Thunderpants

Yes I find her sleeping in her bed after its pee'd on, but I never find her on the couch after its peed on

She's toilet trained and has a dog door directly from her bed to outside and she uses it regularly to toilet like she was trained. The problem is that it's very random times in her bed like 4am when we're asleep, it's still wet when we come downstairs. On the couch it's like once every two months when I go to the kitchen for 2 mins. I recently took her out for every pee on the leash for 4 week because of her surgery. It made no difference. She knows where to pee and does it perfectly, she just decides randomly to pee on her bed or on the couch. How can you teach her not to do that? I just kick her off and outside when I see the pee and I see her watching me clean it with her head down. It's like she knows it's wrong but does it anyway.

Thanks everyone for your detailed feedback. No UTI problems, the only issues have been a couple of surgerys for luxating patella (knee out of place) although that was only the last few months and it hasn't seen her habits noticeably change in any way. She can also hold herself for up to roughly 8 hours, so there's no leaking or bladder problems there either. I tried the crate thing too, but she peed in there five times as often and I ended up having to throw it away because the smell wouldn't wash off anymore. Had some canvas. I think it is a behavioural thing unfortunately. I do limit her to her room now when I go out or upstairs. I just hope that we can avoid it long enough to let her grow out of it. I just have that sinking feeling that even after a year she would still pee on the couch given a chance. Real shame cause we'd love to have her in our bed but I can't trust her. @hankdog, thanks, I train her a lot, however she definitely has a strong stubbornness that still creeps into daily activities, including running through the door first, although most doors she will wait for me first... Odd. Crazy on the leash too, even after a solid 6 week training regiment and a year of sticking to the plan. First day I give up flips back to being like I never trained her, it almost killed me. So now I just let her go on an extendable leash and she's fine, just runs around a lot

Hi there, I know it's an age old topic, but after searching for hours online, I can't find anything that matches my problem exactly. Hope some one can ahead new light on this. So I have a 1.5 yo Frenchy and she always pees in her own bed and our living room couch. E.g the other day I left them room while she was sleeping for no more than ten minutes, she jumped on the couch and peed on two different seats and left the room when I came back. E.g 2. Last night I gave her a new bed and by morning she's peed on it. Before this she has been peeing on her bed since I've had her, roughly every two weeks, it's painful. I always soak where she pees with urinoff and then put her bed in the washing machine after its rested to work as per the directions. I took her bed away for a month, I also moved where she sleeps, but she peed on the bed the day I gave it back. I find she pees almost every time I wash her or give her a freshly washed bed. It's as though its a vengeance pee. Every single online post says that they will grow out of it by 1yo and all the comments support that, none of them are as bad, regular and long standing as my girls issue. Is she just angry at me for washing her and her beds? Is she marking her property STILL? I don't believe anymore that it's something she will grow out of. Hoping for any new ideas please, I'm soooo over this. Oh and she now sleeps on a bath matt cause its easer to wash when she pees on it.

Thanks for getting involved with your suggestions everyone. I went to north Richmond vet after speaking with Karen, although she said Michelle would be better for this. She was brilliant and noticed the leg was too straight and thus causing part of the problem with the patella, along with the groove being too narrow. She also suggested to speak with Craig or John form north shore vet as they are specialists. Craig bailey was just as good as some of you said. The leg is definitely too straight but will still be solved by deepening the groove and moving the bone that holds the ligament below the patella down and across (maybe). Usually the patella will clunk out of place easily but the groove seems so shallow that it slides across the edge each time she bends her leg. This is why she needs the surgery. There's a grinding each time we feel while she bends her leg. Surgery is booked for may and it will be a hard ten weeks recovery but worth it over time

Damn that was fast. Thanks so much for your feedback. @aussielover yes I meant north shore vet and Craig bailey looks good. May I ask your experience with him is or what you heard? I forgot to mention. Frenchies can be bad under anaesthesia, so it's important that the vet has experience with that. Actually everyone's recommendations looked good. So it might just come down to who's local in the end after all. Unless of course someone is a frenchy and knee surgeon specialist! :)

