Sirius the puppy needs to stop peeing in the house. Help!

[mondo joe]

So Sirius came to me at age 12 weeks, mostly housebroken.

He had a couple of accidents early on that were understandable. But since then we've had barely a day without an accident, and often the amount he actually pees is so small - and only an hour or two after his last trip outside - that it doesn't possibly seem like it can be because he couldn't hold it.

One time he even climbed up on his floor pillow and peed on it.

We've diligently used an enzymatic cleaner every time, and take him out a lot - even once every night in the middle of the night. But I'm not sure he's progressing. He may actually be getting worse.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

(Probably I really just need to be PATIENT.)

[ceile]

1. Does he have a bladder infection?

Maybe he needs to get checked out by the vet.

[flvegan]

2. More info needed...

1. How old is Sirius now, and how long has he been at your place?

2. What type of reinforcement training are you using?

3. 12 weeks...is he neutered yet?

4. What's his food/water situation? Sometimes a quick fix is to restrict/monitor water intake as he learns.

5. Any other pets in the house?

[mondo joe]

6. We've had him for almost 2 weeks, and he is 13 weeks old.

Not neutered yet.

There are 2 cats, and an occassional dog visitor.

He has pretty much all day access to water, not that I see him drink it often.

I don't think the problem is access to water, because sometimes he pees such a small amount that he could clearly have held it longer.

At least one time early on the problem was that we waited too long to take him out. There were 2 incidents that I chalk up to separation anxiety.

Other than that it's a mystery. He gets through at least 4 hours a night in his crate - sometimes longer - and has NEVER had an accident there.

Since he came partially trained, we just kept taking him out and lavishing him with praise when he went outside. The two times we caught him in the act we've made loud noises to startle him, and too him immediately outside.

[xchrom]

3. it does sound like a trip to the vet is in order.

this is sounding like an accident -- trouble with control.

he's probably not piddling all the way when he goes out -- but you can't be sure.

he really does sound housebroken -- so i'd be a tad concerned.

remember he doesn't want to piddle in the house.

[mondo joe]

7. We've been to the vet and got a clean bill of health. Also, he sleeps in a

kennel at night and has NEVER had an accident there, despite being there for more hours than he ever has to wait during daylight hours.

So I don't think it's a control problem, but some message I'm just not getting.

[Wcross]

4. Have you tried smacking him with a newspaper?

I know it sounds cruel but it works, or so I am told. It doesn't hurt the dog at all but does make noise and scares them. Only do it while the dog is in the act of peeing so he knows why he is getting smacked.
I have three dogs that have lived with me from birth. (Three more were adopted) One of the adopted dogs had the litter shortly after coming to live with me, she took care of the ENTIRE house training process for me. Females will keep their den (my house) clean when the dogs are infants. After a while she gets tired of eating poop. She would give them a motherly bite on the nose when they made a mistake inside. I have not had any problem with the pups after Angel corrected them.

[caty]

5. The next time he has an accident,

blot the urine up with a paper towel. Take the paper towel outside and put it on the ground with a stick pushed through it to hold it in place. Every hour, take the puppy outside to that paper towel. When he stops having accidents at the hour intervals, try every hour and a half---then, every two hours. Make sure you clean up the accidents so that they will not smell of urine.

[LynneSin]

8. Is it feasible to litter train a dog?

My grandfather inherited a tiny yorkshire terrier. Mind you, he tried his best to take the dog out several times a day but every once in awhile he had a bad day and it was a tad tough for him to do so. But he had setup a giant box lid lined with newspapers and that yorkie would go use that as it's bathroom if my grandfather couldn't get her out in time. Usually someone came over once a day to look in on my grandfather and the amount of waste that comes out of a Yorkie is pretty minimal.

Why can't dogs be 'litter' trained?

[mondo joe]

9. Some small dogs are. But mine will probably hit 60 lbs or so.

[judaspriestess]

10. sounds like a territory thing and if he does not get neutered it will get worse

ask a trainer or get him to a trainer asap.

Good luck

[LeftyMom]

11. Get him to the vet.

Could be a UTI, perhaps he's diabetic? Anyhow, he's overdue to leave his two best friends at the vet's office, so you might as well get this issue checked out at the same time.

[mondo joe]

12. Overdue? The vet told us to wait until he's about 6 months old.

Though if it is a territorything, he can kiss them goodbye!

[LeftyMom]

13. The trend lately seems to be to do them younger.

It doesn't harm them at all and keeps the negative behaviors from setting in and becoming habit.