Peeing

[Guest wdlndgreasil]

Beautiful shaggy area rug in the bedroom. Peed on 1x and had to be replaced back in January.

 

New beautiful shaggy rug. Rolled up every day before we go to work so it doesn't get peed on again. Cleaning lady unrolled to vaccuum yesterday. Beautiful shaggy rug - discovered when we went to roll it up today - had been peed on AGAIN.

Guessing this occurred b/c the rug never got rolled back up after it was vaccuumed? Or maybe missed her pie-eye "I have to go potty" look last night so she went & peed?

 

Fight. Yelling. Toss rug out to porch. Toss dog out to porch - in the rain. Doesn't want dog back in the house because she keeps peeing. [well the dog tossing was figurative, not literal]. Even later to work because I took the time to roll up the rug & put it under the porch so it didn't get soaked. Took another 10min to corral Evie back into the house after getting yelled at & shoved out the door!

 

Not sure what to do. She's 9yrs. She's lived in a house for 7yrs - so she's not unused to living with a roof over her head. She's NOT ill - she was just at the vet and everything medically is fine with her. Her best greyhound buddy Tara just died back in November so she's been alone for the first time ever for almost 6mo now.

 

Only real change is that we've been putting her in the soft crate at night. Tired of her sleeping in bed and giving us both back pain by the morning. The crate's in the bedroom so it's not like she's being segregated except to her own sleeping area. Then she whines at 12-2am [presumably] to go to the bathroom. I let her out. [some times she doesn't go at all - just stands on the porch.] She comes back in & wants to get into bed. Then it's a 5min chase around the bedroom to get her back into the crate b/c she gets in the bed & doesn't want to leave - which contributes to annoying the other 1/2 since she inevitably ends up stepping on him at some point & waking him up too.

 

At my whits end at this point. Considering selling her to gypsies for $5 - or maybe paying gypsies to take her. Ugh! Help!

 

Oh - and the argument for getting a 2nd dog is falling out the window because the 1st dog isn't under control with the random peeing.

[TheFullHouse]

Sounds to me like there have been a lot of changes for your girl. You've decided to crate her after all these years? Her partner passed away so she's now alone and you're disciplining her for something long after the act was committed. She has no idea why your tossing her out on the porch. You have to catch her in the act for any training to work. Most hounds don't like soft sided crates they much prefer wire crates and it's going to take her a while to get used to being crated again after all this time. I'd have her checked for a urinary tract infection and if she doesn't have one. Check the carpet under the shaggy carpet, the odor of her urine may have soaked through to that carpet and she will continue to use that spot if it's not cleaned properly. Sounds like a little patience with her is in order since she's had so many new changes to accept.

Edited April 3, 2010 by JillysFullHouse

[Wonder]

Poor baby has been through a lot

[Guest Greytluv]

Poor baby has been through a lot

Is the bathroom rug the only rug she pees on? If so, I wouldn't put a rug down.

[JAJ2010]

Sounds like she can't hold it all day if she needs to go at night. Find a room to baby gate her in for the day and use a leash to walk her back into the bedroom at night. Try a wire crate and feed her meals in it so she likes her crate. Sunshine gets bedtime cookies so she darts to her crate! Lol

[Guest wdlndgreasil]

Ahhh, we have laminate/Pergo flooring in the bedroom. Just the shaggy carpet area rug. We both know punishing after the fact is pointless - I think it was just a combo of waking up late because power went out & just torqued we found it on the way out the door.

 

Again, she's not sick. Blood & urine came back from the vet not too long ago & she's fine.

 

As for the crating, we have to do it. Sleeping at night became impossible because of the way she sleeps on top of us [literally]. The soft crate is 48" and bigger than her hard crate which is only 42" [she's a small GH - only 50lbs] and we thought she'd like it better because you can see out of it much better too. Going into the crate isn't punishment for her. Simple use of "Evie, kennel" results in her going right in with no fuss - until the times she wants out to potty at 2am!!!

 

**Forgot to add:

 

We tried only leaving her in the hall during the day - comfy bed and all that, toys, bully stick, etc. but there aren't any windows. She started shaking horribly when we left for work.

 

She's not alone per se either - our neighbor comes and lets her out at least 2x/day from 20min to 2hrs weather dependent. I also started taking her to doggy day care 1x/wk [she's doing better as she's generally scared of other dogs except GH].

 

There's also plenty of nights she can sleep straight through. She used to do it all the time when Tara was here. I think it starts that she whines to be out of the crate - not because she has to potty but I let her out to potty anyway. When she's done she just wants into bed.

