jsullysix
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Posts posted by jsullysix
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We do have a fenced in yard, yes. would need a new door, though, as our current one is mostly glass.
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Honestly, I've not been super great about the alone time since I've been home more often; he's been fine for a few hours at a time, and then can pee when he's alone for 15 minutes. It's been difficult to figure his threshold. It's also been at least a few days since he's been accident free; we seem to be back to 1-3 per day. I think we'll be going back to square one for the alone training.
Your comment about becoming hyper attached really struck me, because that's definitely something I've noticed over the past few days.
It's hard to notice any signals, because if I'm around, he keeps his proverbial pants dry, and saves the whizz for when I'm gone. If I see him just walking around aimlessly, I'll let him outside just in case. Good idea on the bell ringing trick, I'll check it out.
Sully
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Brief update: no major changes; sometimes he'll go 1-2 days without an accident, and then he pees in the house. No rhyme or reason, no real triggers other than my absence at that particular moment.
Yesterday was kinda funny in a way; I had a phone call with an animal communicator (yes, I'm at the point where I'll try almost anything) whom I discovered in a thread here somewhere. She communicated with both of the furry kids and we eventually got to his peeing issue. I'll spare you the details, but as I was recapping the phone call with the missus, I found a rather large puddle. I'd been home all day, and we were on our schedule. He wound up with three incidents yesterday (he'll usually just have one). So much for that idea.
I've been in touch with the group; they're out of ideas but have asked if I want to return him. There are parts of me that does (when he pees in the house), but no, we don't want to do that. He's clearly very happy here, and I can't imagine what returning him would do to him (not to mention the next family), so we're just going to keep moving forward and hope that he'll figure it out soon. Or eventually. I really wish that we could pull up the carpet. Oy.
Sully
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Hey everyone!
The magic of the worn clothes may have worn off, so to speak, but he had a couple of dry days last week, which was great. This past weekend was accident filled, but I think that he was finally starting to get used to our schedule, and then I went ahead and changed it by being home all the time.
Taking it in stride as best as I can, and gonna keep working on it. He's also become a champion surfer; apparently, he really likes chicken fried rice.
not-so little stinker. Sully
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Quick update:
He went three days in a row without peeing in the house! We had a little accident this morning, but he's been fine since.
Thanks again for all of the support and suggestions!
Sully
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They're good looking kids, for sure. Did the shirt thing again today, similar results. So far, he's been dry all day. If he gets through today without peering in the house, that's two days in a row.
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Thanks everyone! Today has been an awesome day. Dry as a bone all day long. We've been outside a bunch to just have fun, and it's been a really nice evening so far. Here are some moments from our fun.
With sister Nico
Nico says she's NOT gonna play with him.
He said he'd smile all handsome-like for a picture....
...but says that he'll practice selfies soon.
Thanks again for the support, and we'll keep everyone posted!
Sully
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From what I've seen, he's been a VERY mellow dude today.
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Ok, this is too cute.
If he wakes up before me, it's usually just a couple of minutes, and he'll come over to my side of the bed and lay down up against my laundry hamper. Sometimes, it MIGHT overflow a little (like today), but he's very happy to lay on my clothes; they're fluffy and all, and well, they probably smell like me. Anyway, he was doing that this morning, and I thought "hmmmmm.....maybe if I put one of my shirts on his bed, it'll help him out a little when I'm gone." So I did.
My wife left a couple of minutes after I did, and I've been watching him all morning on the webcam. He hasn't moved from his bed. He's been alone since 8:30am up until 11:40. I saw my wife come home, and he stayed on his bed. Granted, they DO sleep a lot during this time, but I wondered if the shirt helped.
...my wife sent me this
He looks like a bandit with a shirt mask in the top pic.
There's something about it that I find really sweet. Again, I don't know if it's helped him or not, but he's dry and he seems to be doing okay today.
Sully
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Glad to hear about your progress!
I just wanted to make one comment about belly bands. They're training tools that are really just intended for dogs who mark, not dogs who aren't housetrained. The difference is that markers will generally lift their leg and pee a bunch of times, but only a small amount. The belly band acts as a deterrant because it provides the dog with an immediate "correction." Not only does it not allow the pee to escape and mark the intended item, it also causes an unpleasant sensation. The idea is that with enough corrections, the dog stops marking. Then if necessary, you can reintroduce the tool if the dog is ever put in a new situation where he might have the urge to mark (a hotel room, friend's house, etc.)
If your guy is saturating the belly band everyday, or multiple times a day, that's a cause for concern. The stale pee just sits there against the dog's body, creating a huge breeding ground for bacteria. If he didn't have a UTI before, the belly band could certainly be causing him to get recurrent infections now. I know it's more convenient to have the pee concentrated in one area, but training-wise, I don't think this is your best option long-term.
IMHO, you'd be better off do a few days of intensive training using the umbilical method. You tether the dog to your waist with a leash, then absolutely do not let him out of your sight. If you see him try to pee, immediately interrupt, then take him outside. Reward every outside pee with treats and praise. I haven't read all of the updates, but if you're finding that the peeing is more SA-related (i.e. the act of you leaving is a clear-cut trigger for his accidents whether it be five hours or five minutes), you may need to re-think an alone training regime and a confinement method that works for him. Since he can't be crated, you could try gating him in a room that has floors that are easy to clean. Kitchens usually work well.
