Dog started urinating in the house because we left her alone

[irene]

Hello all,

my 12 month old boxer has been living in the country with us and sleeping inside the house on our sofa and at night in her crate. Whenever we had to leave her alone, she would only accept to stay outdoor in the balcony / garden. A week ago we moved into an appartment with no outdoor area, and she is free to move around in one room and the hallway. Yesterday we had to leave her alone. We left her to wonder around in the hallway (crate at daytime is no option for her), came back after half an hour to see how she is doing and she had peed on the floor, obviously from stress. We took her out to eliminate, and an hour later left again for another 2 hours. Again she had peed on the floor when we came back. That was yesterday around midday. Since then we never left again, she has been here with us relaxed and comfortable as always and yet she has urinated 3 times and pooed once on the same spot on the floor, although it was not time for her to go to toilet. And until now she had done her business on our floor only twice since she has been living with us (over 4 months now). I used a lot of bleach each time to eliminate the odor, but it did not help. I am desperate. I can't keep my eyes on her all the time to catch her on the act. Seems that she thinks now that she did that twice without getting cought, she is free to do it all the time. How do I break this newly acquired extremely annoying habit, and how do I train her to stay home alone?

Thank you so much for your thoughts.

[Nettle]

The bleach is your enemy. Because of the ammonia, it invites the dog to eliminate wherever it has been used. Instead use an enzymatic cleaner, or white vinegar if the surface will stand it.

At the same time, get your dog checked for urinary tract infection. It could well be that this is entirely stress-related as you have already guessed, but eliminating illness is also important. Has she had a season yet, is she recently spayed? You haven't had her very long at all, and she could still be quite insecure in general.


Moving to a new home is stressful enough for us, who know what is going on, but it can be far more distressing for dogs. Many dogs don't 'get' where is indoors and where is outdoors in a new home, and there may also be smells from previous occupants that are encouraging her to eliminate indoors.

Your solution is to go right back to puppy days by taking her out every hour and rewarding her lavishly when she performs.

Seems that she thinks now that she did that twice without getting cought, she is free to do it all the time.

She does not see things that way. She needs to eliminate, so she does. It is not an act of malice: It is a misunderstanding.

[irene]

Thanks... she has no problems whatsoever. She never eliminated inside and we have been living in the new appartment for a week. The problem has started since we left her alone yesterday

I didn't know that about bleach, thank you so much for your tip!

[rachel540]

This might be abit obvious but does she know how to let you know she needs to go out? Whenever visiting somewhere new we show dogs straight away where the door to the outside toileting area is, take them out a few times until they grasp the idea. I think the same applies here. The routine has changed and shes all over the place, start from scratch as is shes a pup again and get her routine back in place. Did you take her out before you left? Did you leave anything for her to do - try a favourite chew or kong to distract her, make leaving her into a positive experience to lower her stress.

[irene]

We had been living in that appartment for a week and she got used to the routine. As i said, she started the behavior not the day we did move in but a week after, the first time we left her alone. Of course I had taken her out to do her business before we left her and I did leave her 2 toys, but she obviously gets so stressed when we are gone that she does not care about the toys. She just wants to "escape" in order to come and find us.

She never leart to tell us when she wants to go. I take her out 4 times a day and it has been working so far.

Best

Polyniki

[rachel540]

Ok good, were the tous interactive, for example something she can play with alone to distract her? Thats why i love kings, filled with a tasty treat that they can lick and chew for a good hour.

Ok so anxiety of being left alone, its the same advice, start again as if she is a puppy, practise going out for literally 5 mins a couple of times a day, do the full routine, coat on, leave her a chew and grab the keys, etc. See how she handles it. Build up to 10mins the following day, then 15mins, etc, etc. notice any changes in her behaviour, is she geting more stressed when youre gone on day 3 at 15mins for example, if so dont move forward repeat leaving for 10mins until you see an improvement. Build her confidence that she is safe and you will return.

I hope that makes sense?

[irene]

Yes, it does make sense, thank you.

[Nettle]

Further explanation - when under stress, physical changes and hormone release make all of us need the bathroom more often than we usually do. A week in a new home is nothing - she is way over threshold for stress still. And then she was left all alone in these alien surroundings. So that is your explanation. Plus do not underrate existing bathroom smells in the house from the previous occupants. No matter how clean it is to you - to a dog it smells of bathroom.

You will overcome this by tackling the potty-training as we have suggested. Be kind to yourself and your dog by understanding that she is not doing this to annoy you. You have a very insecure dog at the moment. You might find an ADaptil diffuser helpful - it emits a scent said to be soothing to dogs.

[irene]

Thank you all. She is currently being treated for diahhrea with cortizone and metronidazole and I also recently changed her food to a hypoallergenic clinic diet. But again, the treatment had already started when we moved in and there were no problems with her potty schedule so far. The last couple of nights though she had been waking up in her crate panting and ran to drink water when I let her out. Maybe all of this is somehow connected, or maybe as i said, just because she peed twice on the floor and noone was around to let her know that this is unwanted, she automatically marked that spot as a toilet - not saying she does this on purpose to annoy me.

I started taking her out more often during the day and see how this goes.

[Erica]

Remember that correlation does not always equal causation! She has had so many changes in her recent life that it could be anything. I would really suggest at least talking to your vet to make sure it's not medical.

[gwd]

Thank you all. She is currently being treated for diahhrea with cortizone and metronidazole

this will make her drink more water and can cause pee accidents. dogs on pred can even have incontinence while sleeping when they're on pred.

