[KurtAZ]

Hi, I just registered for this site after reading some of the really good advice people seem to be giving and insight into canine behavior. We recently added a very loving and well behaved 2.5 year old terrier mix to our home named Daisy. She is very well behaved and became fast friends with our other animals (an 11 year old Bengal cat and an adopted 9 month old feral kitten) but shortly after bringing her home it became very evident that she was abused sometime in her past. She cowers at a stern voice and flinches any time someone makes a quick movement around her. She has been with our family for about 2 months now, we never hit her, swat her butt, etc. There is no physical contact except to pet, scratch her belly, play in the yard, go for walks etc.

So the behaviors...she won't eat dog food. We have tried 5 or 6 different brands, talked to the pet store people, tried the savory sauces, wet down dry kibble, nothing seems to work until I mix in a small amount of whatever we were having for dinner with her food. We have tried the "put it down for 5 minutes and pick it up until the next mealtime" approach and, out of desperation to try and get her to eat...left it out for her all day. Neither seemed to work...she will go a couple of days without eating and then clear through a bowl if not given any other food.

Recently she has started peeing in the house for supposedly no reason whatsoever. She has a pet door to the back yard and will go outside to do her business but over the past week I have had to clean up her pee 4 times, never in the same spot in the house. If we leave her in the backyard she will sit outside our window and whine literally all night. I know she wants to be in the house with the family but if she won't go outside to relieve herself...yes we have stuck her nose in it and she KNOWS that she did something wrong. Last night before cleaning it up I called her like we were going to go outside and play fetch and she immediately slunk into the kitchen, tail and head down. I feel bad about putting her nose in it and directing her outside...this will make her pee again and I don't want to be scared of me...I just don't want her to pee in the house. It is as though she is afraid of either being outside by herself or outside at all.

If anyone has any advice on how to help a previously abused dog...any advice would be welcomed. She is the sweetest dog otherwise and I would like to get her to feel more comfortable around our family and know that she is safe.

[cigwyllt]

Whatever else you are doing with her please, please stop punishing her for marking indoors! Of course she is going to be scared if you grab her and rub her nose on the ground! If she is toileting indoors it is because she has not learned where it is appropriate for her to go or perhaps she is coming into season or maybe she has a water infection. The idea of rubbing the dog's nose into the floor is outdated and cruel! You have an abused dog and in the dog's eyes you are continuing the cruelty! It is obvious from your post that you care a lot for this dog so please change the way you deal with this habit.

If she was my dog I would treat her as I would a new puppy - close off most of the doors in the house so she is easy to supervise, take her outside every hour or so, after every meal, every nap - any change of pace/activity. If you see her sniffing and circling - take her straight outside and stay with her. Make yourself as boring as possible - no eye contact, no playing and then, when she goes to the toilet act like she has done the most amazing thing ever - lots of praise and a treat.

She just needs training.

One thing to consider, as a terrier she could be quite a stubborn little madam. I would stick to one food, no treats (other than for toilet training) and if she only eats every other day then so what! If the vet says she is healthy then don't worry.

[KurtAZ]

That is kind of what I thought with the "rub her nose in it" approach...I know it is the classic response and didn't think it was helping. Thank you for confirming that...problem is the one time I actually caught her peeing on the carpet she was just cruising down the hallway and immediately stopped and started peeing. I immediately picked her up and took her outside. She doesn't seem to have a problem going outside otherwise...it is almost like one of the cats scared her and she is running away from them? She plays with the kitten all the time so the only one she may be scared of is our cranky old man cat?

[CorkyMax]

Want to add this--Make sure you clean up really well where she has gone in the house---dogs can smell things much better than us. (I am thinking 50 times better?) Don't use anything that has ammonia in it as that has a urine type smell and she will surely continue to go there!

[KurtAZ]

Let her back in the house this morning...peed in front of the bathroom without us catching her. I told her to come on and as soon as we got to the door of the master bedroom she cowered and ran back into the family room. How do you get across the point that she is not to pee in the house without sticking her nose in it and taking her outside if you don't catch her in the act? It is not like she doesn't know to go outside and do her business...it's just this random peeing...and it is never in the same spot?

[cigwyllt]

Is she spayed? Could she be coming into season? Is she completely house trained? Could she have a water infection?

I know its hard to change your whole lifestyle but it may be worth keeping all your internal doors closed for a while so that you can supervise her more closely.

[CorkyMax]

Cigwyllt gave you some good advise! If you put -- housebreaking puppy/dog-- in your browser you will see many sites on this topic. Here is one: Housebreaking Your Puppy - Tips and Tricks for Housetraining your Dog

Don't let the puppy loose in the house unless it has just gone outside, and/or you are watching it extremely closely for signs that it has to go. The key to housetraining is preventing accidents. If no accidents occur (ha!), then the dog never learns it has an option other than going outside. When you are at home, rather than leave the pup in the crate, you can "tether" the puppy to you -- use a six foot long leash and tie it to your belt. That way he can't get out of your site in the house and go in the wrong place.


Here is a site that might tell you a lot of things--not just peeing problem: Rehabilitation of a Puppy Mill Dog

[angiesample]

R u sure ur dog isnt "submissive peeing"? My dog does this if she is nervous or really excited about something and my vet told me its not something they can control. It doesnt happen that often but when she does it, she acts like shes totally suprised bc she will smell it and then she thinks shes going to get in trouble but i do not punish her for this. Honestly when i was potty training her i didnt punish her if she had an accident. I more blamed myself that i wasnt taking her out enough...

[CorkyMax]

This link might be of some interest to you too. I do not like where it mentions about 4 hr. crate confinement. To me 2 hrs. is long enough. I would rather never see crate confinement at all---only if the dog likes it as a den with the crate door open. But here is the link: Dog Training Basics - Potty Training Basics