jsullysix

Brief update - no real changes to report. He'll still pee in his belly band once or twice a day. Oh, he also got up on the couch and ripped it up a little while I assume he was trying to fluff it up. I've heard that laying tinfoil on a couch (or something you don't want them to get on) can help, so I put some sheets of tinfoil on the couch when I have to leave. Still doing the alone time training, and there are days when he's gone 2 hours and stayed dry, and there are days (like today) that he'll pee in the house after 30 minutes. Took him on an extra long walk this morning to empty him out, set up the webcam on Ustream, and was bummed when I saw him lift his leg in the living room. I'm going home for lunch today (my wife is visiting her mother whose alzheimers is getting worse), and I hope that if nothing else, the belly band contained the whizz. The Spotbot Pet carpet shampooer is getting a workout, for sure. I really wish I could pull up all of the carpet and have concrete floors. I guess the positive thing about the Ustream/webcam setup is that I can see/hear what he's like when I leave, and I'm wondering if this is less SA related and more house training related. Granted, he generally will only wet his belly band when he's alone (or if someone isn't keeping an eye on him at all times like I've asked, which is maddening), but he isn't barking/panting/crying/whining/chewing when I leave. So there's a positive there. I think at this point, the only way this will work is if he's leashed to someone in the house during the day, which isn't possible at the moment. I am going to be working from home beginning 10/1, so I'll have a bit more time, but I really hope that we can make some progress somehow before then. It's definitely been frustrating. Sully

A bit of progress yesterday morning; alone for just under 2 hours. Dry pants. Whee! My wife had to go to work at 2:00pm yesterday, and when my son got home at 4, there was pee all over the tile, and a couple of spots on the carpet, but he claimed his pants were dry. Twilight Zone. I don't think that it was my girl, Nico; she never has accidents in the house. His band was kinda stinky, so maybe that absorbed it? I dunno. I set up a camera and have been watching them on Ustream since they've been alone; it's been just over 2 hours now, and they've been laying down for most of the time. Haven't seen him lift his leg up, so I'm assuming his pants are still dry, but will know when my wife gets home in a little bit. I really hope he's successful and I wonder if mornings are easier since they sleep most of that time anyway. Then again, we've had all kindsa morning accidents. I guess I should stop overthinking it and just keep watching. Sully

Update 2: alone for same amount of time, same results. He's clearly not ready for 2 hours yet, but there are going to be times when it's unavoidable.

Update 1: Was alone for about 2 hours, peed in his pants, but at least it was contained. Not too surprised, since he was alone for 2 hours.

Thanks again, Batmom, I hope we're getting there.

Thanks Batmom. As an aside, while my post count is very low, I remember your pup, Batman, who had the roman nose. Growing up loving Batman as a kid, I always got a kick out of the fact that somewhere out there, someone was saying "c'mon, Batman! Let's go outside and pee!" or "hmmmm, I wonder if Batman would like this kind of kibble?" or "Batman just got neutered yesterday, so he's feeling a little sore" or something similar. When we adopted the new boy (we named him Banksy, after the street artist, because they both seem to enjoy marking on walls), we found out his racing name was San Tan Superman. Since he's so big and strong, Superman was definitely in the running for a name. Yesterday was a good day; he did have some alone time (the longest was about an hour and 5-10 minutes or so), and did well. He wasn't alone for much of the day, but I'm really happy that he made it alone for an hour. My wife said that they slept most of the morning, and she saw a positive sign that he might be "getting it"; around 11:00, he and his sister came over to her as if to say "time to pee", so she let them out, and he peed right away. Sweet. He was great after I got home, but he also tried to raise his leg in the house again. Weird. I haven't seen him do that since week 1. Something about that tells me that mayyyyyybe he's figuring stuff out...? I know that seems odd, but it's almost as if he's thinking "okay, I don't pee when they leave.....soooo, maybe try this leg lifting thing real quick?" I dunno, I'm probably overthinking things (which isn't something I'm often accused of). Today will be somewhat of a challenge, as he will be alone for about an hour and a half or so this morning, and then probably for about the same time this afternoon. I'm not super confident about it, but I'm hoping the not so little dude will make us proud. He's got a Kong and a Bento Ball filled with treats. Fingers crossed. Sully

Wasabi303, I'm going through this too, but my guy pees instead of howls. We're in the same boat though, and reading silverfish's detailed alone time training (I was doing most of that), was also helpful, so thanks!

