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Walking as a pack really helped with our grey. We would be walking the same route every day and it was fine. However, in the morning, my husband could not walk with us and therefore he would only walk as far as he needed to do his business. Once that was taken cared of, he wanted to turn around and go back home or he froze. I tried everything you mentionned. The moment I accepted that we would only walk as far as he wanted was when all started to get better. We would walk some, business was done, then he would freeze, I would call him over, he would do a few step then stops and all successful attemps at walking were rewarded with us going back home. One day he decided he would do the whole walk with me and so we did. And now he is a walking machine. It took about a month for him to stop hesitating on walks. In the begining, lots of cookies were involved and even having only one paw outside was rewarded. I also did a few in and out just so he wouldn't associate passing the threshold with a frightening walk.

I am sorry for your lost, run free Master

Oh my, rest well Miss Barb. Sending prayers to her family and friends.

I used it for SA and it did work wonders. At the time Jack was crated and almost all "bad behaviors" stopped. They returned after about the end of the 3rd week. Then we tried the diffuser and we had the same results. If it is stress related, it might just work quite well! I was very skeptical at first but then when we open the bag containing the collar, Jack kept sniffing around so there is definitely something about it!

I am sorry about your loss. She will be free and without worry now

I had the same "problem" with my grey when he first came home. He would only walk in the back yard in our snow cleared paths. Then we could go into the forest where everything was interesting and quiet. Then we could walk in the neighborhood but only when ALL the resident of the house came along (that is me and DH) and it took a solid month before I was able to walk him alone even though he attached to me. It does not matter the exercise just now. I found that they are tired just learning so much new things. Get him out of your house solely for business purpose and eventually he'll want to stay longer and longer As for jumping into the car, we tossed a high value treat on the seat and then waited. He put his front paw in the foot section of the backseat and then I blocked him from turning around with my leg. At first he did need some convincing and I would gently raise his bum bum to help him into the car. Now I only have to open the car door and he jumps right in!

I am not overly concerned about having to walk him, it is more for convenience that we want to (re)train him Thanks for the suggestions so far! This morning was fine, it only took 2-3 minutes Granted we haven't been in his spot for a few days and now the shrubs had leaves on it.

OMG I love the idea of visual markers! And Hubcitypam, that is just hilarious!!!! Did Kasey finally got over his fear of the snow during the years or is it a continuous learning process? To answer Johberry, He could always go into the forest behind our house but it gets so distracting that 1. choosing a place to pee takes forever and 2. He wants to go for a walk to see things and follow scents. What we do is up, breakfast, then pee (Otherwise he rushed to pee and would be dripping inside after breakfast), little play session, wait for mommy to be ready, go for a long walk. When we come back home, we go for another walk, then it's dinner time, sometimes he gets an outing in the evening (but usually he holds it until his final walk) So quite similar to your routine!

We have had Jack since December (full of snow) and since it melted we have been having trouble making him "go" in the yard. A bit of background : He has always been peeing in the same spot all winter first thing in the morning and then sometimes in the evening. Everyday. For the last five months. However with no snow, at first he looked for the bits of snow to pee on, and then just like that one morning, there was no snow to pee on and we had a dog that wouldn't pee in our yard. We don't have a fenced yard, so he is leashed walked, but he has absolutely no need of any privacy and will go whenever he pleases. However, I feel like he doesn't want to go anymore because he wants to go walking/marking (my guess). However, sometimes we would rather just go outside the door and back in than go for a walk, even a short one. Also he empties a lot more in the yard than during a short walk, so a pee in the yard would equal maybe 2-3 walking pee/mark. Anyway I wanted to retrain him to go in the yard in his usual spot and was wondering what would the best approach be: Take him out to his spot, say " Jack pee pee" and wait him out? (We can stand there 20-30 minutes rain or shine where he will whine - to go for a walk. When he does pee, I give him a cookie WHILE he pees and then we have a play session outside or a walk. Only time he gets a cookie for peeing) or Take him out to his spot, then if he doesn't produce in like 5 minutes take him back in without saying anything and try out again later? or (insert suggestion here) Maybe the "area" is not properly clean or interesting enough? It is right by the side of our hedge, so plenty of "poles" to mark, plus there is smallish and bigger rocks, grass, sand, plants...and it is quite large, I really don't understand where his stubborness comes from! Thanks for the input!

Agreed with Batterseabrindl and GeorgeofNE. Remember, you can never do enough alone training. and more importantly, you can't rush it. Maybe also she is not used to holding it for that long. Maybe a dog walker or a visit from you midday would help her? I highly recommend the DAP diffuser and radio

Because you haven't had him for a long time, my guess is that he is holding a reserve for marking. At first mine would pee once and be fine but as time advanced, he started to hold more and more to mark. Therefore, a turnout in the yard is not enough for him to completly empty out. Try doing a short walk before bedtime and let him mark a few times. We have no problem sleeping in with this routine Keep us posted!

Jack hated his crate at first as well because of the sound the plastic tray was making. Feeding him IN his crate (We hang the bowl at the end of his crate) helped a lot. He also received all kind of fun treats in and was crated for some time after his dinner. He was crated for the first 2 months or so and he would push the bedding away and destroy everything in his crate. That was separation anxiety however. After those 2 months, we found he did much better out of his crate. If you are concern about your house, don't hesitate to muzzle! They still can do their kong and drink water. We also leave the blinds open (up high if need be) so he can see outside. Sometimes that helps, sometimes not, you have to see what works for her. A DAP diffuser would also help and music when you leave. But your best bet is to start working on alone training.

