New Pup, Having A Tough Time

[jsullysix]

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

[jsullysix]

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.

[jsullysix]

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.

[jsullysix]

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

[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

[Jester]

Have you tried antibiotics? Also, we have had luck with a drug called Proin in cases like yours. It makes it a little harder to pee, so unless his bladder is full he won't have the need to go. Just some thoughts.

[jsullysix]

Thanks Jester; haven't yet, but will. Took a 1/2 day today from work, and took them to petsmart (needed more Natures Miracle). Let them per a few times before going in, and he still marked in the store. Maybe I shoulda named him Magic or Sharpie...? Homeboy is clearly a marker.

[jsullysix]

THREE HOURS!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

[Remolacha]

[jsullysix]

Started a round of antibiotics last night at dinner, No issues last night. This morning started off well; peed 2x, had a walk, and peed a fair bit. Was alone for about 2.5 hours this morning and had wet pants (but it was fresh; when Mrs Sully took off the belly band, it leaked onto the floor). Watched him on the webcam and he was pretty chilled out. I'm starting to rethink the SA and maybe he might have an issue holding it in the morning.....? I dunno. Kinda seeing some progress, but hard to tell for sure.

 

I'll also probably slow down on the updates, since they're not super exiting.

 

Sully

Edited September 17, 2014 by jsullysix

[Guest jschwe]

You seem to have gotten tons of good info, but this reminds me so much of what we went through when we adopted Superbird that I had to chime in. We went through seemingly everything you seem to be mentioning. Bird was peeing in the house, at first all the time, and then once we had convinced him not to go in the house when we were there, he would still pee 100% of the time when we left. He pretty early on decided he hated the crate and ripped it apart, cut his foot and destroyed his bed. We stopped keeping him in the crate after that and his SA symptoms completely went away, EXCEPT for the peeing. He would jump any baby gate and hurt himself in the crate, and husband and I both work, so we had to work with it as we went.

 

We used a belly band at first, but usually he would pee through it and onto the floor anyway, and we didn't want him siting on the couch when it was wet, so stopped. It didn't seem to change anything for him either way. We took him out constantly and would walk him before we both had to leave, and he'd still often 'save' a bit of pee for the floor. He got kind of better after a few weeks, but still peed 50% of the time when we both left first thing in the morning, and 100% of the time when we both left any other time of day. Especially in the evening. It was frustrating and discouraging and we started to feel like we were trapped, since if we made plans and went out for the evening we were sure to come home to pee. He would do okay, and then have a couple really good days, and then suddenly be back to square one with what seemed to be no change or warning. We were pulling our hair out over it.

 

We would try something new--walking him a certain route before we went out, giving him a kong, hiding treats for him to find....and it would work, and we would get excited, and then after a few times it would stop working. We felt like we had tried everything (admittedly we never tried DAP) and had no reliable results. We eventually stopped trying different things and just made sure we were as consistent and patient with him as we could be. We got our morning routine down to a science, same order of events every day, and after a couple months we knew with certainty that he would be fine as long as we left before 9 or 10 am and kept our routine to the same basic outline. Anything else was a different story...we tried to stay consistent but still, probably half the time he would pee.

 

It was at this stage that, honestly, we gave up and resigned ourself to dealing with accidents. I am now a master of carpet cleaning. If there were a pee-cleanup black belt I would have it. We lived this way, with pee about 30% of the time when we went out unexpectedly, for (I'm embarrassed to admit) a year. We felt like we were out of options and constantly trying to fix him was causing him so much stress that we just let it be and dealt with it. At some point he started getting better on his own. We notice that he does better when my husband is the last one to take him out, so we slipped into a bit of a routine where he would take him out and always say "bye bye, bird" on our way out the door.

 

It's now been just over six months since he has peed while we were out for any length of time, and when Kyle takes him out, he comes in and goes straight to the couch instead of dogging our steps as we leave. It took us forever to get here and I'm honestly not even sure what worked--possibly he just had to learn to relax on his own. And we now know that he loves habit, and signs that we are getting ready to leave actually help him settle.

