Hi everybody. My dog has lately been peeing in the house. He pees in
the same place when our back is turned. He "knows" that he is to pee
outside and yet he continues to do this. I don't know if he smells his
urine in the same place and that's why he keeps doing it. Would have
anything to do with him not being neutered? Thanks!

On 25 Nov 2003 17:23:57 -0800 Lelie whittled these words:
Hi everybody. My dog has lately been peeing in the house. He pees in
the same place when our back is turned. He "knows" that he is to pee
outside and yet he continues to do this. I don't know if he smells his
urine in the same place and that's why he keeps doing it. Would have
anything to do with him not being neutered? Thanks!

It could be because he has a health problem or it could be because he was
never properly house trained. First make sure he has a vet exam and is
healthy. Next, thoroughly clean is spot then block his access to the
spot. for the next two weeks treat him as if he was a puppy and had never
been house trained. That means (1) going with him outside and praising
him for going where you want (2) taking him out on leash and not allowing
any play until he has relieved himself (3) *close* supervision when he is
inside so as to prevent "mistakes" (4) preventing the unwanted behavior by
either tethering closely or using a crate (cage) when he cannot be
watched. If there are any mistakes in that two weeks we can be pretty
sure that the problem is his humans aren't paying enough attention to help
him learn what he needs to learn. Punishment and yelling does not
convey the message most people think it does - what it teaches many dogs
is that people are really peculiar about this perfectly ordinary need so
one has to be sneaky and hide it from them. What the dog needs to learn
is that there is a place where relieving himself makes you happy. Only
after he has learned that there is a right place can you effectively use
interuption and removal from the wrong place to the right one to create
the contrast. And is you miss him going in the wrong place you have
missed the opportunity to teach - that isn't his fault. Anyway once two
weeks have passed without a mistake his freedom can slowly be increased -
still keeping him away froom the "spot" he currently favors. THe last
step is to start feeding him on that spot.

It can be done.

Diane Blackman

On 25 Nov 2003 17:23:57 -0800 Lelie whittled these words:
Hi everybody. My dog has lately been peeing in the house. He pees in
the same place when our back is turned. He "knows" that he is to pee
outside and yet he continues to do this. I don't know if he smells his
urine in the same place and that's why he keeps doing it. Would have
anything to do with him not being neutered? Thanks!

It could be because he has a health problem or it could be because he was
never properly house trained. First make sure he has a vet exam and is
healthy. Next, thoroughly clean is spot then block his access to the
spot. for the next two weeks treat him as if he was a puppy and had never
been house trained. That means (1) going with him outside and praising
him for going where you want (2) taking him out on leash and not allowing
any play until he has relieved himself (3) *close* supervision when he is
inside so as to prevent "mistakes" (4) preventing the unwanted behavior by
either tethering closely or using a crate (cage) when he cannot be
watched. If there are any mistakes in that two weeks we can be pretty
sure that the problem is his humans aren't paying enough attention to help
him learn what he needs to learn. Punishment and yelling does not
convey the message most people think it does - what it teaches many dogs
is that people are really peculiar about this perfectly ordinary need so
one has to be sneaky and hide it from them. What the dog needs to learn
is that there is a place where relieving himself makes you happy. Only
after he has learned that there is a right place can you effectively use
interuption and removal from the wrong place to the right one to create
the contrast. And is you miss him going in the wrong place you have
missed the opportunity to teach - that isn't his fault. Anyway once two
weeks have passed without a mistake his freedom can slowly be increased -
still keeping him away froom the "spot" he currently favors. THe last
step is to start feeding him on that spot.

It can be done.

Diane Blackman

On 25 Nov 2003 17:23:57 -0800 Lelie whittled these words:
Hi everybody. My dog has lately been peeing in the house. He pees in
the same place when our back is turned. He "knows" that he is to pee
outside and yet he continues to do this. I don't know if he smells his
urine in the same place and that's why he keeps doing it. Would have
anything to do with him not being neutered? Thanks!

