Housebreaking gone Bad

Have you ever had a dog that was never completely housebroken? Perhaps the dog lifted his leg on the furniture or she squatted secretly in a back room. What went wrong? Hormones, environment, fear and medical problems can be factors. Here are some tips for troubleshooting. The good news is it’s never too late.

Male dogs may mark the interior of the home by lifting their leg to aim the urine horizontally. An unaltered male is most likely to be the offender although females can also mark. Puberty begins between 5-7 months. As his desire to “mark” and display his “maleness” develops he will use urine to leave information for other dogs. Always neuter as puberty approaches. Give the male dogs ample opportunity to mark outdoors. Long walks with a wide territory will exhaust his marking and keep the indoors less vulnerable. If he begins to mark immediately address the action. Shout “no” and clap your hands. Since he will stop then praise him for the appropriate response. With a dog you have acquired as an adult who begins to mark be certain to use an effective urine neutralizer ( Urine-Off®). If there are only certain areas being marked then change the setting by putting the food in that spot, move the furniture or block the area.

If you have the undesirable issue of urination on the floor or carpet you will want to first have the possibility of medical issues such as a bladder infection, bladder stones or incontinence eliminated .If these are not present then fear in the environment is usually the cause. There may be an outdoor external factor such as loud noise, wet grass, harassment from the neighbor’s dog or excitement. The distracted dog fails to complete the eliminations outdoors. The owner can cause fear. In the initial housebreaking if the dog was yelled at for “accidents” whether indoors or outdoors the dog now has anxiety. The anxiety occurs anytime elimination should take place but with the owner present the dog won’t perform. Since dogs are clever they quickly learn how to eliminate when the owner is not present. They may go under the bushes or more conveniently a back bedroom where no yelling takes place. At least no yelling until the owner finds it several hours later. Thus the cycle of fear continues. The easiest solution is to have someone else (preferably a trained individual) retrain for housebreaking. A new trust must begin. Then the transition back at home can occur. Positive reinforcement is the way to gain trust. You can take your dog on long walks with a long leash or go camping. The elimination has to eventually occur; then give lots of soft praise and rewards. Treats are fine. Give the best treats possible. If you can have one success outside then you build from there.

The hardest of all urination disorders is the dog who urinates when company arrives. The dog may be submissively urinating from excitement or may be urinating from fear. In short if the urination occurs when the dog has rolled on his/her back or has the rear end tucked under then it is submission. If the dog urinates while barking and standing it is from fear. Submissive urination may be corrected gradually by using soft and low tones. Initially practice with family members. Have them come to the front door and ring the bell. Let them enter and crouch low. Avoid eye contact and scratch the dog under the chest. This allows the human to be submissive. Give praise for good work done. Once you complete this with all family members then have a good friend follow suit. It may take a couple of weeks. If the doorbell makes the problem worse then (temporarily) prevent using the doorbell. If the dog is urinating in his guard dog position it is actually fear induced. For this dog the “job” description is overwhelming. He lacks confidence. He may have too many activities to monitor. For example maybe everyone rushes the door, the doorbell may trigger fear or perhaps he barks excessively and gets yelled at. You will need to reduce the workload. A convenient alternative is simply putting the dog in another room. Start on the solution by having a firm “sit and stay” command. Be in charge without yelling. If the obedience is not in place you won’t correct the problem. Be creative. Try having a special toy that your dog really likes on a high shelf near the door. When the visitor arrives distract your dog by giving him the toy or play tug-of-war while the visitor is admitted. Once the guest is inside the arrival event is over. Be sure to give praise.

A common reason for transfer of dog ownership or euthanasia is inappropriate elimination behavior. Most often urination is the problem. After you identify whether the cause is related to hormones, environment, fear or a medical condition you can work towards a solution. Your dog is counting on you!