Going To The Bathroom In The House

[Guest sydneysmom]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm having a new problem with my 3 year old greyhound. I got her in October, and after crate training her, I was able to start letting her out in part of the house while at work, out shopping, etc. This was since about December. However, since Tuesday of this week she has started going to the bathroom in the house while I'm at work (both pee and poop)! She's alone for about 6-7 hours, from 9:30AM/10AM (dependent on the day)- 4PM. Nothing in her schedule has changed, nothing in her diet has changed. The weather has been a little weird, but that's about it. I don't understand what happened! Nothing has changed, but suddenly my well behaved housetrained dog has disappeared!

 

Any suggestions on how to get her back to normal?

 

Thanks!

[GeorgeofNE]

You need to rule out a medical problem before you get too worried about her being not housebroken!

[Guest sydneysmom]

Oh yes, forgot to mention! That's one thing that changed, she was at the vet all day on Monday for a heart ultrasound (she has a heart murmur, but nothing has changed since her last check). Prior to that she was at the vet for a general check up in mid December (she needed a shot for doggie daycare). So unless it was something that crept up super suddenly, I can't imagine that it's a health issue. However, I will keep that in mind!

 

Thanks!

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Doggie daycare, explain. That is something that could be a change.

[Guest sydneysmom]

She hasn't been to daycare since the day before New Years, but it was basically an all day play session for her. I live in a townhouse so she doesn't get much off leash time/socialization time, so I found a place nearby that does "day care" for dogs (as well as boarding) in a cage free environment. Of course, I was nervous at first with having her go, but she went through an "interview" process where she socialized with other dogs for a few hours before being allowed to stay for a few days. I can't imagine that would have effected her though, given that it was about a month ago. This problem didn't start until this week.

 

Thanks!

[Batmom]

Is she doing everything she should do, pottywise, before you leave? Maybe try to get in an extra pee/poop before you go?

[Brandiandwe]

Does she have a UTI?

[Guest sydneysmom]

I don't believe she has a UTI, I haven't noticed any sort of excessive urination, but what would other signs for that be?

 

Her normal morning routine is this:

 

Wake up 5:30AM, walk from 5:35-5:45

Breakfast 5:45

Sleep 5:45-8

Walk 8-8:15

Playtime/sleep 8:15-9/9:15

Walk 9/9:15-9:30

 

Then she's in the house alone until about 4PM. I know she goes to the bathroom on her morning walk with me (the first one), and to my knowledge she is going to the bathroom normally on the second and third walks.

 

Should I bring her to the vet to be looked at? My first assumption was that this was a new behavior because when she was initally being crate trained she had some huge separation anxiety issues. She eventually came to realize that we were going to come back and calmed down, but could this be a second wave of issues?

 

Thanks!

[Batmom]

It could be some SA issues but best would be to take a urine sample to the vet (refrigerate it if you can't get it there within @ an hour) and have that checked for infection. Wouldn't hurt to take a stool sample in for parasite check as well. If they're uncomfortable in any way, potty accidents happen.

 

You don't always see much in the way of signs of a urinary infection.

[Guest june]

She needs a lot more walk time. 10-15 minutes twice in the morning is not enough. Looks like she needs more exercise too. A good brisk walk in the mornings before you leave could be a big help. She is only 3 years old. And I would take in a urine sample just to be sure.

Edited February 2, 2013 by june

[a_daerr]

If you can rule out a medical issue, I'd go back to basic Housebreaking 101 with the crate. You could also confine her to a smaller area with baby gates, like the kitchen where the floors are easier to clean. Reward her like crazy for pottying outside. Sometimes they just get too much 'freedom' and revert back to old habits.