Hi, My 1yo frenchy has been diagnosed with a luxating patella I.e her knee cap shifts out of its groove. I usually see north Sydney vet located in st Leonard's, Sydney nsw and they are very good but expensive. I will pay if it means I get the best surgeon but I wanted to ask if anyone knows an especially good vet hospital and surgeon in Sydney that you would recommend to get it right Thanks in advance

Thanks so much for all your advice. Thunder has many toys that we rotate on a daily basis so I'm confident that isn't the issue. He also clearly likes toys that he can tear apart rather than just chew on. E.g. The kong is only good for getting treats out of and throwing around but he will never chew on it. Give his some cardboard or a $0.20 plastic toy from Vinnies and he'll sit there chewing it to small pieces for hours at a time, so that's what we give him at night. Anyway, here's an update for anyone else who has the same problem of their dog chewing or ripping all bedding apart. A couple of days ago I went to various upholsterers and clark rubber, none of them had fabric that would be strong enough to deter a Staffy from tearing a soft bed apart, Clark rubber doesn't sell the Crust of the foam either. So I visited the local pet shop and settled on those really strong trampoline beds that Indigirl also mentioned. That night I then wrapped the bed in a doubled over sheet and secured it under the feet and added a towel for snuggles. He did the usual and scraped at it until the sheet tore, but not the bed thankfully. Last night I added another towel and messed them up, He didn't do anything at all last night. I think a lot of this is to do with trying to pull bedding together for comfort. See because the sheet attached to the bed wouldn't move then maybe it was frustrating and he just kept clawing at it to pull together. Since I added more towels, he moved those to get comfortable and it was all good..... so far BTW these bed have replaceable covers for about $35 for medium size. So if he does rip through it in future then at least it's not messy and cheaper than building a stronger cushion. Hope that helps others!

I think it was made of nilon, I got it from dealsdirect for $30 and it lasted one night. I guess it wasn't that tough but after what I see him destroy daily I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't tare the tougher ones too. I call him destructodog!

Thanks again. Yeah I know he would be fine on a hard surface, but just seeing how he runs to the bean bag and sleeps for hours more makes me think he's not sleeping at night. Of course you're right too though, it makes me feel better that he's really comfy. I see about the crust thing now, cheers

Thanks! Unfortunatley we don't allow him upstairs to the bedrooms but the bedding it's self is a good idea. I only know clark rubber near me in Brookvale, would they have Crust? I don't know what that is actually

Hi, I have an English Staffy 9 months old. He now sleeps on a folded sheet and 2 towels because any padded or stuffed bedding I give him is chewed up and ripped apart. He ripped apart a trampoline bed, a tough nilon padded matt and a pillow. He loves to tear apart any stuffed baby toys we give him and chews holes in towels we give to sleep on now. I'm scared to spend money on any padded bedding as it will likely turn his sleeping quarters into clouds by morning, but I feel bad for him sleeping on a hard surface all night. When we see him in the morning, first thing he does is run to his beanbag and sleep in the living room. Question is - Any advice or tips on detering him from chewing and ripping up his soft bedding? Thanks

Perhaps that's the case in Sydney Vickie but it certainly isn't down here. The first few levels are strongly geared towards the skills that companion dogs need. Walking on a loose lead is one of the first exercises taught. Yeah that course I linked too had all the details of what is taught and it really focuses on young dogs learning to loose leash walk and stay while other dogs are around etc. PS. I noticed you love whippets and saw this earlier. Couldn't help paste it. http://blogmuscle.wordpress.com/2007/07/13...internet-abuzz/

Thanks, The problem with walking the other way is that I get dizzy after turning 50 times each minute before he would think about getting the idea. Seriously I went back and forth at the begining and all he did was change directins and run each way till he hit the end, I couldn't believe it. He's such a smart dog but sometimes I wonder, it must be something in the genes. I think the Saturday would be fine, it takes 45mins from Naremburn because of the roads, I guess from Ryde the roads are faster with less lights and traffic. Unfortunately I just can't go on weeknights for now. Just found this link which seems to fit well, 3:00pm looks good http://www.nsdogtraining.org.au/training.html

Yep I have been to PetO and I understand what you mean, I kind of want an open area like a park which is where we always take him and he misbehaves. The association should help a little more I think. Thanks for the link, maybe a couple of personal sessions at the park is best then, it seems even the group sessions are more than I thought. My puppy trainer said there were some that just cost $3 each time plus an annual membership of $100 but I can't see anything like that... WOW, a Staffy x Ridge X Bull Mastiff . I bet it's got some serious muscle to pull you and the car if you ever break down. The harness seems to work easily for now so hopefully it will break his habit over the next while, the trainer will I guess let me know if it's right.