Edited April 3, 2010 by wdlndgreasil

[Guest TeddysMom]

Maybe it is incontinance. If she goes to sleep on the rug during the day, maybe she is just leaking and doesn't even know it. I have several older females that are on Proin because they just pee in their sleep. I use disposable or washable waterproof bed pads on top of the blankets in their crates and inside the covers of the dog beds. I have not had a problem with the Proin and I think there might be other meds you can use. No use getting upset with her, at 9yo, if there is nothing medically wrong, she might be totally unaware of what she is doing.

[Guest Greytluv]

Sounds like she's missing her friend.

[Batmom]

I'd get another urine sample to the vet and recheck for UTI. If it still shows clean, could be worth pretending she has a UTI and doing a course of antibiotics anyways. Ask George of New England about that, or me, or a dozen other people on this board ....... A low-level UTI can be hard to detect yet still make the dog uncomfortable enough to pee at odd times and be unable to hold it all night every night.

[Guest snakes]

My boy only pees in the house when his anxiety is starting to climb (and when it peaks). He tends to pee in the same predictable two spots (i gated off the first choice of the livingroom rug). i had to resort to pee pads in those spots.

I started homeopathic remedies (lucky to have a vet that is very alternative remedy friendly) that reall worked. i found after each dose of the remedy there was no peeing in the house until the anxiety started to climb again. We worked until we found a good dose and now i haven't had a pee accident in a month! Granted with still gating off the livingroom and kitchen table (the legs got peed on).

 

May be worth looking itno it sounds as if she has had plenty to make her anxious lately with the loss of her friend and the separation from you.

 

 

BTW- i feel you on reclaiming the bed, i had a long, interrupted sleep, 6 months of retraining off the bed with my two for similar reasons, my knees and bakc couldn't handle it anymore! Good luck!

[Guest scfilby]

I've got a couple of things I'm just going to put out there for thought..

 

Two accidents over ?? time does not seem random, more like accidents.

 

9 year old dogs are not as good at holding their urine as they used to be.

 

If you roll up the carpet every day, do you really need one? Seems like a pain. Laminate floor is way easier to clean..

 

I would never throw out a carpet that was peed on once.. Carpets can be cleaned, especially easily rolled up carpets..

 

Dogs have accidents. It is a fact of having a dog and needs to be expected.

 

I would close the door to your room when the pup isn't supervised.

[Guest wdlndgreasil]

I've got a couple of things I'm just going to put out there for thought..

 

Two accidents over ?? time does not seem random, more like accidents.

 

9 year old dogs are not as good at holding their urine as they used to be.

 

If you roll up the carpet every day, do you really need one? Seems like a pain. Laminate floor is way easier to clean..

 

I would never throw out a carpet that was peed on once.. Carpets can be cleaned, especially easily rolled up carpets..

 

Dogs have accidents. It is a fact of having a dog and needs to be expected.

 

I would close the door to your room when the pup isn't supervised.

 

Yeah, this is the first time she's peed in 2mo maybe? End of January was when she did it last. And it's probably my fault for not getting my ass up to let her out.

 

Admittedly the last 2yrs have been very stressful for both of us [the list is too long to get into here]...

 

I totally agree with the rug thing. I don't believe in having carpet - except small & maybe inexpensive area rugs - with pets. But, it's not my house. It's the BF house. He wants freakin rugs [And I won't get into how his male used to pee all over the house years ago due to separation anxiety]

 

He absolutely refuses to clean the carpet & put it back down saying she'll just pee again. Well maybe yes. Arguing with him is like beating my head against a wall at this point...

 

I just want Evie to be happy.

[silverfish]

 

 

We tried only leaving her in the hall during the day - comfy bed and all that, toys, bully stick, etc. but there aren't any windows. She started shaking horribly when we left for work.

 

 

She sounds like a very anxious girl, and to be frank, you and your BF arguing over here isn't helping her one bit - but you probably know that.

 

Some hounds do start to have a little trouble with incontinence as they age - Renie did. She had one or two UTIs that didn't show up in urinalysis but which DID clear up with antibiotics. There is also the hormonal kind of incontinence which can be controlled with tablets - but as someone else said, two accidents? Doesn't sound like much for a nine year old.

 

She is clearly missing her companion. I do understand about the 'no second hound' thing (I'm fighting a very slow and subtle campaign with DH about this right now ) but you might have to put some thought into solving this for her somehow. She's lost her companion and now is being denied the comfort of being on the bed with you at night, AND being crated too. Don't get me wrong - I don't allow hounds on the bed with me either, I'd wake up crippled! Just trying to see things from her point of view.

 

I'd try the DAP diffuser in your bedroom - I think it's called 'Comfort Zone' in the US. When my first grey Jim started peeing (every single night up an armchair in the lounge) I plugged one in on the advice of my vet and it worked miracles for him ... till we got him a companion. To see him relax when Renie walked in was quite something - but that's another story.

