I have a 9 yo male mini dachshund, not neutered.. In general he is such a good dog. He never peed inside until I moved in with DH 1.5 yrs ago. It's like that pissed him off and he started peeing in corners upstairs and on our rug in the living room (we have hardwood downstairs, carpet upstairs). I have tried everything to get him to stop! The carpet upstairs was dingy so we replaced it. We put a gate up so he can't get upstairs without us. About 1.5 weeks ago we replaced the rug downstairs because the old one had urine stains and we have a 2 mo old and I would like it to stay nice so he can sit/practice crawling on it in the coming months. We sprayed the rug with a 50:50 mixture of vinegar water because I read that will discourage him from marking as they don't like the smell. We even have him wear a "belly band" (like a doggie diaper) a lot of the time, but it slips down and DH isn't the best about putting it back on him after we let him out. Lo and behold this a.m., our new rug has its first pee spot! Soooo frustrating! Any suggestions to stop this behavior? (please don't say neuter him, the vet says it won't help at this ge in his life anyway)
-
Neuter him (despite what you said about not saying it!) and I would have him on leash in the house at all times, attached to either you, or DH. We neutered an animal at 9 years old before and the difference it made in him was incredible, wish we had done it so much sooner.
He is abusing his freedom, so I would be taking it away in a hurry, if he was on leash with you around the house and did attempt the behaviour you or DH have the control right away.
-
We have the same problem with our chihuahua. He marks in the same spot upstairs in front of the guest bathroom. The woman who owned our house before us had dogs, and I know he's marking it because he still smells them on the carpet. We've had the carpet steam cleaned professionally twice, and he has just started doing it again. I am a terrible disciplinarian, and I don't know what to do. My husband is PISSED about it happening again! We don't want to change the carpet because we are about to start building our dream house, so obviously we're not trying to do too much with the one we currently live in....It'll just be a rental once our new house is built.
So basically, I've got nothin'. But if anyone has any solutions, I'm game!
I can't do the leash thing to him. We have wood downstairs and before I did that to him, I would baby gate the staircase so he can't go upstairs.. But at 30 weeks pregnant, I don't want a baby gate in the way for me since I have to be careful on the stairs anyway....
@Amelieisme: Sorry I don't have any advice, but I just wanted to add that our dog is neutered and he still marks, so I think you're right about that not mattering! Another thing that did NOT work for us was spanking and rubbing his nose in it. It just made him scared of us, and he hid under the baby's crib for like an entire day, and it took him a couple of days to not cower in the corner around us. It made me cry, and I decided no more of that. How helpful am I? "Here's a list of things that did NOT work...." Lol
-
Move his food and water to the area he's urinating in. This fixed my dogs habit of peeing in our mostly unused dining room. They say that dogs don't like to potty where they eat and sleep. My dog associates the dining room with a place to get food and water now, plus he doesn't seem to have found a replacement spot! We haven't had any accidents since we started doing this.
-
My situation is different since my boy was a puppy when this happened, but we just kept a close eye on him, and when we would see the behaviors that meant he was about to mark (they should become fairly obvious after watching him for a while) we would say "no!" in a firm (not scary) voice and immediately pick him up and take him outside. Eventually he only associated pee with outside. It's also important to keep him away from those areas where he marks. Usually they'll do it because they are scared or feeling threatened... maybe if he and your husband spent more time together and he felt safer and submissive to him, it would help.
-
Animals that aren't neutered mark, period. But it's been 9 years so the habit is there. Have you tried any repelling sprays? They make stuff stronger than vinegar
-
Agree with @LemonLong: try feeding him in the spot(s) he likes to mark. My DH spent a few evenings playing with our dog on the rug under the dining room table, where he had been peeing, just laying there with him, giving him treats, practicing some training. After a few sessions of that, he stopped peeing there. (Also, he was a tiny puppy at the time, but...still. It had been specific spots we couldn't otherwise figure out how to keep dry.)
-
we neutered our dog when we got him at age 5, when all of those behaviors ought to have been "set" (and seemed as if they were) and it actually did help. He still marks some outside, particularly when he sees other dogs around, but never in the and not nearly as much outdoors (we would know if he marked in the house- he's a big dog so it would leave a lot of evidence). So it is something to consider.
Other than that, you'll have to work hard to train him out of it. For cleaning, try an enzymatic cleaner (like Nature's Miracle). Follow all of the instructions on how to use it. You might have to shampoo your carpets as well, and watch that the urine doesn't soak through to any padding below- if it has you might have to replace those (unless you can clean them). If he's urinated a lot and it really soaks through to the wood below, there is a chance he can smell that- but probably it's in your carpet. Even if the smell is gone, he may still be prone to marking certain spots. Many un-neutered males simply like to mark there territory, so you probably just have to be super vigilant and train him that it isn't okay. You probably should have him with you at all times (possibly crated at night or when you're gone) so you can catch it immediately. I'd also suggest consulting a dog trainer or veterinary behaviorist for help.
-
I wish I had great advice... we've struggled with this when we move (every year for the past 3) into apartments that have other animal smells (each time).
Unfortunately it is anxiety-caused so punishment doesn't really help (and at least for us, makes it worse).
Our has been temporary until he feels more secure in our new place, but I have to be very careful when we visit family with other animals. What works best for us is close supervision with loud throat clearing if he starts sniffing around, and cleaning any spots with a Bissel Spot Shot and Nature's Miracle.
I am terrified that it is going to come back once baby is here... it's a good thing he's cute!
-
I have a female dog so I dont know if it makes a difference but whenever she pees or poops it's bc she is mad about something. She just wants attention, really. Do you think that might be the case for your dog too? First a daddy and then a baby comes along. It can be upsetting for pets to have changes. My dog was peeing on my expensive sectional when I got preggers with my first. It was terrible. But when I started giving her more attention she stopped. Hope that's the case for you too.
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
9 comments