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I'm at the end....

aperfectsonnettt

Well-known member
of my rope... I have a nine month old puppy and i love her to death.. She seems to be pretty well trained for nine months but seems to be heading backwards and i don't know why.. About a month ago, she peed on my BRAND NEW ottoman... i then put the ottoman out of reach to her. About a week later, she peed on the chair that goes with the ottoman... both of these times she did this RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY ROOMMATE (who lets her out as often as she needs to go.. this isnt the issue) Yesterday i paid over a hundred dollars to have all the furniture professionally cleaned and tonight, she peed on the ottoman AGAIN. I'm angry enough that I'm thinking of getting rid of her and this is the last thing i want to do cause i love her dearly. I need help.. This would make more sense to me if she didn't seem to be fully potty trained but she does. She doesn't go on the floor, why would she go on the furniture?!?! Also, she's been chewing on things like CRAZY lately.. From now on she isnt allowed on the furniture but this saddens me because who doens't want to cuddle with that cute little face?!

Has this happened to anyone else? also, do you think this problem will diminish when she is spayed? I thought girls didn't care too much to 'mark their territory?' We have another dog who lives here who as been here LONGER than veda and is male and this has never been a problem.

HELP!!!!!!
 
Ok, you need to take a deep breath calm down here so you don't feel so angry (I know -- easy to say, hard to do sometimes :flwr: and we can all sympathise!) and remember this dog is simply too young to be considered reliable yet, your expectations are probably a bit high for her at the moment, and what is needed is training. She cannot learn without training and already, she is being given far too much freedom if she is able to wee on furniture like this. So that's a starting point. (y)

Also keep in mind that professional cleaning will not necessarily remove the scent her urine has left and which will attract her back to the same place. Only an enzymatic cleaner that chemically breaks down the urine will do this -- something like Nature's Miracle is very good and not strongly scented (this is my favourite of the brands).

I would suggest getting Shirlee Kalstone's book on housetraining if you don't have it and follow her advice to a T as you need to treat this as starting from the beginning, really, to once again reinforce the right behaviour with positive rewards and avoid unwanted behaviour by not offering opportunities to her (such as letting her get onto furnture unsupervised in the first place). If your dog is weeing in this way she isn't yet housetrained -- simple as that. They also tend to like to mark places that smell richly of the people they care about. So she needs to always be at arm's reach, in a crate, on a lead, on a lap, or asleep -- never allowed free rein to roam about the house and get onto furntiure. Also if getting on furniture is a problem and an issue you need to train her that she is only allowed up onto furniture with permission. But at the same time, she clearly cannot be left unsupervised either and expected to know this as she (like most dogs) may do one thing when you are right there and another when you are out of sight.

Most dogs would not be considered mostly housetrained til about 1. But you WILL have accidents -- due to many things, from being left too long to being upset, to urinary tract infections (which some females have problems with -- I'd actually get her to a vet to start with, to be sure this isn't a problem. When they have one, they have little bladder control and often will choose to go on furniture and training will not help -- and the infection can worsen into a serious kidney problem if left untreated).

On the more serious side: if the fact that dogs will (unfortunately!) sometimes be dogs and have the occasional accident, chew things sometimes, and so on, is a situation you really don't want, then I'd advise sitting down and calmly and honestly thinking through whether owning a dog suits your priorities and lifestyle and is what you want to commit to for the next decade or more, as you will have these things happen on and off and especially as the dog gets aged. A lot of people get a dog in good faith, thinking of a picture-perfect image of a dog and find the reality is quite different, and this can be overwhelming or just too difficult for some to manage. There's no blame there to anyone, ias you don;t knwo til you are in the situation -- and it is better to rationally accept what YOU want now than have an unhappy situation continue. I rehome a few dogs from such situations, from very loving owners who realise a cavalier is just not the right dog, or a dog isn;t what they really can manage, every year, so this isn't unusual. A caring owner understands that the dog may be happier, and they may be happier, if the dog is rehomed and that is a responsible stance to take. :flwr: Dogs will be dogs and there's only so much that you can do prevention wise -- there isn't one of us who hasn't had a dog pee on a bed, on the floor, on our valuable Persian rugs (in my case and my mom's!! :lol:), on furniture. Or who haven't had our dogs chew something valued -- ends of furniture, a new shoes, a costly handbag. Lily has had diarrhea for two days now and twice, got the rugs :yikes -- it is just part of having a dog sometimes and you can have the best trained dogs in the world but sometimes, for illness, behaviour or other reason, you're gonna have those unwanted accidents. If that is just not a situation you want to deal with, then have a good think through your situation and what you really want for you and for your cavalier.

