Potty Help

[Reilly]

My potty trained puppy just turned 5 months old. She is a real stinker! She has two rooms on our first floor that she started pottying in a few weeks ago. Turned out to be a UTI. I removed the area rugs at the start of meds and she did not have any more accidents. Yesterday however, I put a new area rug in the one room because we are a week into meds and accident free... today she pottied on the rug! I now think I am dealing with a lousy behavior that I have no clue on how to correct. Help!

Next question... Until the UTI she never greeted company with an excited pee. The first time it happened it clued me into a problem (along with the mess in my house). She stopped with the start of meds, but had another bout of greeting a friend with pee on the floor on Saturday. Any thoughts on this behavior -- could it be hormones? We plan on having her spayed in April.

 

[wrknnwf]

Peeing during greeting behavior is generally a sign of overexcitement. Keep all greetings (even yours) very low key. In fact, I wouldn't let anyone give her attention until they have been in the house for a while. Maybe 10 minutes. You may want to crate her for that time. And even then, any greetings should be limited to quiet petting. It will be helpful if everyone is seated first or closer to her level instead of towering over her.

Peeing when scolded is usually submissive behavior and can be treated by not scolding the dog and instead, subsituting a behavior the dog knows how to do.

All that said, the UTI does have an effect. Also, rugs and carpeting are preferred surfaces to pee on, so you may want to wait several weeks before putting one down again. If she is going to act like a baby, treat her like one and start housebreaking from scratch. Crate, tether her to you, and supervise heavily. Usually, it doesn't take long to retrain.

Don't get frustrated. She is very, very young and still learning. It's not uncommon for dogs to forget their training after a few weeks or so. In fact, there is a phenomenon called 4 week regression, when they often seem to forget many things briefly. It's thought that this is a point where things move from short term memory to long term memory. Just start over. If you were successful the first time, you will be again.

 

[Reilly]

Thank you, you have fantastic advice and I will give it a try. Back to the drawing board

 

[Pipelineozzy]

Good advice from Jane...and if you do happen to need to leave the rugs down...close the door to those rooms until she is reliable again. You also might want to consider waiting a bit longer to spay her, 6 months is pretty young for a Newf IMHO.

 

[Reilly]

We spayed our last newf around 5 months per our vet's recommendation. I just read the article posted about spaying and am seriously considering waiting now. I want to do what is best for Chloe. After reading the article and sharing it with my husband we are beginning to wonder if the sudden passing (heart failure) of our healthy 8 year old female may have had something to do with altering her so young. I plan on sharing the artilcle with my vet.

Thanks for the support! I spoke with our nanny today to get her on board with potty training from scratch. Thank goodness she not only loves our human kids, but our newfie kid too!

 

[Wayne A]

My Chloe was 7 months before she got it and then she just got it.She hasn't had a accident since.

 

[R Taft]

My Chloe was 7 months before she got it and then she just got it.She hasn't had a accident since.

I can out do you in that Department Wayne :lol:..........Annabelle finally got it at about sixteen months. Puppy mistakes are easy, try the full size ones.....Awesome. .......We had three months of occasional mistakes

 

[khughes]

crate and leash her, close all door to room you cant see her in. we have our baby gates still up from our daughters. Watch when she drinks, in 10 let her out. pull up all rugs, dont put them down for awhile. Clean all floor with enzimes that will get rid of her marking in the same spot. Treat her like a baby, she is. My bingo is 9 months and still walks around with her leash on, i potty her quickly when company comes over, so she doesnt pee from over excitment, and crate her when they first come in the door. She is also a jumper,which im having a hard time stopping.
After 7:00pm no more water. we got to bed early!

 

[NessaM]

I'd make sure that the UTI is all gone, myself. It sounds like it might be a relapse? Some dogs need meds for longer than others to kick an illness.

 

[camel24j]

i agree with nessam. when my mixed breed had a uti the vets tested and gave meds than they had me wait for a few weeks after the meds and tested again to make sure it was gone.