What to do about Trenyce?

[Tammara]

Trenyce would pee on a towel left in her crate (after pulling it out) sometimes. She'd also pee on the big bed, or on her day bed blankie sometimes. It always seemed to be when she was mad at us about some perceived mistreatment of her (things weren't going her way).

Lately she's peeing on the towels every day, and even while they are in the crate AND even at night. We thought maybe she was cold, but we gave her MORE and she just created a bigger washer load! Today, NO TOWELS, so the floor is hard and the crate is hard. I want to feel bad, but am too mad at her to be that right now. She's 14 months old and litter box trained. NO excuse!

My fiend says she's probably sick and I need to take her to the vet to have her checked for a urinary tract infection, but I say NO, she doesn't do it all the time, or upstairs, and she uses the litter box upstairs, and potties outside when she's out as well.

I'm stumped.

[feofil]

First of all, puppies and dogs do not retaliate in the manner you think she does. When they are angry, or mad at you, they will express themselves very directly, sometimes growling, or sulking off, or just putting on an attitude. Occasionally they may bite, but this is not usually anger, but attacking or defending--something different. If you are spanking he may turn on you.

Secondly, it seems that Trenyce has it in her head that she is supposed to pee on the towels. She pulls it out of the crate and pees on it. She went to an awful lot of trouble trying to do the right thing. So the correction is, as you have done, to remove towels from her crate and environment for awhile.

Give her lots of praise when she pees outside, and when you catch her in her litter box, give her lots of praise as well. Do this for awhile, perhaps a week or so. No towels in sight, litter box and outside praise. Make an effort to catch her going in her litter box from time to time so that you can give her praise.

After things have stabilized a bit, then gradually reintroduce towels, a little bit at a time, when you are able to watch her vigilantly. You need to catch her the very first time she tries to pee on them. And say, "AAH!" very sharply, but with no negativity. This will cause her to stop reflexively. And take her to her litter box or outside to finish peeing. And priase her outside. It will take time, but to me it looks like Trenyce is really trying very hard to be a good puppy, but is confused about what she is supposed to do.

Who knows how she got it into her head to pee on her towels. Perhaps she found a wet towel on the bathroom floor?

Patrick

[Irminsul]

I totally agree. Tinki used to pee on the plushest rugs she could find, because she wanted the puddle to disappear as fast as possible. Not to be a bad girl, but to keep the house clean. She took a long time to housetrain, because she was born in the winter and thought too little to go out in the snow.

Don't be mad, just try to modify the behaviour. Dogs do a lot to please us, they just don't always understand how.


Good luck!

katja

[Tammara]

a couple of clarificatins

she still gets praise almost every time she uses the litter box, and/or a treat
she only has towels when we aren't home, so I can't supervise
she's never peed on a towel left on the living room floor (play uses)
we've only caught her doing this on her day bed when she's just had a bath, and oh yeah, she has quite the sulking face

so no towels isn't being cruel? I feel bad that Ruben doesn't have anything soft to snooze on, but...

[Kim H.]

I'm sorry you are still having problems with this.

That was Angel's thing, too... but at some point she seems to have stopped it (shhhhhhhhhh don't let her hear me say that). I agree, withholding towels for awhile is probably a good thing to do, and don't feel guilty - she has a brother who is soft and fluffy, she can sleep on him.

I am SURE you're doing this already - when she piddles on a towel, are you soaking it in an enzyme cleaner to remove all the urine scent before washing?

Want me to have Angel talk with her?:yeahfine:

[GrandyDox]

What is an enzyme cleaner? A special detergent?

[feofil]

A dog's sense of smell is said to be 10,000 times more sensitive than a human's. But the dachshund is no ordinary dog! His sense of smell is a million times more sensitive than a man's. He is an awesome tracker, and in Europe their abilities to track are indeed exploited by drug enforcement agencies, and in traking lost people and escaped fugitives.

They are quite amazing! And they need this to be able to track so well underground in all that stagnant and tepid air.

A pheremone is something that is emitted when the dog urinates. And when he needs to eliminate again, he will look for the spot where his pheremones are, and urinate again. In fact, if he just happens across such a spot by accident, he will have an urge to urinate there whether he needs to or not.

An enzyme cleaner is the only way to neutralize the pheremones. No amount of bleaching, or detergent will eliminate these pheremones from that material. The dog will have no trouble picking them out amid the chlorine fumes, etc.

They are widely available. I use Nature's Miracle, available at SitStay.com.

Also, when you re-introduce the towels to her crate you need to pick a time when you are there. It does not have to be the time you go to work. It needs to be a time you can monitor the situation.

Patrick

[Kim H.]

the enzyme cleaners are sold at any pet supply store, in various sizes (check by the puppy training aids). They are a liquid that you can use to saturate the spot where the pup has urinated to remove the odor and stain. They really work well. As Patrick mentioned, Nature's Miracle is one of the most popular. We use one called Petzyme that is available at Petsmart.

I notice we have them through the DBB store (click on the second bone from the right above) - a portion of the profits go to help manage the costs of DBB.

[Kim H.]

I usually add a cup or so to the laundry when I wash the girls' towels... and if there has been an accident (of any sort), I will soak the towel in a stronger Petzyme/hot water solution for a while before washing.

[GrandyDox]

for the information.

I keep learning new stuff everyday....I just love it!

[blueyezz74]

Harley will still pee occassionally in his crate too. We took him to the vet and he was fine although they gave us antibiotics to give him for 14 days. They did nothing.

We also use Nature's Miracle to clean his crate out and ever where else he pees. He still doesn't help. We also have Petzyme that we use to spray on the floor when he pees there. Every other weekend I bring out the carpet shampooer and d the rugs and the couch and ottoman skirts. he will still pee there!

Today we bought a x-pen and will start setting it up whe I go back to work next week. We're going to put potty training pads and water and food in there for him. Hopefully this helps him!

[kpm_tex]

Nature's Miracle sells a black light that you supposedly can use to find the 'pee spots' in your carpet, or else where I guess. The spots 'glow' which helps you find the stops that have dried so you can pour some Nature's Miracle on. Has anyone used the light? I'm thinking about getting one.

[TessieMom]

Any black light will work... I got one at Spencer's for about half the price of the one at the pet store. Yes, they do work -- though they seem to work best on "dry" spots that are older, they showed a lot more than I knew were there. Also, it can be used to spot ringworm!

[Kim H.]

although not sure if it's the one made by NM. It didn't help us too much because (1) our carpets are Berber... it was hard to differentiate texture from stain, (2) many historical stains basically everywhere from other people's pets before we moved in, and (3) there was a little guide on the box that was supposed to show what the stain was (urine saliva, etc.) based on the color, but it was very hard to identify.

It did i.d. very clearly the areas that Tristan had been marking on the dining room carpet, but those were obvious even without the black light :yeahfine: . I am loaning it to my mom next month as her dog was having some leakage before she started her on phenylpropanolamine - mom keeps her carpets very clean, so I bet the light will work well there.

We're gradually replacing all the old carpet! Mostly with tile.

[Heide]

add to everyone's replies. You have gotten some great advice.
Natures Miracle is a life saver.
Please keep us updated.