Help My Dog Is Protesting Going Outside!

[sbreshears89]

So, a little back ground: I have had Porsche for about a month, so we’re really just starting out together. She’s two years old, she did race but it wasn’t her thing. I'm a new greyhound owner, though I've had dogs in the past. I’m currently a grad student getting my MS, and I got Porsche from our group the first week of Xmas break. Besides a few accidents and statue-ing in the drive way before walks we were doing pretty well.

 

Two weeks ago, we moved back up to where I’m going to school. My apartment is on the 2^nd floor. There are two flights of stairs at either end of the building (same stair count, design, inside and well lit). I was dreading the stairs, even though we had practiced a bit back ‘home’. To my surprise she handled them really well the first day and a half. Then she decided she didn’t like going down the stairs. It could have been a loud noises from the street or the cold front that came through, but nothing was getting her down those stairs. I was expecting her to revert, so this wasn't terribly surprising to me, so to get her down I've been moving her feet down each step, using treats and praise.

 

Then last week she started ‘protest peeing’ in the stairwell. I told her 'no, bad dog', tapped her butt to try and get her to stop (not hard and it didn’t work). She’s done this several times, not consistently and mostly in the morning. Though this afternoon she committed my worst fear and peed in front of a neighbor’s door.

 

I’m not sure what to do. I’ve kept her on the same schedule since I first got her.I’ve started taking her out earlier, especially in the mornings, so I can get her down and have time to clean up messes if they occur and because of the peeing I know I’ve been rushing her a bit to get down to prevent accidents. I’m pretty sure it’s not medical, b/c she’s not peeing in the apartment itself and (the great thing about grad school) I come home every four hours or so to take her out, so I’m pretty sure it’s not a bladder control issue.

 

So long story short:

 

Any suggestion on how I get my lovely girl to stop protest peeing on the stairs when I try and take her out?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Dave_P]

Seems that many greyhounds dont like stairs, at first. Took me a few weeks to get Milo comfortable with 4-5 steps.

 

I am sure there are better ways, but strapping a large towel or belt behind his front legs (if you are strong enough) and making him do the steps might work.

 

Dave

[GeorgeofNE]

We need to know more about your routine.

 

Because to ME, it's very important that in the AM the FIRST THING YOU DO is attend to the dog. Especially when she's new. Because if you're getting up and poking around first, you're probably just waiting too darned long to get her outside.

 

Believe me, I've been leash walking 5x a day for 17 years now. I know the agony of wanting just five more minutes in bed. But my first greyhound was a pisser. I never did figure out why or how to stop him (thousands and thousands of dollars in medical costs). There was no waiting. If he indicated he had to go, HE HAD TO GO. And if he didn't make it, it was my fault, not him. Obviously he would have been better off in a home with a fenced yard where I could just fling the door open. But that isn't in my future, so I have gotten very good and very fast and getting dressed in my dog walking clothing.

 

 

You'll need to use a urine remover on the spots in the hall or she will keep doing it. It could in fact be there was already urine in your halls from other dogs, and that makes her think it's ok to go there.

[turbotaina]

Sounds to me like she's super anxious about the stairs and would rather potty where she is than go down them. You may want to look into working with a rewards based trainer who can help you help her overcome her fears. FWIW, many greyhounds tend to be sensitive in nature and don't do well with "man-handling", such as physically moving each foot. One of my guys completely shuts down whenever anyone tries to physically manipulate him. That may be what your girl is doing. What kind of treats are you using? Make sure they are super high value - think actual chicken chunks, hot dogs, stinky cheese - make sure it's worth it for her.

(Also, the "no, bad dog" and tapping her on the butt isn't helpful, especially if she's fearful.)

Edited January 30, 2018 by turbotaina

[sbreshears89]

Thank you for responding! Sorry for the time it took for me to get back to this!

 

Her schedule to go outside is 6:45am, first thing in the morning before she gets breakfast, noon, 4:30 6:30 and 10pm. Before we moved I was taking her out at 7:05am first thing. I stopped the tapping on her butt after the second time she did it, because obviously it didn’t work. I don’t raise my voice at her. I was starting to place her treats ( chicken or cheese) on every other step or every two steps with the intent of increasing the distance for a big treat at the bottom, and it was working pretty well. Then one morning she peed on the steps of the stairs while we were doing this. Still took her outside, then went back and cleaned up her mess. Then she did it again later, and again. I've stopped the treats on the steps and went back to moving her feet because I was worried that she’d confuse the treat to go down the stairs for a treat for doing her business. She's done this about 5 times now.

 

She can go down the stairs. She did them fine before we moved. She did it yesterday on our way out for a walk with no issues, and when I bring her back in from doing her business I will work her on the stairs, just holding a treat in my hand in front of her or on the step and she’ll go down no problem. It’s just getting her down that first time that has become an issue and isn’t helped by the fact that she has started statue-ing in the hallway. Once she’s outside she is very keen on getting back inside and will keep trying to make a dash for the door until I’ve coaxed her to where she can’t see the door. She did this a bit back home as well though not as much.

 

Part of the issue, I believe, is that we live next to a high traffic road and a hospital, so the sound of the cars freaks her out a bit (plus we’re in North Texas, it’s super windy here) and this is why she is so hesitant to go outside. I usually take her down the stairs farthest away from the car noise.

 

I have been using urine remover quite vigorously! I grew up on a ranch with all kinds of animals and so she isn’t my first dog, but she is my first greyhound.

[turbotaina]

Yeah, I think I'd bring in a rewards based trainer at this point to give you additional assistance and hands on training techniques. You might also want to look at calming supplements such as L-theanine and/or Composure chews to help take the edge off the anxiety.