Help With Behavioural Issues- Dog Toileting Inside

[Ker]

This is from another forum I go to - a parenting forum. This girl is at her wits end with her dog and is willing to try anything. Please don't flame, she is asking for HELP. Can anyone recommend a GOOD behaviouralist in Brisbane for her?

I don't always hate him, just now when I watched him take a dump right at the door on the veranda I had a flash of anger. Mostly it's just despair.

I don't need suggestions, I'm just getting this off my chest so I can go back to loving him, but god he's difficult. I've NEVER encountered a dog like Chester and I've had a few. He p*sses on the floor, at his food bowl, on his bed (and lays back down in it). Yesterday he scratched at the door to be let in and raced in and p*ssed at my feet. No he does not have a kidney/bladder infection. He also poo's all over the house, on the veranda, on the stairs. I don't think that dogs bum has been anywhere NEAR a blade of grass for a long time.

I complain to the dog wash man (Chester needs washing every week as he smells to high heaven within days) about him, the dog wash man finally believed me when he brought him to me after a wash and told me with a stunned look that 'Chester had a dag on him'. This is a very normal occurrence for Chester so I asked him what the big deal was. Dog wash man said 'this was an entire turd, stuck to his chest'. Yup, Chester had taken a dump then lay in it.

Today it's raining and the smell of dog pee is everywhere, soaked into the timber floor of the veranda and wafting in through the cat flap. I'm burning incense to try and cover it.

To be honest I think Chester may be either inbred or brain damaged. The guy I got him from (as a 5 year old) seemed a bit dodgy, maybe a puppy farm? I don't know, all I know is I saw this scruffy little thing and knew I had to get him away from there. I know they were breeding from him (god help them!) as he mentioned it. Chester had the looongest scrotum I'd ever seen on a dog, it practically hung to the floor. He was snipped as soon as we could.

My sister joked about putting a ribbon around his neck and leaving the gate open, too bad we had him microchiped and they could find us (okay so I am joking somewhat).

So that's it, my doggy vent. Do you think it's bad karma that I count the years till he's gone? Yeah okay, I thought so.

Edited November 13, 2007 by Ker

[ILFC]

oh my God! that poor person- sorry W.A ite here, but I send sympathy.

[Ker]

Bump...anyone? She's desperate and willing to try anything.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Dr Cam Day is in Brisbane, she should probably give him a call or send an email and perhaps he can help her further.

ETA: Sounds quite odd, but of course this is obviously only one facet of the dogs' behaviour.

Mel.

Edited November 13, 2007 by Staff'n'Toller

[Erny]

Could also be a symptom of how the dog was raised and housed. If he was raised, kept and housed in a small pen with little to no chance of soiling away from bedding, eating area etc., it may well be that Chester has simply never learnt any other way.

Definately one for a behaviourist visit. Even without seeing the dog I'd be suggesting :

• Scrub all previously soiled areas of house and verandah with urine-odour neutralising agents.
  
• House-training to start from the very beginning. Right from scratch. With even more vigilance because of the fact Chester has no qualms about laying in it (including frequent night visits - won't be able to rely on Chester to let his owner know when he needs to go. Remember - chances are possible that he knows no differently. He probably doesn't know it could be better).
  
• STRICT Leadership regime.
  
• Verandah "off limits" until house-training is more advanced and even then only permitted under strict supervision.
  
• Dog on lead ANY time he is in the house (for better house-training vigilence).
  
• Frequent cleaning of yard. Chester needs some help to get out of his habit of "laying in it", and that won't happen so well if he has frequent opportunity to repeat it.
  

If I were the owner I'd probably like to take holidays from work if I could, simply to start putting all these things into place (and manage to work into a routine in doing so) and be able to concentrate on them full time to increase speed of training and chance of success.

But all of this without seeing or knowing the dog.

Poor dog .... I feel sorry for him. I'm sure he would not be doing this if he had known there is a better way. And poor owner - completely frustrated and at a loss. Good on her for taking this dog in. He needs some serious guidance to teach him that life can be a bit nicer than what he's learnt to make it for himself. Hope she manages.

Edited November 13, 2007 by Erny

[ILFC]

Well done Erny- thanks for that insight. Of course, considering his background- he probably had to lay in it, like some people keep their stock. They grow up knowing no differently. Looks like Chester needs a lot of time to normalize him. Poor lady and poor Chester.

[Ker]

Thanks SO much for that. She really doesn't want to get rid of him - she does love him, but she can't have him peeing and pooing inside - she has a crawling child as well. She was worried she was going to get flamed - thank you for not. The following is her second post. He's a lhasa apso btw.

Ah thanks everyone for not tearing shreds off me, I sort of thought I'd be howled down for being a bad owner with the way things have been around here lately.

He's now 10 years old, I don't know if there's much that can be done to change him at this age. He does get better, we get periods of relative calm (which means he only goes on the veranda) then something starts him off. Yes the rain does trigger it, but sometimes it's nothing I can discern. Once he's *triggered* we go through a period of about a month where we (there's 3 adults in the house) have to madly race him outside if we spot him moving about the house. After 3-4 weeks he'll settle and go back to only using the veranda. He has free access to outside via the cat door.

HonkyDonkey I get what your saying but the truth is I don't think any one else would tolerate him. We've spoken about it before and decided Chester is lucky he came to us because I don't think he would have lasted long in some other homes. He is cared for, he gets his warmed Wheetbix every morning and in winter he has a heated bed to sleep on (waterproofed!). It's just that I've NEVER had a pet that's been anywhere near this much work. The other thing that makes it hard is that he's not a responsive dog, no tail wagging or cuddling, nothing. So it's all work and no reward for want of a better phrase.