It could be because he has a health problem or it could be because he was
never properly house trained. First make sure he has a vet exam and is
healthy. Next, thoroughly clean is spot then block his access to the
spot. for the next two weeks treat him as if he was a puppy and had never
been house trained. That means (1) going with him outside and praising
him for going where you want (2) taking him out on leash and not allowing
any play until he has relieved himself (3) *close* supervision when he is
inside so as to prevent "mistakes" (4) preventing the unwanted behavior by
either tethering closely or using a crate (cage) when he cannot be
watched. If there are any mistakes in that two weeks we can be pretty
sure that the problem is his humans aren't paying enough attention to help
him learn what he needs to learn. Punishment and yelling does not
convey the message most people think it does - what it teaches many dogs
is that people are really peculiar about this perfectly ordinary need so
one has to be sneaky and hide it from them. What the dog needs to learn
is that there is a place where relieving himself makes you happy. Only
after he has learned that there is a right place can you effectively use
interuption and removal from the wrong place to the right one to create
the contrast. And is you miss him going in the wrong place you have
missed the opportunity to teach - that isn't his fault. Anyway once two
weeks have passed without a mistake his freedom can slowly be increased -
still keeping him away froom the "spot" he currently favors. THe last
step is to start feeding him on that spot.

It can be done.

Diane Blackman

On 25 Nov 2003 17:23:57 -0800 Lelie whittled these words:
Hi everybody. My dog has lately been peeing in the house. He pees in
the same place when our back is turned. He "knows" that he is to pee
outside and yet he continues to do this. I don't know if he smells his
urine in the same place and that's why he keeps doing it. Would have
anything to do with him not being neutered? Thanks!

It could be because he has a health problem or it could be because he was
never properly house trained. First make sure he has a vet exam and is
healthy. Next, thoroughly clean is spot then block his access to the
spot. for the next two weeks treat him as if he was a puppy and had never
been house trained. That means (1) going with him outside and praising
him for going where you want (2) taking him out on leash and not allowing
any play until he has relieved himself (3) *close* supervision when he is
inside so as to prevent "mistakes" (4) preventing the unwanted behavior by
either tethering closely or using a crate (cage) when he cannot be
watched. If there are any mistakes in that two weeks we can be pretty
sure that the problem is his humans aren't paying enough attention to help
him learn what he needs to learn. Punishment and yelling does not
convey the message most people think it does - what it teaches many dogs
is that people are really peculiar about this perfectly ordinary need so
one has to be sneaky and hide it from them. What the dog needs to learn
is that there is a place where relieving himself makes you happy. Only
after he has learned that there is a right place can you effectively use
interuption and removal from the wrong place to the right one to create
the contrast. And is you miss him going in the wrong place you have
missed the opportunity to teach - that isn't his fault. Anyway once two
weeks have passed without a mistake his freedom can slowly be increased -
still keeping him away froom the "spot" he currently favors. THe last
step is to start feeding him on that spot.

It can be done.

Diane Blackman

Diane has, as she frequently does, hit the nail on the head. Great
advice, great step-by-step, you really should do this.

I'm responding to the afterthought question of whether this has anything
to do with his not being neutered. It's possible that it does. The
procedure outlined, with [Mad-Eye Moody] CONSTANT VIGILANCE! [/Mad-Eye
Moody] will work in either case. You *may* notice that inappropriate
urination, especially on vertical surfaces, is a very strong trait in
this dog, and that you are continuing to see and respond to this after
the rest of housetraining seems to be complete. Dogs mark territory with
urine, and the urge to do so seems to be strongest in intact males.
Neutering frequently (not always) decreases this urge, and can be quite
helpful, although the results aren't seen immediately. It takes a couple
of weeks for a newly neutered dog's testosterone levels to drop off.

Intact males can learn not to mark in the house. I think it does add
another level of difficulty to housebreaking, but it's certainly doable.
Don't take "he's intact" as an excuse. If you do see marking, not just
elimination, behaviors in the house after the CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
period, you'll need to continue being vigilant until he gets the whole
message. If you choose to neuter him, you'll need to keep a close watch
for at least another three weeks: two for his hormones to stop telling
him to mark, one to be sure his newly low-testosterone self has got it
down pat.