Training takes a lot of time and effort and can't be done by anyone but you so you will need to invest time in classes and maybe a private trainer to help you with some of these household issues (as they are not usually covered in mainstream classes).

If you do feel this is a bit overwhelming then I know people here will likely be able to offer some help and advice on talking to a rescue group or privately rehoming, perhaps to someone trusted on the board. (y)

Info on crate training and housetraining:
http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=11857

I highly recommend reading through this page too, which gives advice to people who are considering rehoming due to some common issues and problems, and how to try dealing with them:
http://www.wonderpuppy.net/canwehelp/
 
We went through exactly the same thing a few months ago with Chloe. We thought she was almost fully house trained (just under a year old) as we had gone months without any accidents then one night she jumps on the bed and pees all over it! My first reaction is to tell her off so she then does nothing more than going into our spare room and doing exactly the same on the bed in there!:mad:
I was so angry and upset as felt all our hard work had disappeared. After calming down I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe it wasnt her fault??
We booked to see the vet and surely enough it wasnt! He couldnt pin point exactly what was wrong with her but thought that she might be out of character. he gave her some pain relief injections and said to watch her closely for 48 hrs. If she continued to misbehave he said it may be a behaviuor issue but sure enough she was golden for the next 48 hrs. His conclusion was that it was her way of expressing pain/discomfort that she was not used to dealing with. Maybe she ate something that didnt make her feel great guess i'll never know.
Anyway please dont despair! I know exactly how you feel get her checked first and see how she in a couple of days. If its out of character then there is usually a reason:)
 
Hi!

Try to remember that at only 9 months old your baby is still very much a baby and will sometimes "backtrack", usually when you least expect it and are offering up more freedom than they have been used to. Some very sage advice already given, basically I would make that area of the house off limits again and if you must have her in there then make sure she has been out to potty beforehand.

Another thing to consider, has she been spayed yet? If not has she had her first heat? I often find that young girls backtrack in their housetraining when about to come into heat due to the various chemical changes going on within them, certain "bits" swell putting more pressure on their bladder. Just a thought is all?
 
You have been given some good advice so I will not add to it but will share a story about puppy frustrations. We got Buddy, our CKCS at six months, and he was housebroken, very reliable and one of the easiest dogs I have ever had to integrate into family life. Rather, this story is about Hadley, our Clumber Spaniel, who came to us at 12 weeks. She was easy to housebreak (with consistent use of the crate) but she was a chewer par excellence! Anything and everything went into her mouth, from socks and underwear to toilet paper and towels to chair rungs and table legs; no food anywhere was safe as she would find a way to get to it. She also was sneaky and would put her stuffie in front of her mouth to hid the fact that she was really chewing on the antique hooked rug! Hence, except when she was in her crate she was in the room with me and watched 24/7 for many, many months. It was sometimes so confining that I felt like I was going through the equivalent of Postpartum Depression!!!! Those feelings, although real, were fleeting, and all that time we spent together created a special bond between us that we will always have. Bear with it, be consistent and get the enzyme cleaner!!!
 
I do have one other thing for you to consider. Do you know what your pup's signal is to you that she needs to go out?