Good luck!
I'm with you about belly bands and I also had the cleanliness concern. At this point, I'm doing the best that I can. I don't have the luxury right now of having a few days/weeks where rigorous alone time can happen. My schedule is going to open up 10/1, which is great. Until then, I feel that I need to stay the course and minimize damage as best as I can right now. You also hit the nail on the head where most of the peeing (I'd say about 98% of it now) happens when I leave. The other thing that's a drag about the belly band is that the intended result (creating an unpleasant sensation) doesn't seem to bother him in the least.
Sadly, he cannot be enclosed in any way; I've tried, and it's either a danger to him or completely ineffective. He's huge and has pulled down ex pens and he can knock down babygates like dominoes (I've tried). The other issue is that my house is VERY open. It'd be AWESOME if I were able to confine him to the kitchen, as he adores lying down on the tile, but it's not possible with the floorplan of my house. We have multiple bands, wash them daily and line them with Depends. He's also going through a round of antibiotics as a "just in case" UTI treatment. I know it's not perfect, but I'm doing the best that I can right now.
Just checked back in to this thread. It may not always seem it, but you are definitely making progress. A-daerr has a good point about the belly band and marking/house training.
On the up side, your boy clearly loves you completely! That is a good thing.
I definitely know the ripped cushion from nesting issue. I have one now and my first girl was the same way. I have spent a ridiculous amount of money on covers for her couch over the years. Her nails are black so getting them really short has been impossible. I am now using a sheet that I got almost a year ago. It is not the standard jersey but is one of the jersey/t-shirt material flat sheets. So far, so good. I make sure it isn't tight so she can push it around almost as much as she digs into it.
He has dark nails as well; we're putting heavy blankets on the couch now. Wish I would have done that sooner. I've had 4 greys now and he's the first one that actually gets up on the couch. Yes, I've been fortunate in that regard.
As mentioned, he was dry as a bone yesterday, and I was so relieved (pardon the pun). He's been dry all day so far today, too. He wasn't alone for very long today (about an hour), but I'll take it. While the other day was rough after I got home, there seems to be a positive trend that he's been staying dry for the majority of the day for a few days in a row. I'm hopeful that we may be through the hardest part.
Thanks to everyone for the continued support!
Sully
Edit: Was watching him on the webcam and just saw him pee. ugh.
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Dry pants all day yesterday!
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Back to 2-3 per episodes per day. It's usually been in the mornings, even with going out 2x + a walk. This morning was different. I set up the webcam, connected my phone to it, and left for work after our normal morning routine. My wife had left before me, so after I left, the two dogs were both alone. He would start crying at about 10 to 12 minute intervals, which was kind of new. I was expecting him to pee, but he didn't. I was very surprised and proud of him. He was alone twice today for about an hour and a half each. While he was alone, he got up on the couch again, and ripped the cushion. Sadly, it was the same cushion that he had ripped previously, so I can't flip it over any more to hide the rips.
He was wet when I got home from work at 5:30, and I have a feeling that the dogs could hear me outside, and maybe he was just excited. I was a little bummed out to find that he had wet pants, because that was the first accident of the day. But I guess I was proud of him that he made it that long.
I had some work to do this evening, so after dinner, I took them for a walk. He peed a bunch, and I thought that I would be able to work for about a half an hour or so without a problem. He rarely has issues in the evening, if ever. I was working in the garage for half an hour, came back in, and his pants were wet. Ugh. Thankfully, the leaks were on the tile. As an aside, I have yet to find some kind of belly band liner that doesn't leak. Poise pads, maxi pads, Depends pads, they all leak.
Later this evening my brindle girl told me that she needed to go outside, so I let them both out. They both peed, and played around a little bit. When they were done, we all went back inside. I needed to use the restroom, and he wet his pants while I was in there for less than a minute.I'm sitting in my car as I post this now; my son came home from night school and is hanging out with them.
I can't believe that I'm actually about to make an appointment with an animal communicator. I don't even believe in that sort of thing, but I'm willing to try just about anything. I'm out of ideas. The adoption group doesn't have any ideas, either. I just. Don't. Get it.Sully
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ugh. accident #2 today. Was alone for about 15 minutes.
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Poise Pads (or their generic equivalent) inside a belly band worked really well for my older incontinent boy a couple of years ago. No leaks. Hope you two get this worked out soon.
Oh, I've tried poise pads, maxi pads, and even depends pads; they all have leaked to an extent. I'm getting good at being able to tell if he's got wet pants by feel. If I can tell he's wet, we remove slowly, and always on the tile; sometimes it's fresh and hasn't been absorbed completely.
We'll get there; the past two days of no accidents was something I really needed.
Hang in there - as I read these posts I see progress. You've already done most of the hard stuff. Peeing might have become a bad habit even if he has(had) a UTI. One day you'll look back and be amazed that you had this issue. These dogs are worth the work. They love you so deeply. Good you'll be working at home starting in a week or so - maybe if he can see you in the garage (baby gate at entrance to home from garage?), he'll be less anxious. You do have to continue to acclimate him to home alone time so you and your bride can go out. give him a kiss and tell him we all are his buddies.