Yeah, will call the vet today and get a round of antibiotics for him, just in case. I really don't think that it's a UTI, since it seems like he pees as a result of a trigger (me or anyone else being gone), but since the vet was open to treating it just in case, then why not. He stays dry overnight, yeah. Pooped in the house once, but that was my fault: I let him out first thing in the morning to pee, and after he did, I fed him and took care of some laundry while he was eating. He was done before I was, and he pooped. That was the only time, and I just wasn't fast enough. I'm thankful that his only response to being alone has been peeing in his pants; he hasn't been destructive in the house, nor has he pooped in the house while alone. Will consider the anti anxiety meds after we get through a round of antibiotics. It's been a busy weekend, so I apologize for the timeliness of my reply. So far, we haven't had any days like last Thursday (my "one step forward, 8,000 back" day), but he also hasn't been alone in the house for longer than 50 minutes or so since that post. I mentioned that I had a guitar building class at my garage workshop over the weekend and I was able to get back into the house to check on him every 45-50 minutes or so while I was the only one at home. Once my wife came home from work or when my son was up (22 year old that sleeps in on the weekends), they were on duty, so to speak,and it went okay. It's been a long weekend, but I remember that he had 2 pee episodes on Friday (once after our 30min morning walk where he got to the point that he'd lift his leg and nothing came out), and I think once around 5pm (just before I came in to feed him). I think we may have been all clear or had one episode Saturday, and I remember one on Sunday morning. The two morning episodes were after a long walk, and when I had to pee (sorry for the TMI). I've been in regular contact with the group, so they're aware of how things have been going. I haven't brought up a potential return because I REALLY don't want to do that. It's clear that he's happy here and he really loves being with us, but there will be times when my wife has to go to work, and he's just going to have to be alone for a while. She's home today until 3pm, and I may or may not be able to leave a bit early, but I'm not super certain that I can (especially after being off for a week). I can go home for lunch each day this week if my wife won't be home, so that might help a bit, too. Honestly, I'm concerned how this weekend will go, as I have another class on Saturday and Sunday, and my wife is going to visit her folks in Tennessee for the weekend and leaves on Friday. I'm hoping that he will improve if we stick to our routine (I let them out first thing in the morning, feed them, let them back out, then walk them for 30min in the morning), give him a KONG or a flavored bone when we have to go, and try to keep him under his threshold as best as we can while trying to add time gradually. The nice thing is that I'll be working from home at my own business effective 10/1, so if we can keep building his alone time threshold until then (he's good for about 45-50 minutes), things will be a bit easier for him. Granted, me just being home won't necessarily fix the problem, but I'm hoping that he'll have some steady improvement leading up to that time. Sully

Honestly, I don't know.

And the hits keep coming. One step forward, 8,000 back. Today he peed more inside the house than out of it. I'm at my wits end. He can't be crated because he'll destroy them, he can't be confined to a smaller area (he's big and knocks down baby gates with ease), he can't have more than 35 minutes alone, and while my wife's schedule is somewhat flexible, there are times when she has to, y'know, go to work. I'm absolutely gutted. He's truly a very sweet boy and it's clear that he's very happy here. It's also clear that no matter what I try and how regimented I make his life, I've not been able to get him to not pee in the house. I wish that he had some kinda "I need to go out and pee" sign, but he doesn't. I've been off work all week for vacation, and I had planned to work on his alone time and get him on a schedule. And then my back went out Saturday playing with him in the yard; coincidentally, I was praising him for peeing outside, jumped up and down, and then felt a twinge and was out of commission for a while. I've got a weekend commitment (teaching a guitar building class at home), and yes, I can try to be in the house every 30-40 minutes to see if his pants are dry, if he's okay, or if he needs to go out, but it's not super likely that I'll be able to. Everyone else in the house will be in and out, and I just don't have any more answers, and I can't resolve myself to having him in a belly band for the rest of his life. I'm out of ideas, I'm out of positivity, and I'm out of kleenex from crying about it. Just. Ugh.