 

I realize this probably isn't all that helpful to you, and goodness knows we aren't the greatest example to follow, but you guy just sounds so much like ours and at the very least you know you're not the only one to go through it. I wish you luck with your pup! Hopefully it's all smooth sailing from here:)

[jsullysix]

jschwe, thank you. You've pretty much described my last 4 weeks perfectly. Especially when you said "It was frustrating and discouraging and we started to feel like we were trapped" and "We felt like we were out of options and constantly trying to fix him was causing him so much stress" His episodes seem to be around 9-10am, maybe something mid-day, and once we get past 4pm, he's generally good. Of course, someone has always been home after 4pm, so if everyone was out of the house in the evening, that could be a different story.

 

Yesterday was a really tough day, and while I'm kinda glad I've setup the webcam, I feel like a slave to it. Then again, I'd rather see and hear what happens than not, ya know? For the past 3 weeks, I've been getting up at 645, letting them out, feeding them, and then letting them back out right after they finish eating. Then we go for a walk, I get ready for work, and let them out again before I have to leave. He'll fluctuate between being okay for 1-2 hours (and my wife will usually be home a couple of hours after I leave) and peeing about 30 minutes after I leave. I cannot express how much I WISH he could be crated or gated; it'd make this so much easier, but that's not reality. I'd rather keep the belly band on him though; while yeah, sometimes they leak if he really soaks it, I'd rather have the leaks than a full on whizz attack. I also really wish we could pull up the carpets and have a concrete floor. We do have a lot of tile, too, so I'm certainly relieved when he has a leak that winds up on the tile.

 

However....there have been a few little things here and there that have been good. After about a week or two of not peeing in the yard first thing in the morning (I'd take him out and he'd just stand there or lie down in the grass), I think he's finally heard me say "potty outside" enough times that he MIGHT be snapping to it. He's going better (and faster) in the mornings this week, so that's good.

 

The other thing that I'm grateful for is that I'll be working from home full time as of 10/1. Granted, I'll be working mostly in the garage, but I can at least police things better. I'm also kinda wondering if he just can't hold it for longer than a couple of hours while he's awake. I don't think so, but as you know, you wind up wracking your brain trying to figure out the mystery. I'm even considering an animal communicator at this point!

 

Sully

[jsullysix]

...he's had dry pants ALL DAY up to this point! (can ya tell I'm a little excited?)

 

Same morning routine (get up, go out, eat, go out, go for a walk), I leave for work at 8:30, but my wife was home until 10. She came home at 11, dry pants. He went outside, laid down in the grass, Mrs. Sully got him up, Nico (his sister) peed, then he peed on her pee. Love it. She was home until 2, tried to get him to pee before she left, no luck. He was home alone until my son got home just after 4; I really thought he was gonna pee during those two hours, but NOPE!!!!!!

 

OMG. Awesome. I'll be home in an hour; crossing fingers for dry pants when I get there.

 

Sully

[Batmom]

:) :)

[jsullysix]

He made it all day yesterday. Man, that was a good day. Hoping for 2 in a row!

[robinw]

Great news! If you decide to use a belly band at all, I put a Poise pad inside the one I sometimes use for Xavi. I buy the largest one I could find. Furbuddyproducts on Etsy makes belly bands that are stretchy around the edges. No leaks!

Edited September 20, 2014 by robinw

[ozgirl2]

Since you started him on the antibiotics and they've had time to kick in now, I suspect he had a UTI that didn't show up in the tests!~!

 

Hopefully, his winning streak will continue!

[jsullysix]

Day two is just about done; no accidents!

 

I'd wondered if it was a uti or him "getting it" and I hope it's more uti related than behavioral. We'll see; either way, I'm so happy!

 

Sully

[jsullysix]

Rats. Peed this morning. Same routine; wake up, go out, eat, go out. Peed both times out, but he peed again while I had to pee! G'arrgh. Time for a walk. Crossing fingers for the rest of the day, and am happy he had two great days in a row. Definitely progress.