[DianeLDL]

Thank you all. She is currently being treated for diahhrea with cortizone and metronidazole

this will make her drink more water and can cause pee accidents. dogs on pred can even have incontinence while sleeping when they're on pred.

gwd,

Thanks. That is good information to know.

On pred that can cause incontinence, diarrhea, and new home with owners taking out of the home for longer periods.

What a very stressful situation for the poor, sick dog.

Once the dog is off the meds and the diarrhea has stopped, she will be more ready for re-house training.
I would take it very easy and slowly. She probably needs some good TLC right now. I would treat her as if she were a sick baby for the time being, which she is.

Diane

[irene]

Thank you all so much for the positive support. I am so sad and you guys really help. I have 2 new questions and I would love your thoughts on them.

Yesterday I tried to do a "I am leaving home" training session with her, although it was improvisation, really, so I do not know if it is the right approach. I opened the house door and at this very moment she stood up behind her baby gate, eyes wide open, started panting - 10 seconds ago she was lying there totally relaxed. I left the door half open and went behind it so she can't see me. She started jumping on the baby gate, I went back inside and said "oh oh". I waited for her to calm down, repeated the procedure, waited 10 seconds. Each time she would jump I said oh oh, each time she would stay quiet in a sit I would come in, click and toss a treat, so she sees that as a game. Eventuelly I even closed the door, got her to wait for 30 seconds, sitting but still panting. But I am not sure if it is ok. Maybe this will teach her to look anxiously at that door and wait for a treat? Will it work, or should I rather toss a treat dispenser and leave her alone for 5 minutes, come back, and do this several times until she understands that when I get out of the door she gets a great toy full of treats? But what if she has emptied the dispenser and starts panicking and I am away? I think this will be contra-productive and only cause more panick.

And I am not sure what to do when I catch her peeing on the floor. Right now I shout "hey"!, dash towards her and then with an angry voice say "Lara, no, bad girl!". She looks at me a bit scared. Then I leave her alone and clean the mess. I did that yesterday when she peed right in front of me, we were actually playing, and then a couple of hours later she did it again. So I think it is not working. It's like when she is eating poop or any other disgusting thing, I scold her the same way and she does this again, and again, and again, although she knows I don't approve (she actually runs off with her loot when I approach her to take it away, because she won't drop it and I don't want her ending up eating it).

[JudyN]

Yesterday I tried to do a "I am leaving home" training session with her, although it was improvisation, really, so I do not know if it is the right approach. I opened the house door and at this very moment she stood up behind her baby gate, eyes wide open, started panting - 10 seconds ago she was lying there totally relaxed. I left the door half open and went behind it so she can't see me. She started jumping on the baby gate, I went back inside and said "oh oh". I waited for her to calm down, repeated the procedure, waited 10 seconds. Each time she would jump I said oh oh, each time she would stay quiet in a sit I would come in, click and toss a treat, so she sees that as a game. Eventuelly I even closed the door, got her to wait for 30 seconds, sitting but still panting. But I am not sure if it is ok. Maybe this will teach her to look anxiously at that door and wait for a treat? Will it work, or should I rather toss a treat dispenser and leave her alone for 5 minutes, come back, and do this several times until she understands that when I get out of the door she gets a great toy full of treats? But what if she has emptied the dispenser and starts panicking and I am away? I think this will be contra-productive and only cause more panick.

You need to change your approach here... What you are trying to do is reward her for suppressing her anxiety, and reprimanding her for showing the anxiety, but she still has the anxiety. Treats aren't useful for treating separation anxiety - kongs, etc, are helpful as a distraction and to help the dog feel relaxed.

So... you need to take a step back to where her anxiety is low. Stand up, walk to the house door, return and sit back down. If she shows anxiety, do this umpteen times a day until she doesn't bat an eyelid. Then walk to the door, grasp the handle, and return. Again, repeat until you're sure she's OK with that. Gradually work through opening the door without going out, stepping through the door and coming back, closing the door behind you... then extend the time you are outside the door. But at the moment she is highly stressed so take this very gradually so as not to put pressure on her.

And I am not sure what to do when I catch her peeing on the floor. Right now I shout "hey"!, dash towards her and then with an angry voice say "Lara, no, bad girl!". She looks at me a bit scared. Then I leave her alone and clean the mess. I did that yesterday when she peed right in front of me, we were actually playing, and then a couple of hours later she did it again. So I think it is not working. It's like when she is eating poop or any other disgusting thing, I scold her the same way and she does this again, and again, and again, although she knows I don't approve (she actually runs off with her loot when I approach her to take it away, because she won't drop it and I don't want her ending up eating it).

Please don't reprimand her for peeing indoors. You may be teaching her 'Don't pee on that particular bit of floor' (not much use), 'Don't pee when I'm looking' (so she'll go behind the sofa), or even just 'Don't pee' (and can you imagine the distress and problems that lesson will cause?). Instead, as has been said, take her out regularly and praise & reward her for going in the garden. If she has an accident indoors just clean it up without any comment at all.

[irene]

hat you are trying to do is reward her for suppressing her anxiety, and reprimanding her for showing the anxiety, but she still has the anxiety

Yes, this makes sense

Please don't reprimand her for peeing indoors

But then what would be her motivation to hold it until she goes outside? To her the location makes no difference. Just routine? She already was accustomed to the routine until a few days ago.

thank you so much for your tips!