My puppy is 7 months old and I think she is, for the most part, housebroken. The only times in the past month or so that she has had an accident is when I failed to realize she was "asking" to go out. (Her usual signal is to go sit by the door, but if I don't think to follow her into the other room, I will never know that she is sitting there. :sl*p: ) Just yesterday, she walked out of the room and was gone for a while but knowing that I had just taken her out maybe 30 minutes before, and she had done ALL her business, surely she was okay alone in the kitchen. WRONG! I had a little present waiting for me when I went in there later. In fact, I think she even sat and whimpered at me, but she sometimes does that when she wants attention, so I really missed those signals!

Now... ppotterfield... I have a question for you! Did your lttle chewer just grow out of the chewing, or was there something specific you did to train her? I have been saying "Leave it!" "Uh, uh, uh!", etc, and that sometimes works. But Molly loves to chew on anything WOODEN and even when I provide her with a perfectly good toy to chew on, she still prefers chairs, table legs, etc. to the toys. I just recently bought the "bitter apple" stuff, but haven't tried it yet. (Don't ask me what I'm waiting for!)

-laura
 
Thank you SOOO much for all the excellent advice! Maybe i should learn not to make posts in the heat of my anger towards my little pup!! I have since calmed down and am ready to take a deep breath and start over.. I already have natures miracle so I'll try and work that into the area. (that is right now, out of reach to her) However, it's a microsuede ottoman, do you think it'll ruin it? I guess better to find out than not be able to use it at all due to its urine smell!!!

She only has free roam of two rooms in the house and supervised at all times unless i use the restroom or something of equal or less time... These "accidents" have happened RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, while looking us clear in the eye!! This was why i, at first, thought she might be mad at me for something but have since read in prior threads that dogs don't do this.. (i know i've heard that cats do)

Also, Cathryn you had asked if she was spayed. She has not been spayed and she went through her first cycle in late april and i've heard a vet recommend two months after their first cycle was when they should be spayed so this will be happening ASAP! Do you think that will help?!

Thanks for all the help!!!! I'm feeling a ton better!!
 
Thank you SOOO much for all the excellent advice! Maybe i should learn not to make posts in the heat of my anger towards my little pup!! I have since calmed down and am ready to take a deep breath and start over.. I already have natures miracle so I'll try and work that into the area. (that is right now, out of reach to her) However, it's a microsuede ottoman, do you think it'll ruin it? I guess better to find out than not be able to use it at all due to its urine smell!!!

She only has free roam of two rooms in the house and supervised at all times unless i use the restroom or something of equal or less time... These "accidents" have happened RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, while looking us clear in the eye!! This was why i, at first, thought she might be mad at me for something but have since read in prior threads that dogs don't do this.. (i know i've heard that cats do)

Also, Cathryn you had asked if she was spayed. She has not been spayed and she went through her first cycle in late april and i've heard a vet recommend two months after their first cycle was when they should be spayed so this will be happening ASAP! Do you think that will help?!

Thanks for all the help!!!! I'm feeling a ton better!!

Actually, it is probably healthy to vent on the board instead of holding it in or blowing up at the pup. When a female comes into season-- they sometimes mark- but that usually stops when the season is over. My girls have only had urination issues when they had urinary tract infections..
 
Yeah, come vent here! :) You will usually find there are many others who have already walked in your shoes and a variety of perspectives on what to do.

Keep in mind that urination is a good thing to dogs, an important part of their way of communicating, marking the place they call home, etc so we are really trying to change something that to them seems important. It is hard to know why they do these things sometimes but I have found over the three that I have -- a mix of a puppy, an unhousetrained near-adult, and a rescue -- that what works is being really consistent, giving really good rewards for the right behavior (like a bit of cheese or hotdog, 'high value' rewards and cheerful praise every time), and when there are accidents, counting backwards from 15 while reminding myself that the issue is entirely one of being more watchful and better training, not the dog trying to be naughty... :cool:
 
Thank you SOOO much for all the excellent advice! Maybe i should learn not to make posts in the heat of my anger towards my little pup!! I have since calmed down and am ready to take a deep breath and start over.. I already have natures miracle so I'll try and work that into the area. (that is right now, out of reach to her) However, it's a microsuede ottoman, do you think it'll ruin it? I guess better to find out than not be able to use it at all due to its urine smell!!!