[galgrey]

Great news! If you decide to use a belly band at all, I put a Poise pad inside the one I sometimes use for Xavi. I buy the largest one I could find. Furbuddyproducts on Etsy makes belly bands that are stretchy around the edges. No leaks!

Poise Pads (or their generic equivalent) inside a belly band worked really well for my older incontinent boy a couple of years ago. No leaks. Hope you two get this worked out soon.

[Guest sireltonsmom]

Hang in there - as I read these posts I see progress. You've already done most of the hard stuff. Peeing might have become a bad habit even if he has(had) a UTI. One day you'll look back and be amazed that you had this issue. These dogs are worth the work. They love you so deeply. Good you'll be working at home starting in a week or so - maybe if he can see you in the garage (baby gate at entrance to home from garage?), he'll be less anxious. You do have to continue to acclimate him to home alone time so you and your bride can go out. give him a kiss and tell him we all are his buddies.

[jsullysix]

Poise Pads (or their generic equivalent) inside a belly band worked really well for my older incontinent boy a couple of years ago. No leaks. Hope you two get this worked out soon.

Oh, I've tried poise pads, maxi pads, and even depends pads; they all have leaked to an extent. I'm getting good at being able to tell if he's got wet pants by feel. If I can tell he's wet, we remove slowly, and always on the tile; sometimes it's fresh and hasn't been absorbed completely.

 

We'll get there; the past two days of no accidents was something I really needed.

Hang in there - as I read these posts I see progress. You've already done most of the hard stuff. Peeing might have become a bad habit even if he has(had) a UTI. One day you'll look back and be amazed that you had this issue. These dogs are worth the work. They love you so deeply. Good you'll be working at home starting in a week or so - maybe if he can see you in the garage (baby gate at entrance to home from garage?), he'll be less anxious. You do have to continue to acclimate him to home alone time so you and your bride can go out. give him a kiss and tell him we all are his buddies.

Thanks!

[jsullysix]

ugh. accident #2 today. Was alone for about 15 minutes.

[jsullysix]

Back to 2-3 per episodes per day. It's usually been in the mornings, even with going out 2x + a walk. This morning was different. I set up the webcam, connected my phone to it, and left for work after our normal morning routine. My wife had left before me, so after I left, the two dogs were both alone. He would start crying at about 10 to 12 minute intervals, which was kind of new. I was expecting him to pee, but he didn't. I was very surprised and proud of him. He was alone twice today for about an hour and a half each. While he was alone, he got up on the couch again, and ripped the cushion. Sadly, it was the same cushion that he had ripped previously, so I can't flip it over any more to hide the rips.

He was wet when I got home from work at 5:30, and I have a feeling that the dogs could hear me outside, and maybe he was just excited. I was a little bummed out to find that he had wet pants, because that was the first accident of the day. But I guess I was proud of him that he made it that long.

I had some work to do this evening, so after dinner, I took them for a walk. He peed a bunch, and I thought that I would be able to work for about a half an hour or so without a problem. He rarely has issues in the evening, if ever. I was working in the garage for half an hour, came back in, and his pants were wet. Ugh. Thankfully, the leaks were on the tile. As an aside, I have yet to find some kind of belly band liner that doesn't leak. Poise pads, maxi pads, Depends pads, they all leak.

Later this evening my brindle girl told me that she needed to go outside, so I let them both out. They both peed, and played around a little bit. When they were done, we all went back inside. I needed to use the restroom, and he wet his pants while I was in there for less than a minute.

 

I'm sitting in my car as I post this now; my son came home from night school and is hanging out with them.

I can't believe that I'm actually about to make an appointment with an animal communicator. I don't even believe in that sort of thing, but I'm willing to try just about anything. I'm out of ideas. The adoption group doesn't have any ideas, either. I just. Don't. Get it.

 

Sully

Edited September 24, 2014 by jsullysix

[jsullysix]

Dry pants all day yesterday!