Yep, everyone has been grey savvy for years and helping. Only setback today was my fault; shoulda put the water dish away after the last turnout. Well, at least it was on the tile.

Brief pupdate: crate is gone and we're up to 25 minutes of alone time while maintaining dry pants. I'm keeping the belly band on him for the most part so that he doesn't associate bands with me leaving the house.

I'll go for drives, then. I have been in the garage quietly, so I didn't think he would be able to tell if I was home or not, but I will get in the car today. Had another episode of him peeing while I was in the bathroom; this time it happened after we got back in from a 45 minute walk. Whenever this happens (twice so far), it always seems to be tied to a specific event; I am not around, or he can't see me. It's kinda like how batmom mentioned that he knew I was there, but couldn't get to me, and it may have been driving him nuts. It really doesn't seem like a UTI issue to me, as this never happens when we are all together, relaxing, but I guess there's no harm in treating him for it. He does go out a lot, but he doesn't always pee; I think that like batmom said, it could be somewhat related to him still getting settled. It does help when his sister will go pee, and then he will pee on her pee, and then she will pee on his pee. It's actually kind of funny. So far, I can't tell if he likes the Kong or not, and I'm not noticing a difference with the dap diffuser. Not sure how long that sort of thing takes to work or not, or if it's helping somewhat and I'm just not aware. But we will keep on with it. Also considering picking up a thundershirt, but I don't know just yet.

Great info, thank you! He did pee through his depends while Mrs. Sully was out this morning, but today's alone time went well, overall. He was quiet at 5 and 10 minutes, but I could hear him bark at 14:57. I was planning in coming in at 15 minutes, so I did. His pants were dry. I'm interpreting the bark as the first sign that he's at his threshold, so I'll keep working on the 15 minute mark. I'm not paying attention to him when I leave or come back, either. Odd thing is that in between some of the tests, I did an "out of sight in another room test". I went in a bathroom for 3 minutes and closed the door; he peed. Interesting. Thanks again, and I'll keep up the updates. Sully

Thanks 3greyjoys! One thing that I should have clarified; my earlier post about picking up the DAP and Kongs and his dry pants was posted at a time when I just got home with the Kong and DAP, and just did a pants check. We did have a really good night, but I'm considering letting him sleep in his crate; he sleeps much more soundly in there (even with the door closed) than he does outside of his crate (but on a bed). I'm assuming he's okay with sleeping in his crate because: 1. That's how it was at his foster home 2. We're all sleeping in the same room I did some alone time training with him last night; we went from 1 minute to 5 with no problems, and he had a good walk, so he was really relaxed. I thought that the DAP was assisting with that, but there's no way to really know. My wife had to work a little bit this morning out of the house (she's a figure skating coach/choreographer), and we decided to let him stay out of the crate, but have the Kong. It was in the freezer with peanut butter filling overnight, and I don't know if he likes it; I'm at work, and we're trying it out this morning. So he's got a belly band on, a Kong, his sister, and two DAP diffusers in the main room that he's in (Our house is mostly open, so I have one at either end of the room). Mrs. Sully will be home in about 45 minutes, and I'm hoping that he's had some progress. I most likely will be leaving work early today (stick it to the man!), so he may not have any unavoidable alone time today. I'll work with him more on alone training. My question about the alone training is this; how do I know that he's staying under threshold if I'm not in the house? Is it more of a "he had no accidents at 5 minutes, but he had accidents at 10 minutes, so let's try 7 minutes" kind of thing? Thanks, and wish us luck. I'm feeling like there's at least some things that can help him while we're out (Kong, DAP), but I don't want to put all of my faith in those things and have setbacks. Granted, setbacks are going to happen, but I'm hoping to lessen the setbacks, if you will. Sully

haven't heard of that, but will check it out! The DAP diffuser might be the greatest thing ever. He's been a rather good boy this evening. Granted, he usually is a good boy at night, but we've not had any issues and he's not been wearing any pants since I've been home from work. Sully

Home with 2 DAP diffusers and a Kong. He's got dry pants. Allllllriiiiiiiite.