My Jack spits out carrots too, but when I don't mix well into his dinner, he eats his carrots first thing!

Hi, first of all, congratulation for the newest addition of your mom, she will enjoy the ride! Secondly, We had some separation anxiety with our Jack as well. He was crated at first for house training purposes and also he did not do very well when left loose and would rammed the front door and jump excitedly to bark on the couches, something he never attempted when we were home. Alone training worked for an extent but if we did too many repetition in a day he would start howling at the mere sight of us approaching the door, even though all we were doing was opening it and closing it. He seemed to be better when there was the morning routine attached to us leaving (my husband leaving, us walking, me fixing my hair and then kong + crate + leaving) At first we also did something that seemed to help momentarily for the barking. We did ins and outs of the house and if ALL THE TIME he was quiet (minor whining didn't count) we would give him a cookie. So let's say he was in his crate without his kong, we would go out, right back in - if quiet - cookie. If he barked, we left. That taught him that barking made us leave. (You still have to address the anxiety however) We did about 10 repetitions and then stopped. We did some more again later. And gradually we extended the time. But as you probably know, we could not let him escalate into barking. It took us about 2 months and a half to really come home to a happy hound. What helped a lot is a DAP diffuser (or collar, whichever you prefer). We were a bit skeptical at first but it really made a huge difference. You still need to train though. And I am guessing time and routine helped as well. We ditched the crate about 2 months in. He escaped and it was getting dangerous to crate him. We were afraid that the ramming of the door would be an issue, but we were willing to take a leap of faith and come back home if we see anything going wrong. We closed off all bedrooms and the basements because otherwise he kept going from windows to windows to look for us. That way he only had one window to worry about. He stayed in the kitchen and part of the living room with the radio on and his kong. His crate was still set up and open but he could get in/out at will. We started with him having access to a smallish space to limit his roaming. In about 3-4 days he stopped pacing (he would pace for up to an hour when we left and then intermitally every 10-20 minutes or so until we would get home.) Then after that time, we openned the living room, but blocked off the couches since he used to get on them to howl. After a few days again he was fine with that new space. We have since then openned the basement to him, but all the rooms upstairs remain closed off for now (although I am sure he would be fine now). To this day (5 months in) my husband and I can't leave at the same time. He leaves, I give Jack his Kong, turn on the radio and tell him bye bye. If we leave at the same time, there is a good chance that he will follow us to the door and him actually seeing us leave both creates some agitation. We like to leave him in a calm state. Jack significantly got worse about a month in before getting better. It is like they are trying their best before giving up. I know how you feel. Even in a house the neighbors could hear him howling when they were outside. But don't give up, it will get better I promise

We never had this problem as Jack as always been leashed walk and obviously he couldn’t hold it forever! In your case, I suggest maybe to tie 2 leashes together to give her a little “privacy” and maybe turn your back if she starts sniffing around. Eventually she will have to go, it might take a little time at first but I am sure she will catch on quite fast!

Do you have a harness? We slipped Jack's harness on him, picked him up like a suitcase and hop we did the stairs together. I made sure to put him between me and the wall so he wouldn't go anywhere else. At first his leg went all over the place, but it was the only way for us to make him learn. In 3 days (we didn't do a lot of repetitions because stairs wasn't essential at our house) he got into the basement all by himself because he wanted to follow mommy. Good luck!

Sounds to me like he is telling you he needs to go again. We have always done a walk right before bed, that way I know Jack is completely empty (both ways!) when we go to bed. We never had an accident at night. Maybe you can try that? Male often hold reserves to mark and maybe since it has been two weeks, he may want to start marking so he holds a reserve for later. Ours took a couple of weeks to start marking and now he holds more and more so we really need to empty him with a walk when we are leaving for longer periods of time or before bedtime. For the wandering, we keep ours closed in the bedroom with us. There is nothing to do and nowhere to go, so he just sleeps! Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Well that seemed to do it this morning, we will see how it goes and monitor him carefully Thank you for the suggestion!

We will try to feed him first thing tomorrow and let you know

No, in the morning, he is solely taking the water I put in his kibble. I have always put more or less the same amounts and never visit the water bowl again (in the morning)

I confirm, he does hold a reserve for his walk. Although he does pee a significant amount in the morning and he is not rushing to go when we go for our walk half an hour later... His last exam was in December.

Thank you! Nothing happenned yesterday, but this morning again the same thing. Out for business, breakfast, dog puzzle, then when my boyfriend was petting him - leak... I took his urine pH this morning (first pee) and it was 7.0-7.5. Doesn't confirm much... Would you recommend a urinalysis first or straight take the dog in?

So it basically says it all! In the morning, we take Jack (3 years old, been with us for 3 months) out first thing in the morning where he pees and then we go back in where he gets breakfast. Then I get ready (around half an hour or so) and we go for a walk. However, this past 2 days I have noticed that after his meal, he stretches (not unusual) then when he get back up on 4 vertical legs, a tiny bit of urine drips. It must be in total the size of 2-3 quarters. I don't know if either I haven't noticed it before or if he just started doing this, but it seems to be only after eating. I doubt it is because he have to go again in such a short time (He is not rushing on our walk). He is able to hold it all day when we are working and all night also. It really is just after eating... Is this normal? Jack doesn't even seem to notice...

Adorable!!! Congratulation!

I second the collar + leash combo! Jack doesn't even need the leash at this point, just knowing he is wearing his martingale is enough for him to follow me