-----------------------------------------
Only know that there is no spork.

Diane has, as she frequently does, hit the nail on the head. Great
advice, great step-by-step, you really should do this.

I'm responding to the afterthought question of whether this has anything
to do with his not being neutered. It's possible that it does. The
procedure outlined, with [Mad-Eye Moody] CONSTANT VIGILANCE! [/Mad-Eye
Moody] will work in either case. You *may* notice that inappropriate
urination, especially on vertical surfaces, is a very strong trait in
this dog, and that you are continuing to see and respond to this after
the rest of housetraining seems to be complete. Dogs mark territory with
urine, and the urge to do so seems to be strongest in intact males.
Neutering frequently (not always) decreases this urge, and can be quite
helpful, although the results aren't seen immediately. It takes a couple
of weeks for a newly neutered dog's testosterone levels to drop off.

Intact males can learn not to mark in the house. I think it does add
another level of difficulty to housebreaking, but it's certainly doable.
Don't take "he's intact" as an excuse. If you do see marking, not just
elimination, behaviors in the house after the CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
period, you'll need to continue being vigilant until he gets the whole
message. If you choose to neuter him, you'll need to keep a close watch
for at least another three weeks: two for his hormones to stop telling
him to mark, one to be sure his newly low-testosterone self has got it
down pat.


-----------------------------------------
Only know that there is no spork.

Diane has, as she frequently does, hit the nail on the head. Great
advice, great step-by-step, you really should do this.

I'm responding to the afterthought question of whether this has anything
to do with his not being neutered. It's possible that it does. The
procedure outlined, with [Mad-Eye Moody] CONSTANT VIGILANCE! [/Mad-Eye
Moody] will work in either case. You *may* notice that inappropriate
urination, especially on vertical surfaces, is a very strong trait in
this dog, and that you are continuing to see and respond to this after
the rest of housetraining seems to be complete. Dogs mark territory with
urine, and the urge to do so seems to be strongest in intact males.
Neutering frequently (not always) decreases this urge, and can be quite
helpful, although the results aren't seen immediately. It takes a couple
of weeks for a newly neutered dog's testosterone levels to drop off.

Intact males can learn not to mark in the house. I think it does add
another level of difficulty to housebreaking, but it's certainly doable.
Don't take "he's intact" as an excuse. If you do see marking, not just
elimination, behaviors in the house after the CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
period, you'll need to continue being vigilant until he gets the whole
message. If you choose to neuter him, you'll need to keep a close watch
for at least another three weeks: two for his hormones to stop telling
him to mark, one to be sure his newly low-testosterone self has got it
down pat.


-----------------------------------------
Only know that there is no spork.

Diane has, as she frequently does, hit the nail on the head. Great
advice, great step-by-step, you really should do this.

I'm responding to the afterthought question of whether this has anything
to do with his not being neutered. It's possible that it does. The
procedure outlined, with [Mad-Eye Moody] CONSTANT VIGILANCE! [/Mad-Eye
Moody] will work in either case. You *may* notice that inappropriate
urination, especially on vertical surfaces, is a very strong trait in
this dog, and that you are continuing to see and respond to this after
the rest of housetraining seems to be complete. Dogs mark territory with
urine, and the urge to do so seems to be strongest in intact males.
Neutering frequently (not always) decreases this urge, and can be quite
helpful, although the results aren't seen immediately. It takes a couple
of weeks for a newly neutered dog's testosterone levels to drop off.

Intact males can learn not to mark in the house. I think it does add
another level of difficulty to housebreaking, but it's certainly doable.
Don't take "he's intact" as an excuse. If you do see marking, not just
elimination, behaviors in the house after the CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
period, you'll need to continue being vigilant until he gets the whole
message. If you choose to neuter him, you'll need to keep a close watch
for at least another three weeks: two for his hormones to stop telling
him to mark, one to be sure his newly low-testosterone self has got it
down pat.


-----------------------------------------
Only know that there is no spork.