Hi All -- If anyone has some words of wisdom on this it would be greatly appreciated. We adopted our dog 3+ yrs ago from a shelter. She is approximately 5 yrs old now, small mixed-breed dog weighing in @ about 25-27 lbs.

Anyways, we have an issue of her pottying in the house (of course) She only does it 2 places, one is in the first bathroom floor usually on a towel left on the floor but othertimes not on a towel. Her second favorite place is in front of the fireplace in the livingroom. I let her out every morning as soon as I get up, and last thing before I go to bed. But I do keep water down for her all night (should I stop doing that?) I don't know what I need to do in-between, I am guessing she is getting up in the middle of the night and going in the livingroom?!?!

She sleeps at the foot of my bed every night, so crating her is absolutely out of the question. She apparently came from a pretty stressful (not sure what exactly) home life, or it was just the experience of coming from the only home she ever knew to a very strange "shelter'...she was a wreck when we first got her, and wouldn't eat for her first 2 weeks, etc. And this is the reason I say crating her isn't an option, I don't want to put her through any more stress, but there has to be another option?!

I took her to a groomer one time (the last time) and a man was trying to releas her gland or whatever, and not only did she try and bite him (she's leary of men anyways) but she was SO stressed out about the whole thing, she burst a blood vessel in her eye!

She has came around beautifully, and she will never leave us until it is her time to go. She gets along great with all 3 of my sons too.

Please any suggestions, ideas, experiences, etc....

Thank You!

Kelly

We got our dog when she was just a puppy (3 months old). Our yard was not yet fenced, so whenever she needed to go out, we had to leash and accompany her. Because she was still so young, that meant we also had to get up at least once, sometimes twice, each night to take her potty. Now, even though your dog is old enough to hold her bladder all night (but evidently isn't bothering to do so), I suggest you do the same thing, as though she were a puppy-- since you feel crating is against her best interest. Set your alarm for about halfway through your sleep period, put a leash on your dog, and take her potty outside. Even if you have a fenced yard, the leash will let her know she has no alternative but to go only where you approve. If once is not enough, and she is still pottying in the house, you'll have to interrupt your sleep twice. I know it's hard to do that, and makes for a hellish day, but sometimes that's just what we gotta do. I hope that helps.

Thank You that is a great idea.

I have the last 2 nights pulled her water and haven't found any "wet spots" since. And she seems even more anxious to go out in the morning, she nudges my calves as I am walking with her head almost as to tell me that I'm not walking fast enough, LOL.. And then half jumping at the wall next to sliding glass door again seems to be telling me I'm not opening it fast enough.

I'll give the "water pulling" a week total time to make sure we have cured her, then move on to another solution should I need to do so.

Kelly

Oooops, wanted to include her pic..

OH, she's very pretty-- very healthy looking too. I do hope pulling the water works for you, so you don't have to ruin your sleep-- good luck with that!

That was a very good idea. I did that with my dogs as well. Occasionally, they would urinate indoors in the middle of the night. When I would see that, I would remove the water for the duration of the night. If the bladder was empty, there was no urgency to pee.

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[reeskujo]

In your original post you stated you were taking her out first thing in the morning and then before you went to bed.

Are those the only times you take her out to potty?....If so then that's the problem....She needs to be taken out to potty a minimum of 3-4 times a day....There's no way any dog or at least a small breed dog can hold it all day like that...

The smaller the dog the smaller their bladders are....The best way to think about it is would you be able to go from getting up in the morning to going to bed at night without going to the bathroom?

Mom of 3 boys, have you thought of litter box training this dog? She is a small breed...so why not?

That way you won't have to get up and take her outside in the cold at night. You said you adopted this dog 3 + years ago, how long has she been peeing on your carpet??

With regards to housetraining an older dog, it can actually be easier to do this. Puppies do not have the physical capacity for "holding" it until they are 4 months old or so. Before that you are just doing damage control and trying to get the concept across to them. Older dogs, especially ones that have been kept outdoors in a kennel, will not want to go indoors because it doesn't feel right. Follow the same rules that you would with any other dog during housetraining: out after every meal, out after every nap, and out every two hours otherwise. And don't just put them out in the yard and expect them to do their business. Take them to a specified spot and wait with them until they do their stuff. Take that opportunity to teach them a word to "go" too, if they don't already know one




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