Meandmy

Since this post came back up thought I'd give a quick update. We are still up and down with Tori. She'll go a few days without peeing in the house, then will again for a few days in a row. A couple of weeks ago she even peed in the living room while DH was in the same room and I was in the kitchen right next to where she peed. She had gone out 30 minutes before (right before dinner) then again after dinner. So weird. Her urine culture after meds came up negative (which I expected) and we have an appointment with the vet on Thursday to see what else is going on. We'll see what happens next.

In my opinion, no, its not okay for the dog to pee in the house and I don't encourage it but I can't be home 24/7 to let her out and I can't afford to replace my rug every few months. Pads seem to be the best option. On workdays, a neighbor comes to let them out around lunchtime and we limit the amount of water we leave out. If I'm home there is an unlimited supply of water and she is very good about asking me to let her out (which is sometimes every hour). In our case, we do our best to make it so she doesn't have to pee in the house but need a contingency plan that is compatible with reality. We are also anticipating her growing older with us and want to have a system in place that will account for a time that she can't hold it long enough to ask to go out. edited because I never think I say it right the first time... I agree 100%. I never thought I would let a dog pee in the house. That being said, I still don't "let" her but she does anyway so what can I do? I'm trying to make the best of a less-than-ideal situation. Our first grey never went in the house. Our third grey only did a couple of times, but that was as an old dog and she just couldn't hold it. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of Tori's issue, but in the meantime, the less stressful her accidents are for all of us, the better.

Thanks everyone. I'm making an appointment with the vet this morning. Honestly, at her age, I'm hoping it's behavioral and just something we'll have to live with (as much as it drives us crazy ) rather than a health problem.

We're doing that and it's the only thing that is keeping us sane at this point. We bought 3 washable rugs and keep two over the area. Every time she pees on one we throw it in the wash and replace it with a clean one. I'm washing a rug just about every day

Tori is twelve years old and we've had her for over six years. It's never taken much for her to pee inside periodically. Over the past few months, however, it's gotten to the point that it's just about every day. Ugh! We tested her for a UTI and it came up negative, but the vet treated her with 10 days of Cephalexin, just in case, as that has worked in the past. We're finished with the antibiotics with no change. When we're home she shows no signs of infection and will hold it all day or night with no issues. When we're not home, however, she will sometimes pee. She also will pee if we are home but are unavailable to her (like if DH goes to work out before I get home or if I take a bath while he's in another bathroom in the house) even if she just went out 5 minutes before. I know when she gets excited she sometimes pees, so we've tried to reduce any outside stimulation by keeping the blinds closed. She always goes in the same spot. I'm sure it smells but we've done everything we can think of to get rid of any residual odor - steam cleaning multiple times and every enzyme cleaner you can think of (Nature's Miracle, Planet Urine, Anti-Icky Poo just to name a few). We're at our wits end here. What's our next step? I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Have to agree with this - it seems your DH is the problem. Get.over.it. And don't yell at the dog about it. Many to you for taking such good care of your Arlo. From the other side, I just want you to know that I understand how stressful it can be with an unhappy DH. We are currently trying to figure out a peeing issue with our Tori and DH is getting pretty frustrated as he is the one who gets home first and has to deal with any messes. He's pretty good about it, but gets irritated because he doesn't feel like it should be his responsibility as we have Tori because I wanted a second dog, not him (although he wasn't opposed). It's stressful to try to keep a DH happy while trying to figure out the best way to get through it for everyone. Hang in there!

I'm very sorry that you had to say goodbye to your sweet, goofy Saint.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Something similar to that happened to my Shadow when he was about 9 years old. An accident in the yard and he came up with his back legs paralyzed. With the quick work of the e-vet (which it sounds like your vet did as well), he regained the use of his hind legs. His back end was always weak after that, but he made a great recovery. I hope Bella does the same.

I was just going to post this question for my grabby foster. Thanks everyone for your replies!

One of the most beautiful faces I've ever seen. I'm so, so sorry for your loss.

Totall off the subject, but since you mentioned paleo, I thought I would let you know that there is a primal/paleo group here on Greytalk. We've been going for a couple years now. The thread is slow right now, but we're always happy to have new posts on the thread. Come join us!

Completely heartbreaking. I'm glad she got to know the love of a home, at least for her last while.

No worries at all - I always learn something, regardless of where GT threads end up. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being misunderstood

To quote myself: Your best bet to keep fosters off the furniture is the same way you prevent them from developing other unwanted behaviors. Teach them what you want them to do instead & supervise them or confine them when you cannot so you can ensure they do not get the opportunity to do what they shouldn't. Yeah, I was just hoping for a magic fix I hadn't thought of that would allow Tori on the sofa and not Dancer Ah well, as I said we'll teach him to stay off the sofa while we're home and he'll be crated at least for a bit while we're at work. We'll cross the bridge of him having free reign when we come to it. Thanks!

I appreciate everyone's input, but I don't think I'm being clear enough here. I will not be letting my foster on the furniture. That is not the issue. My question is, what is the best way to keep the foster off the furniture (especially when we are not home) given the fact that our resident dog is allowed on the furniture? Do I need to blockade the sofa so that my dog can't get on it in order to keep the foster dog off? I'm sure I'm not the first person in this situation and would love to hear how others handle it. BTW, my foster is at another fosterer's house until I can take him this weekend and has already tried to get up on their furniture so I know this is going to be an issue. Thanks!

It's not the fairness thing (although I don't think it's fair ) it's that if no one was allowed on the furniture I could just block it all off when not at home. But with Tori being allowed on the furniture I'm not sure how to keep the foster off when I'm not there. I have no issue with getting him off the furniture when I'm home (except that I'll feel bad ).

We're going to be picking up a foster this weekend who is a return. From what I understand all the dogs were allowed on the furniture. I've only fostered a couple of times and neither one of them was interested in the furniture. Our Tori, on the other hand, *lives* on our sofa. I'm wondering how I can keep the foster off, especially when we aren't home? I hate to make Tori stay off as that will be confusing for her, but I will if I have to. My group has made it very clear that they don't want fosters on the furniture, regardless of the circumstances. So what should I do?

Tori is 12, but if it's arthritis it can hit at any age. My bridge-boy Shadow started showing signs of arthritis at 7. Fingers crossed that it's nothing in your case, too, but I'm glad you're taking Gracie in to be looked at.

I started a thread just like this a few weeks ago (here) asking pretty much the same question. After being urged by GTers to take Tori to the vet, I did and he examined her thoroughly. He didn't find any issues, but suggested putting her on glucosamine (in addition to the Fresh Factors and Joint Health she was already taking) just in case it is the beginnings of arthritis. And, of course, to keep an eye out and let him know if it gets any worse. It hasn't, so we're leaving things as-is for now. I don't think it would hurt to take Gracie in for a check-up, just in case.

I'm in western MA, too. You might want to post your question on the Greyhound Options page on Facebook. Lots of grey owners in our area on there and I know at least a few greys around here have corns. Hopefully someone there will be able to help. ETA: Here is the link to the Greyhound Options Facebook page