feeding times. Do not provide treats or anything between meals. You have to control what goes in, so you get an approximate time of when it will come back out.
- No rawhide chewies. They are saturated with salt; your dog will now drink more and have to pee more.
- Feed a GOOD dog food. The semi-moist (cute dog foods) and dog foods you can buy at grocery stores are mostly lower grade, and produce more doo-doos. One I highly recommend is NutriSource dog or puppy food. You can buy it at the Hugo Feed Mill.
- Give set water times. You can offer water as often as you want, but in 10 to 20 minutes, take your dog out to go potty.
- Leash your dog during potty breaks. Bring your dog out on a leash or retractable leash to a set potty area. Stand still and then tell him what you want. "Go potty, go potty" or "Get busy, get busy." Say it in a calm chant. When your dog goes potty, calmly say "Thank you." Maximum time outside is only two minutes! If he does not go, bring him back inside. Keep him on the leash with you, wait five minutes and try it again. Your dog is outside ONLY to go potty. Then bring him back in. Then, if you want to go for a walk or go play, do so.
- DO NOT use TREATS to potty train your dog. Many dogs will go out and splash, then race back for the anticipated treat - and then finish the job inside your house.
- Shadow your dog inside. Keep your dog with you at all times for the first two weeks. Tie the dog to you with a leash. If this is not possible, or you do not have the time, put your dog in a kennel or gate him off in a room. The third week, keep the leash on but let him drag it. Keep him in the same room with you so he does not go around a corner and leave you a present. During the fourth week, if you feel things are going well, slowly start giving your dog more freedom in the house. If eight days pass with no accidents - they have figured it out it! If at any time your dog regresses, start from the beginning again.
- Clean up any accidents correctly. Anti-Icky Poo (AIP) really does the trick! It changes the chemical compound of urine naturally. The area is gently sprayed with water, followed by a spray of AIP. A flat piece of plastic (trash bag) is then placed over the spot, where AIP will work for 24-48 hours. At that point, the wet/vac does the rest. Now your dog will not be reminded he can go there.
- Piddle Pads or newspapers. If you are going to be gone longer than four hours, you can use them, but the minute you get home pick them up. On weekends, do not use them.
- Teaching your dog to like the kennel. Put the kennel in the mainstream of your home. Put your dog in it at least 3 times each day when you are home, sometimes for five minutes, sometimes for 15 minutes: vary the times. You do not want your dog to associate the kennel with you leaving the house. Let your dog out only when he is quiet. Stay calm when you let him out. Feed the dog in his kennel. Put a high-value treat in the kennel when you want him to kennel up. Keep your words happy when you say "kennel up!" Leave a TV or radio on when you do leave the house. The house is never quiet when you are home, so this will give your dog the feeling someone is around and take the "house noises" away. Keep your comings and goings calm.
Katie K-9