[Guest mary]

Was just having some issues as well although it sounds like your dog is sad and lonely from all the changes. It wouldn't hurt with the antibiotics. If it is anxiety we did have some luck with meds. for the anxiety in small dosage with not side effects.(amitriptyline) We also surrounded the dog with toys and bought a kong as recommended. Put some peanut butter in the kong to keep the dog occupied while you are gone.

[Guest LindsaySF]

She's lost her companion and now is being denied the comfort of being on the bed with you at night, AND being crated too. Don't get me wrong - I don't allow hounds on the bed with me either, I'd wake up crippled! Just trying to see things from her point of view.

I agree. From the dog's perspective, all these changes are bound to be unsettling, and I bet she is stressed and anxious, especially when you leave. Can you increase her walks? That will give her more bonding time with you and also give her plenty of chances to get totally empty.

[Guest twhitehouse]

Can you just close her out of your bedroom when you leave? That way you can have your rug in there and be able to just leave it down and not worry about it. She'll have free roam of the rest of the house like she's used to and have windows to look out, etc so hopefully there won't be any anxiety.

 

Sounds like the peeing could be caused by a little anxiety, etc from so many changes going on for the poor girl. Try not to get upset with her, it's not her fault. For the night time whining...sounds like she does just want out of the crate. I would take her out when she whines, put her back in...if she whines again, a simple "NO" should get her to stop after awhile.

[BluegrassGrey]

Your girl sounds just like one of my boys- Sidney.

 

He is an anxious dog, and has peed or marked in our home for the last 7 years. He has been medically checked out for UTI's amongst other things, and even treated (as Batmom suggested) for a UTI, even though his test was negative. It is a behavioral issue.

 

The only solution we've found is crating him at night, and lots of exercise. He is 9 years old this year too, but has a ton of energy- he can power walk 2 miles and still not be tired (some may be anxious energy!). But if he gets a fast, long walk right before bed, he will sleep through the night and not wake me up at his usual times of waking-2, 3, 4, 5am. No amount of running in the yard or playing with our other greys will do it- it has to be a brisk walk to tire him out!

 

Have you tried walking your girl in the evening?

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Let me preface my post with a disclaimer: I am in no way trying to be judgemental of you or your situation. I dont know you and I have not walked in your shoes.

 

Now:

From your few comments here it sounds as if your home may have some yelling and arguing going on. Short tempers, yelling, ect, have a definite effect on your greyhound. Heck it has an impact on any living creature. So with that in mind, ask yourself, is the home a bit out of control (emotionally), if so, maybe that is what could be causing the issues. Of course I would not want you to answer this here, just posing a question that you may want to think long and hard about.

 

Chad

[ivon]

Sometimes the seniors, especially girls can't hold it so well anymore, when they have to go, they have to go NOW. That's when rugs get replaced with washable, rubber backed rugs, if there is an accident throw it in the washer, or as others suggested, close the door to that room. If the gypsies even want him, I would try offering DBF up to them, maybe ask less than $5 though.....

[Ullaluv]

Let me preface my post with a disclaimer: I am in no way trying to be judgemental of you or your situation. I dont know you and I have not walked in your shoes.

 

Now:

From your few comments here it sounds as if your home may have some yelling and arguing going on. Short tempers, yelling, ect, have a definite effect on your greyhound. Heck it has an impact on any living creature. So with that in mind, ask yourself, is the home a bit out of control (emotionally), if so, maybe that is what could be causing the issues. Of course I would not want you to answer this here, just posing a question that you may want to think long and hard about.

 

Chad

 

Decades ago, and way pre-Greyhound, and had that kind of situation. Kids screaming and fighting, and dogs, who had previously been thoroughly house broken, peeing and pooping all over the house. One daughter left for school, no more fighting kids, and NO MORE peeing or pooping in the house.

[Guest IrskasMom]

Sometimes the seniors, especially girls can't hold it so well anymore, when they have to go, they have to go NOW. That's when rugs get replaced with washable, rubber backed rugs, if there is an accident throw it in the washer, or as others suggested, close the door to that room. If the gypsies even want him, I would try offering DBF up to them, maybe ask less than $5 though.....

 

Ughhhhh

[Guest Swifthounds]

Beautiful shaggy area rug in the bedroom. Peed on 1x and had to be replaced back in January.

 

What's the rug made of that it couldn't be cleaned and had to be tossed?

 

 

Not sure what to do. She's 9yrs. She's lived in a house for 7yrs - so she's not unused to living with a roof over her head. She's NOT ill - she was just at the vet and everything medically is fine with her. Her best greyhound buddy Tara just died back in November so she's been alone for the first time ever for almost 6mo now.

 

Only real change is that we've been putting her in the soft crate at night. Tired of her sleeping in bed and giving us both back pain by the morning. The crate's in the bedroom so it's not like she's being segregated except to her own sleeping area. Then she whines at 12-2am [presumably] to go to the bathroom. I let her out. [some times she doesn't go at all - just stands on the porch.] She comes back in & wants to get into bed. Then it's a 5min chase around the bedroom to get her back into the crate b/c she gets in the bed & doesn't want to leave - which contributes to annoying the other 1/2 since she inevitably ends up stepping on him at some point & waking him up too.