Thanks!
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Rats. Peed this morning. Same routine; wake up, go out, eat, go out. Peed both times out, but he peed again while I had to pee! G'arrgh. Time for a walk. Crossing fingers for the rest of the day, and am happy he had two great days in a row. Definitely progress.
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Day two is just about done; no accidents!
I'd wondered if it was a uti or him "getting it" and I hope it's more uti related than behavioral. We'll see; either way, I'm so happy!
Sully
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He made it all day yesterday. Man, that was a good day. Hoping for 2 in a row!
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...he's had dry pants ALL DAY up to this point!
(can ya tell I'm a little excited?)Same morning routine (get up, go out, eat, go out, go for a walk), I leave for work at 8:30, but my wife was home until 10. She came home at 11, dry pants. He went outside, laid down in the grass, Mrs. Sully got him up, Nico (his sister) peed, then he peed on her pee. Love it. She was home until 2, tried to get him to pee before she left, no luck. He was home alone until my son got home just after 4; I really thought he was gonna pee during those two hours, but NOPE!!!!!!
OMG. Awesome. I'll be home in an hour; crossing fingers for dry pants when I get there.
Sully
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jschwe, thank you. You've pretty much described my last 4 weeks perfectly. Especially when you said "It was frustrating and discouraging and we started to feel like we were trapped" and "We felt like we were out of options and constantly trying to fix him was causing him so much stress" His episodes seem to be around 9-10am, maybe something mid-day, and once we get past 4pm, he's generally good. Of course, someone has always been home after 4pm, so if everyone was out of the house in the evening, that could be a different story.
Yesterday was a really tough day, and while I'm kinda glad I've setup the webcam, I feel like a slave to it. Then again, I'd rather see and hear what happens than not, ya know? For the past 3 weeks, I've been getting up at 645, letting them out, feeding them, and then letting them back out right after they finish eating. Then we go for a walk, I get ready for work, and let them out again before I have to leave. He'll fluctuate between being okay for 1-2 hours (and my wife will usually be home a couple of hours after I leave) and peeing about 30 minutes after I leave. I cannot express how much I WISH he could be crated or gated; it'd make this so much easier, but that's not reality. I'd rather keep the belly band on him though; while yeah, sometimes they leak if he really soaks it, I'd rather have the leaks than a full on whizz attack.
I also really wish we could pull up the carpets and have a concrete floor. We do have a lot of tile, too, so I'm certainly relieved when he has a leak that winds up on the tile. However....there have been a few little things here and there that have been good. After about a week or two of not peeing in the yard first thing in the morning (I'd take him out and he'd just stand there or lie down in the grass), I think he's finally heard me say "potty outside" enough times that he MIGHT be snapping to it. He's going better (and faster) in the mornings this week, so that's good.
The other thing that I'm grateful for is that I'll be working from home full time as of 10/1. Granted, I'll be working mostly in the garage, but I can at least police things better. I'm also kinda wondering if he just can't hold it for longer than a couple of hours while he's awake. I don't think so, but as you know, you wind up wracking your brain trying to figure out the mystery. I'm even considering an animal communicator at this point!
Sully
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It is kinda difficult, for sure.
We're moving slowly (I think?); my guy doesn't howl or cry (much), but we've got him to about 2 hours before we come home to a wet belly band. His issue may be SA or house training, it's hard to tell, but it's definitely been frustrating. I've started using the camera on my laptop as a webcam so I can watch what he's doing while we're gone, which has been kinda interesting, but when he gets up and starts the "hm.....I think I'm gonna pee" walk, it's tough because you can't do anything about it but watch it happen. Admittedly, that experience is funny when I share it with others.
Sully
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Hi Wasabi303, how's the alone time training going?
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Started a round of antibiotics last night at dinner, No issues last night. This morning started off well; peed 2x, had a walk, and peed a fair bit. Was alone for about 2.5 hours this morning and had wet pants (but it was fresh; when Mrs Sully took off the belly band, it leaked onto the floor). Watched him on the webcam and he was pretty chilled out. I'm starting to rethink the SA and maybe he might have an issue holding it in the morning.....? I dunno. Kinda seeing some progress, but hard to tell for sure.
I'll also probably slow down on the updates, since they're not super exiting.
Sully
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THREE HOURS!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
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Thanks Jester; haven't yet, but will. Took a 1/2 day today from work, and took them to petsmart (needed more Natures Miracle). Let them per a few times before going in, and he still marked in the store. Maybe I shoulda named him Magic or Sharpie...? Homeboy is clearly a marker.
Taking it in stride as best as I can, and gonna keep working on it. 
not-so little stinker. 
(can ya tell I'm a little excited?)
New Pup, Having A Tough Time
in Training and Behavior discussion
Posted
I don't want to say this too loudly, but he's been accident free for six days.....!
The ONLY thing that's been different is that I've been telling him that he's been doing so well keeping his pants dry when I check.
Day seven has begun.