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House Training

lakota

My dog was house trained when we got her. Recently she has been urinating in the house even if she has just gone out or we are gone just a short time.

• Experienced Advisor Rosie Barclay says:

  January 30th, 2008 at 12:43 AM

  Hi Nina Does she find it difficult when you leave her? Does she follow you around the house everywhere you go? Does she constantly bring you toys? Does she cry for you even if you just go out of the room? If your answer yes to two or more of these questions then it may be because she is feeling anxious when you leave her and when you are anxious you need the loo. This can happen for many reasons and it's a good idea to try and film her behaviour when you leave her. You will be able to understand her motives better if you can she how she responds. If this is some sort of separation anxiety behaviour you will need to be seen by a qualified companion animal behaviourist as this can take some time to modify. It can happen because she may feel scared and anxious at being left on her own when the rest of her group disappear. This is quite understandable as dogs live in groups. It may be that she is\was frightened by the postman or a mail drop or the central heating kicking in when left on her own. You can begin by making sure she feels safe and secure when you leave and teaching her that being left is not such a bad thing. Leave her for a few seconds at a time. Just walk out of the room and straight back in again and do it as if it was the most boring and natural thing in the world. So do not acknowledge her and this means no eye contact either. You can even leave something nice for her to do as you leave. If you have a partner they could call her over and play with her. Once she is happy at you leaving her for a few seconds, leave her for 10 seconds and once she is happy with that leave her for 20 etc until she cope much better. If she has a nice comfy and safe crate she likes to sleep in pop her in to that. But it has to be an area where she does feel safe and secure. If the answer is no it could be a number of other reasons for instance she may have learned a preference for carpet or whatever you have on the floor in which case you need to keep popping her out onto the area where you want her to go. Remain calm and do not get cross with her. If she does make a mess clean the area with biological washing powder and use an odour eliminator. She may be marking? Have you any other dogs or cats in the house. If she doesn’t stop you will need to seek advice from a qualified behaviourist in your local area ask your vet to recommend one. Hope that helps Rosie Barclay

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