[Guest sydneysmom]

Thanks everyone! I will be taking a sample to the vet on Monday. I'll see how she does this weekend when she is alone for shorter periods of time and is getting more exercise.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Also, I would switch the first walk and feeding. They typically will have to eliminate after they eat, not before. It will also encourage her to eliminate first thing in the morining if she has to eat then go outside. I would also do something similar at dinner time, you are feeding her twice a day, right? You just left off at 4pm.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Greyt_dog_lover

[Guest 18tjettagrl]

Hoepfully its not a medical issue and Everyone here has had great advice and helped me with my probelm and Victoria pooping in the kitchen. Just from my experience, Victoria I would say got off her schedule.

We've had to go to a strict routine. We walk for 30 mins 5:30-6am. She then has 30 mins to eat breakfast before we leave for work as both of us have to be there at 7am. Before we were letting her graze and learned with her we can't. She eats every bit of it as she knows we mean business. Mom or dad come let her out around 11:45 -12pm and play with her let her do her business. He sometimes beats me home so whoever gets home first feeds her dinner and she has 1 hour. It goes up after one hour. Then walkies again around 9:30.

So far so good as this has kept her schedule regular and no more accidents in the house (knock on wood). Good luck to you!! May be something as simple as what we were experiencing.

Edited February 5, 2013 by 18tjettagrl

[GeorgeofNE]

Oh yes, forgot to mention! That's one thing that changed, she was at the vet all day on Monday for a heart ultrasound (she has a heart murmur, but nothing has changed since her last check). Prior to that she was at the vet for a general check up in mid December (she needed a shot for doggie daycare). So unless it was something that crept up super suddenly, I can't imagine that it's a health issue. However, I will keep that in mind!

 

Thanks!

 

Neither of those appointments would entail checking her urine. Not even the best vet can diagnose a UTI by looking at a dog on the outside!

[Guest sydneysmom]

Thank you everyone! Sorry for being MIA, I was very busy the past couple of days.

 

Samples were taken to the vet yesterday, I should have an answer by tomorrow.

 

Our schedule after I get home (at 4) is as follows:

 

4-4:15: Walk

4:30: Dinner time

 

Then another walk when dinner is finished (normally by 6), and final walk of the night around 8:30/9. On nice days we take a ride to the park and play for about an hour after dinner. It's been below freezing every day for a couple of weeks though, so we haven't been going to the park. Park time has been replaced with inside play with stuffies.

 

I'm going to try picking up her food after giving her time to eat, maybe she is going to the bathroom in the house because she eats her breakfast too late some days?

 

She was good yesterday in the house, but pooped in the house today. Hopefully results from the vet will reveal that everything is fine and this is just behavioral.

 

Thank you again!

[Guest iclarkz]

If the dog's walking schedule hasn't changed, I am not sure how more walking will fix it.

[Guest sydneysmom]

Results are back from the vet and everything is normal; medical issue has been ruled out!

 

I'm doing an "experiment" with her currently; she was good today in the house after going to the park yesterday and playing with her BFF. Took her to the park again today, so hopefully she is good in the house tomorrow. If all it takes is a trip to the park every day to blow off some steam, then a daily trip to the park it will be! Completely understandable, she's young and we don't have a yard (townhouse), so she may just need some extra exercise/free play.

 

Thanks everyone for all your help, hopefully I have been able to figure her out!

[o_rooly]

For what it's worth, my boy had a problem over a few months of peeing in the house no matter what we did (extra walks, MUCH stricter walk schedule so that we were super-reliable, monitoring water intake -- but not restricting, etc.), and we had him checked twice for UTIs, nothing came up. He also did not pee more than usual during his usual pee-times on walks. It was only after a second round of antibiotics that weren't intended for a UTI (both rounds were for a foot puncture that was healing very slowly) that he stopped peeing in the house. Completely. He'd also had no problem with accidents prior to that timespan. I reported this to the vet at his next checkup and the vet said Oh! must have been a UTI, then....

I've given him a cranberry-extract capsule with each meal since, no further issues. (cranberry works for me, too! ) However, from what I gather, cranberry can generally only help to prevent UTIs, not treat established ones.