She only has free roam of two rooms in the house and supervised at all times unless i use the restroom or something of equal or less time... These "accidents" have happened RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, while looking us clear in the eye!! This was why i, at first, thought she might be mad at me for something but have since read in prior threads that dogs don't do this.. (i know i've heard that cats do)

Also, Cathryn you had asked if she was spayed. She has not been spayed and she went through her first cycle in late april and i've heard a vet recommend two months after their first cycle was when they should be spayed so this will be happening ASAP! Do you think that will help?!

Thanks for all the help!!!! I'm feeling a ton better!!

One other thing to mention! :) I had a neighbor who would visit, and that was the only time my Basset Hound would have a problem. Whenever he was in the house she would go right in front of him.... both pee and poo. We finally figured out that it was a submissive thing she was doing. She would look this neighbor in the eye and GO. I think she was intimidated by him for some reason, and would just let go. Now, I don't think your situation is necessarily this, but thought it was worth a mention. This neighbor never did anything (that we know of!) to our dog, but something about him didn't sit right with our dog.

Also, 9mos is also the "teen years" for dogs, and they are notorious for misbehaving kinda on purpose during those times. Patience and continued training even when it appears you're being ignored is what works the best. Even if they are not exactly cooperative, it is sinking into their teen brains somehow! When they get a little older the training magically reappears and they are wonderful.:rolleyes:
 
One of my girl cavs, India, has peed on the sofa and an overstuffed chair in our living room on 2-3 occasions. Each time we took her to the vet and found she had a bladder infection.

Now we take her to a groomer for a 'hygienic' haircut, and we haven't had a problem in over a year!
 
Aperfectsonnet-
You are not alone-----my Katy just ran downstairs and I was tooo comfortable to watch what she was doing and when I followed her after a few minutes....poop on the kitchen rug:( .
She is 13 months old....accidents are few and far between---but I KNEW I should have followed her downstairs....
My fault-she just is not totally reliable yet.
 
Sorry I am late at responding to this one. Somehow I missed it. Anyway, dittoing everything everyone else said but also this.... At dog obedience they warned us that 9 months is the age when it seems that everything you ever taught your dog just flies out the window & it can be a very trying time. They said to just hang in there, don't lose your cool & the phase will pass. Beau is 7 months old now, so I guess in time I'll get to see if I have to eat my words. :xfngr:
 
Ruby is almost 7 months old, and up until a few weeks ago, she hadn't had an accident in forever. Then suddenly, within 3 days, she had peed on our hardwood floors (while I was upstairs putting on my shoes to take her out), she peed in our hallway upstairs after she jumped off our bed first thing in the morning because we apparently weren't moving fast enough, and ON OUR BED one night. The bed thing was entirely my husband's fault because he took her out before bed and just brought her back in when she didn't go potty. Then he put her on the bed, and BAM....there she went. I couldn't get mad at her really any of the times. It just reminds you that even though they seem to be trained, they really aren't and are still just babies. She has been doing great since that time, but she just went through a relapse. The best thing that has worked for us was training her to ring a bell. I can pretty much hear it all over our condo. We also have crate-trained her from the beginning. She really does know she's supposed to go outside, but sometimes she just gets a little impatient. When she potties in the house, she gets this look on her face like "I'm sorry, mommy. I just really had to go. Am I in trouble?". It really is a pitiful look. I know her signals pretty well, and I know when she's faking just to go outside. You know she means business when she goes and whacks her bells, looks at you, then whacks them again and sits and makes a little whining sound. Good luck, and just be consistent with your training!!
 
Just thought of one more thing to add to all that has been said.

Occasional potty slip ups are just like when one of us drops or spills something or forgets to do something we were supposed to do. Not one of us is perfect, and we shouldn't expect our dogs to be perfect either. We need to be realistic and not view accidents as something done intentionally.

Rewarding good potty behavior really helps get them back on track.:)
 
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