Hi
I have a 5 year old dog, who I adopted 3 years ago. I know that she has
been physically abused in the past by a male. I have recently moved in
with my boyfriend and when he attempts to discipline her (more strict
rules, ie no couch no bed; I used to let her run the household), she
slinks around and urinates. She also seems to be spiteful. Ie when we
leave she goes upstairs (where she is not supposed to be) and then when we
return slinks down the stairs and urinates. I took her to the vets and
found out that she does have aurinary tract infection and am treating it.
Although I fear that this is somehow trauma related, behavioral etc. My
boyfriend has been more then patient and loves her, but has had enough of
the urinatingand has asked I get rid if her. I just dont know what to do.

Any suggestions out there traumatized dogs, I really dont want to have
to make a choice between her and him.
shiloh

I'd say that your dog is doing the things that you,
subconsciously, want to do.

--
Bob

lkaboutpets.com...
Hi
I have a 5 year old dog, who I adopted 3 years ago. I know that she
has
been physically abused in the past by a male. I have recently moved
in
with my boyfriend and when he attempts to discipline her (more
strict
rules, ie no couch no bed; I used to let her run the household), she
slinks around and urinates. She also seems to be spiteful. Ie when
we
leave she goes upstairs (where she is not supposed to be) and then
when we
return slinks down the stairs and urinates. I took her to the vets
and
found out that she does have aurinary tract infection and am
treating it.
Although I fear that this is somehow trauma related, behavioral etc.
My
boyfriend has been more then patient and loves her, but has had
enough of
the urinatingand has asked I get rid if her. I just dont know what
to do.

Any suggestions out there traumatized dogs, I really dont want
to have
to make a choice between her and him.
shiloh.

Your dog has a urinary tract infection , shes been abused by a male
and your boyfriend disiplines her. This really isn't your dog's fault
and she isn't being spiteful; she's anxious and frightened, the weeing
is involuntary. Your boyfriend needs to be more understanding and
less harsh with her.
There's nothing wrong with letting a dog have the run of the house ,
many people do. If you adopt a dog then you have a responsibility
towards it and I hope if it comes to the crunch you'll chose your dog
as really it's your boyfriends attitude towards your dog that has
created this situation.
Alison

On Wed, 11 May 2005 14:52:23 -0400, "shiloh"
wrote:

Any suggestions out there traumatized dogs, I really dont want to have
to make a choice between her and him.

first, let the antibiotics do their job and see where that leaves you.
keep in mind that UTIs are extremely painful and that she really cannot
control how and where she pees. so, if you're scolding her for
accidents, please don't. it won't help and is guaranteed to make
matters worse.

make sure you take her outside frequently and immediately reward her for
peeing there. for a reward, use whatever she likes best in the world
(treats, petting, ear rubs, a special toy or game, telling her she's the
bestest dog ever, etc.). you want to reinforce that outside is where
you want her to pee.

when you aren't home, keep her confined to a small space with no carpet
(kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, etc.) when there's no one there to let
her outside.

clean up any messes she's made with a good enzymatic cleaner (most pet
supply stores will stock them).

block off access to any parts of the house she's "not allowed" to be in.
i know it seems like training a dog not to go be in certain rooms should
be easy, but dogs don't think like we do. they don't tend to generalize
very well. instead of your dog knowing she isn't allowed to be
upstairs, it's just as likely that she knows she's not supposed to go up
there when you're around. or, she's learned that when you come home,
she gets scolded, but she has no idea why. instead of making her even
more anxious by scolding her for going upstairs, get a baby gate and
block access to the upstairs. eventually, you may be able to train her
to stay downstairs, but now is not the time to fight that
battle--management is your dog's friend.

i think the most important thing you can do, if you want to insure that
boyfriend and dog are able to co-exist happily, is to find a good
trainer and have your *boyfriend* take your dog to obedience classes.

1. a trainer will be able to help him learn how to interact properly
with your dog so that he does not exacerbate whatever anxiety issues
she's got.
2. it will help the two of them create a bond.
3. it will give your dog a confidence boost that will help alleviate
her anxiety.

keep in mind that all this will take some time. you said you've been
letting your dog run the house, which is not in *any* dog's best
interest. however, suddenly changing the rules on her isn't fair,
either. change inevitably causes anxiety, so even without the new
rules, getting used to a new home and a new family member is going to be
stressful. add the new rules on top of it, and it's no wonder your dog
is confused and anxious.

one last thing--stress can contribute to health problems like UTIs.
even after she's finished her medication, there can be relapses,
especially if her stress level is still significant.

like i said, all this will take time, but it shouldn't take *much* time
before you start to see an improvement in both her health and behavior.

good luck!

--
shelly
http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette || http://cat-sidh.blogspot.com

Let us never forget that the greatest man is never more than an animal
disguised as a god.
-- Francis Picabia

The dog was there first it's time to dump the guy in my opinion.

When Mike and I got together I simply told him the dogs and cats ARE allowed
on the furniture, they do get on the bed and they scatter toys if any of
it's a problem tell me now. Because they were here long before you and will
be here long after you're gone if this is an issue.

Celeste



"shiloh" wrote in message
lkaboutpets.com...
Hi
I have a 5 year old dog, who I adopted 3 years ago. I know that she has
been physically abused in the past by a male. I have recently moved in
with my boyfriend and when he attempts to discipline her (more strict
rules, ie no couch no bed; I used to let her run the household), she
slinks around and urinates. She also seems to be spiteful. Ie when we
leave she goes upstairs (where she is not supposed to be) and then when we
return slinks down the stairs and urinates. I took her to the vets and
found out that she does have aurinary tract infection and am treating it.
Although I fear that this is somehow trauma related, behavioral etc. My
boyfriend has been more then patient and loves her, but has had enough of
the urinatingand has asked I get rid if her. I just dont know what to do.

Any suggestions out there traumatized dogs, I really dont want to have
to make a choice between her and him.
shiloh