 

Sounds like a lot of big changes in a short amount of time.

 

Sounds to me like there have been a lot of changes for your girl. You've decided to crate her after all these years? Her partner passed away so she's now alone and you're disciplining her for something long after the act was committed. She has no idea why your tossing her out on the porch. You have to catch her in the act for any training to work. Most hounds don't like soft sided crates they much prefer wire crates and it's going to take her a while to get used to being crated again after all this time. I'd have her checked for a urinary tract infection and if she doesn't have one. Check the carpet under the shaggy carpet, the odor of her urine may have soaked through to that carpet and she will continue to use that spot if it's not cleaned properly. Sounds like a little patience with her is in order since she's had so many new changes to accept.

 

 

Very well put.

 

Oh - and the argument for getting a 2nd dog is falling out the window because the 1st dog isn't under control with the random peeing.

 

You can't control a dog by constantly changing the routine and by not being patient when she has suffered a tremendous loss. You can teach a dog how to live peaceably in a human world - but you have to put in time, patience, and training. Simply rolling up a rug, putting a previously uncrated dog in a crate, or tossing her out on the porch doesn't teach her anything - at least not anything other than you're not to be trusted.

 

 

 

As for the crating, we have to do it. Sleeping at night became impossible because of the way she sleeps on top of us [literally]. The soft crate is 48" and bigger than her hard crate which is only 42" [she's a small GH - only 50lbs] and we thought she'd like it better because you can see out of it much better too. Going into the crate isn't punishment for her. Simple use of "Evie, kennel" results in her going right in with no fuss - until the times she wants out to potty at 2am!!!

 

Why do you have to crate? You could get her a dog bed and train her to sleep there at night. That would be less traumatic of a change to her and would serve the purpose of getting her out of your bed.

 

I'm not a fan of the dogs in bed concept in general, especially since folks start with one hound, get it used to the bed, and then add another. At a certain point you will have too many dogs for safety and comfort in the bed and/or you'll reach a point where it isn't comfortable or safe to sleep with just one. When you reach that point, you have to put the time into retraining the dog.

 

All of mine have been trained to sleep on dog beds or blankets on the floor, and have also been trained that they may be permitted on a bed or on furniture, but do not invite themselves.

 

 

She's not alone per se either - our neighbor comes and lets her out at least 2x/day from 20min to 2hrs weather dependent. I also started taking her to doggy day care 1x/wk [she's doing better as she's generally scared of other dogs except GH].

 

Doggy day care for a dog that is afraid/anxious around other breeds is very stressful. It's NOT an ideal environment to condition a dog to other breeds and will just make an insecure dog more insecure.

 

I've got a couple of things I'm just going to put out there for thought..

 

Two accidents over ?? time does not seem random, more like accidents.

 

9 year old dogs are not as good at holding their urine as they used to be.

 

If you roll up the carpet every day, do you really need one? Seems like a pain. Laminate floor is way easier to clean..

 

I would never throw out a carpet that was peed on once.. Carpets can be cleaned, especially easily rolled up carpets..

 

Dogs have accidents. It is a fact of having a dog and needs to be expected.

 

I would close the door to your room when the pup isn't supervised.

 

Very good advice.

[Guest GreyRabbit]

You have a lot of great responses here to work with, but I wanted to add my two cents!

 

Recently adopted a re-homed 7 y/o male who was a casualty of a divorce. Peeing at night, dribbling if very comfortable/relaxed, waking me up in the middle of the night to go out, vet visits see nothing in blood or urine. We gave him a full round of antibiotics just in case...rechecked blood and urine afterwards and still nothing but the problems are still there.

 

My vet and I have come to the conclusion that he just can't hold it that long. Has a weak bladder, he is good for 3-4 hours, but nothing over that. I just let him out at night, hired someone to come in the middle of the day, and pay close attention to him.

 

Moral of my story is, some things just are. If you love your dog you deal.

 

And again, as Chad said above, I'm not going to judge your situation and am sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know..., but when I first moved in with my bf (who has never had so much as a goldfish) he didn't understand the ways of dogs, was annoyed that he had to wipe muddy paws once in awhile, hated the sound of barking, etc. He eventually came around, (mostly because I told him, "this is my child", it is a package deal!). Six years later he has his own dog (hand picked from the shelter) and you wouldn't even recognize that guy who complained about a few stray hairs on the tablecloth! I hope your story ends as happily as mine. Try telling your bf that if peeing on a rug once a month is a big deal, let him try living at my house, lol, we should buy stock in Nature's Miracle!

 

Good luck!