I'd wait for one one instruction before trying again.. you timing might be a bit out. If all you want is a loose lead, then there's no need to try to get him to walk close by your left hand side in the heel position. Also saying "heel" if he's got no idea what "heel" is has probably ruined that cue for you. Best this be addressed in classes. Our club teaches "heel" by getting the dog into a static position (sitting close and straight by your left hand side) before attempting any forward movement. That seems to work well for many dogs. He seems to know what heel is, it's what he does after that which ruins it's definition. If I say heel, he will come back to my side for a second but then run off. It may be from me giving a treat for coming back previously. Yeah I'll see how it goes at the trainers now before we continue with the HEEL word. If anyone can tell me the name of the Lane cove school it would be great. Narrabeen and St Ives are a long way from me. I'm looking into the Mosman one but I'm busy each Tuesday. Thanks again poodlefan

I've seen dogs haul their owners on a harness so you can't afford to get complacent about pressure on it. I've also seen dog that pull like trains walking quietly on loose leads in 15 minutes.. Hands on instruction is definitely what you need. He needs to learn that he doesn't get to take a step forward unless the lead is loose. Clicker training can be awesome for teaching that. Thanks, I have a clicker so I should try that. Honestly I never let him pull consistantly. As soon as there was pressure for over a seconds I would stop dead and depending on the technique I was trying, walk the opposite direction and/or backward until he was next to me and I would say heel and stat off, he would then run immediately to the front with full pressure. We would repeat that over and over until I had covered 1KM over 1m of pavement. I also tried calling back with a treat each time and then holding it walking next to me saying heel and then gave to him. grabs the treat and runs off without giving me a chance to stop or give another for staying there. I also tried taking 2inch steps and correcting him each time. I think we stopped and started over 1000 times and nothing changed at all. There seems to be two gears, 5th and park. All of these were tried for over a month each and every day. He's so stubborn! Gotta love him though.

You probably need to work more on getting him to walk on a loose lead, than just at your side.. that's bread and butter work for most good dog trainers. If you're using a device than wraps around his legs, you're using a harness, rather than a halter. Halters are fitted to a dog's head. Personally I think harnesses are more effective and kinder for a dog. I think the one for the nose is called a Halti, maybe that's just a brand... I used that but gave up after he wouldn't walk with it. He just sat there and wouldn't get up for anything, even chicken mince. Just pushed it off his nose every time. I have the one that fits like a harness now, it's the bomb! It's the only thing that's helped so far. He even walks next to me with the slightest of lifts on the leash. I tried all the techniques on loose leash shown to me by trainers and tutorials by "dog whisperers" for over 4 months every day but he just won't give an inch. The best I got was less of a pull but he still walked up front with a fair amount of tension, but no imporovement on that until I tried the harness, It's a dream, did I mention that! He can't pull my back out anymore. Stong little sucker.

Just wanted to let you know that no responsible training organisation will allow you to train your dog offlead until you've demonstrated a high degree of control on lead. That will take time. Yeah good point, I guess I mean training around other dogs in a park more so, the off lead will come when he's good and ready as you say. I really need to work on HEEL, he pulls like a steam train. I've resorted to a halter that wraps under his front legs to break the habit. Thanks for your help everyone.

Hi, I searched hi and low on the internet for some casual group dog training classes (i'm told there are ones with a member fee but then you just turn up for a class when you can for about $30) but all I can find are ones with $100 courses run weekly. Does anyone know of any on the north Shore? I'm in Naremburn near Crows Nest. I have a 7 month old staffy who I need to train off lead in parks. At the moment he's almost perfect in the house but loses all focus outside. Thanks!