Thanks Chad! GO is definitely a great group; I really enjoyed the meet and greets and helped foster a bit before I moved to Dallas. Was very sad to hear of Suzan's passing in July; my first grey was her first foster and we remained close over the years. Miss her a lot. Sully

Thanks Carronstar! He seems to do whatever he's gonna do within the first 5-10 minutes or so. Glad that the DAP diffuser worked for you; I'll definitely get one on my way home today. I'm also off work all next week, but have a fair amount of work to do in my garage (I build guitars). I think it'll work well for alone training since I can come and go as much as I need to. Granted, I have work that I need to get done, but I can give him 5-15 minute intervals of alone time for a while and stretch it out during the week. I hope that will be enough to settle him in, or at least a solid start. Sully

Thank you (and everyone else) for the kind words and support! Also bought a 52 pack of Depends. I joked with the cashier and asked her to hurry because I drank a lot of iced tea a little while ago. Chatted with the adoption group and we kinda agree that this is more in the realm of SA and hopefully just getting settled in. I just discovered the DAP diffuser; anyone have good results with it? I'm going to pick one up on the way home. And really, look at that face; he's the sweetest thing ever and is such a good boy. He just hates it when he's alone (even with his brindle companion, Nico). Sully

Morning went fine; free roam, banded, no problems. Wife let him out to pee before she left for alone time (15 min). Came home to soaked band on the tile. Also knocked his food dish over (no big deal). He's been fine since she got home. Seems more like SA than potty training to me. Buying a kong and stuffing for it and hope that'll help a little.

It's all good; thanks for the tip!

I wonder if she knows my new kid. Destroyed his crate during the day, wants to sleep in it at night. Weirdo.

The vet and I talked about how there's always a possibility of a UTI not showing up in the test, and if things don't seem to improve, we can treat him for it just in case. He does drink a fair amount of water, but I don't know that I'd call it excessive. As I think about what was going on in most of the belly band soaking events, it's generally me returning home. That was the case when I got home from work last night; my son had let him out, he peed three times, and had his dry belly band put back on. I got home less than ten minutes after he was back inside, and he had peed the band (even with maxi pads in it, it leaked). Trying that this morning. Thanks! I keep maxi pads in the band, but might switch to something intended for the issue, as there have been a few times where he soaked the pads to the point where they leaked. Agreed, and thanks for acknowledging that! I've had greys since 2002, but haven't brought a new one home in about 7 years. I know he's not trying to get out because he has to pee, he has been checked for a UTI, and I do put pads in the belly band. He slept out of a crate last night, even though he seemed confused that he wasn't going to go to bed in his crate. I know I kinda mentioned it last night, but when it was time for everyone to go to bed, he happily started to trot into his crate (I fixed it). If there were beds in there, I might have let him sleep in there with the door open (and still might give him that option), but since I had beds out of the crate and I'd already set up a spot for him on the floor, I stuck to that. I think I slept with one eye open; he generally sleeps quietly and through the night in his crate, but any collar jangle woke up up (which isn't a big deal). The crate thing is weird; he'll sleep in one happily at night, but he clearly doesn't like it anymore when no one is home and he's crated. He had free roam of his foster house and slept in a crate alongside of 4 other dogs in a crate, so I guess he's okay with a crate at bedtime. I woke up early this morning, took both kids for a walk (he peed about 3x), fed them and let them out a little later, and he pooped and peed a little. My wife is home this morning, so he's banded and not crated, but I closed him in our bedroom with our other grey, and my wife (I left before she had to be up). When I closed the door, I could hear him (or someone) pawing at the door a little. My wife told me that he wanted to paw at the door, but she gave him a "NO" and he then went to lay down. No barking, and his pants are dry. When we're home and can watch him like a hawk, I think that we may unband him, but I'm not 100% sure on that just yet. I did that last night with no issue, but I don't want to keep changing EVERYTHING if that makes sense. Sully

Thanks all. Shutting it down for the night, and he goes to get in his crate. Weirdo. I was able to fix it, but I think we'll try sleeping on a bed outside of his crate (but with us). Wish us luck. Sully