I have considered training but he doesn't even really respond to his name so I don't know how I'd get him to do training. He doesn’t really cope well with open areas either which also points to a puppy farm I guess. When it's dinner time I have to pick him up and take him to his food.

Thanks again for letting me get it off my chest, I think I was just a little hormonal yesterday.

xxx

tania

[Erny]

He's now 10 years old, I don't know if there's much that can be done to change him at this age.

Doesn't make change impossible, but it does make it more difficult (or a better word .... "challenging" ).

He does get better, we get periods of relative calm (which means he only goes on the veranda) then something starts him off. ... we go through a period of about a month where we (there's 3 adults in the house) have to madly race him outside if we spot him moving about the house.

Restrict access. On lead with you or for those moments when this is impossible, where he cannot move to another room.

I have considered training but he doesn't even really respond to his name ...

Assuming this dog is not deaf (is that a possibility?) this IS part of training. You don't have to go to classes for it but you do need to understand how it works. Think of his name as a command (a command for attention). Every time you use his name but expect nothing (or allow him to ignore you), he is learning his name doesn't mean anything.

When it's dinner time I have to pick him up and take him to his food.

Why?

Assuming there is no medical issue present (such as deafness or alzheimers, for example), I can't help thinking "leadership/boundaries". But then, that was part of what I suggested above (part, mind you).

Thanks again for letting me get it off my chest, I think I was just a little hormonal yesterday.

It happens .... and I can imagine how tiring this all is. All the more so seeing there doesn't seem to be a system in place for dealing with this. I think if you can work a 'plan/regime' out using the points I've made in my earlier post, this in itself will help you.

[Erny]

This is from another forum I go to - a parenting forum. This girl is at her wits end with her dog and is willing to try anything. Please don't flame, she is asking for HELP. Can anyone recommend a GOOD behaviouralist in Brisbane for her?

Friend from 'other' forum :

I don't need suggestions, I'm just getting this off my chest ...

Ker .... In spite of the posts here to help her, I'm not sure about this part of her own post in that 'other' forum? Not meaning to be antagonistic, but just wanting to know if she does want the suggestions (that we've gone and given anyway ).

Edited November 13, 2007 by Erny

[huski]

If he is constantly stinky I would also wonder about his diet?

Cherry (small cross breed with long hair) was constantly stinky, she always had a bit of a rash that would come and go etc. I changed her over to a super premium dried food and I have no problems now... she is nine years old and it is amazing to see the change. No more rash either!

[persephone]

AS he has 'dags' and is smelly..he may well benefit from a change to another type of food..weetbix and warm milk may not be helping, even tho he enjoys it.

Has she had this dog checked out? His lack of response, the fact that he is carried to his food..the way he is 'triggered'...how is his sight/hearing?

I was wondering.If he has a sight problem..and furniture or something changes, he may be getting all confused ?

Sounds as if he has a lot going on in his poor brain

[Lablover]

I don't think that dogs bum has been anywhere NEAR a blade of grass for a long time.

Vet check, walks off the house block, training and a crate.

[Ker]

Lol, it's not me Erny. I don't have a Lhasa Apso, or a 10 year old dog, nor am I in Brisbane! I have two resuce puppies (kelpie and kelpie X) and live in Adelaide. It's from a parenting forum - EB. They have a pet section.

I'm not sure what she meant by

I don't need suggestions, I'm just getting this off my chest ...

but I PM'd her and said if she wants help, I'd ask here and message her back with what I was told. She did think a behavioural specialist wouldn't be able to help her. I did tell her that I thought there was a leadership problem and her dog thinks he is higher in the pack than she.

She doesn't think he is deaf, because he reacts to sudden noises. His sight could very well be going though. I will mention that to her.

I felt really sorry for her, because it's a horrible situation to find yourself in and she IS asking for help to rectify it, rather than dumping her cog, which many would think was appropriate.

[Erny]

Lol, it's not me Erny. I don't have a Lhasa Apso, or a 10 year old dog, nor am I in Brisbane!

I realise that Ker . I was responding directly to the exerpt of her post from that 'other' forum.

Cheers!

Erny

[Ker]

My mistake lol...it's like when people say "my friend" yet it's really themselves.

I got another PM from her. She has heard about Dr Cam Day. He's on the radio and TV up there apparently. She is going to try him, because she said nothing she is doing is working. Her daughter crawled through a wee he'd done today And now the cat has decided it looks like fun and is joining him!

Oh and EB=Essential Baby.

Edited November 14, 2007 by Ker

[Nekhbet]

From sounds of it this dog needs a decent diet (weet-bix etf?!) and an owner who will treat it like a real dog, not baby it because of where it came from. Dog is a dog. It responds to the pack its surrounded by, she needs to look at herself and her methods 1st

[Ker]

lol, he has dog food, weetbix is his breakfast.

[Nekhbet]

weetbix isnt dog food. Never will be. I seem to find a correlation of people who feed human meals to dog with anthropomorphised animals, and hence problems with training.

[Staff'n'Toller]

lol, he has dog food, weetbix is his breakfast.

Lots of carbohydrate will result in more poo!

Agree with Nekhbet, she should find a very good quality dry and that side of it should help her case a little.

[Ker]

I asked her about food (and other things) in a PM and this is what she replied.

Chester is a regular at the Vets, he has a congenital dry eye condition that has left him almost blind. He still gets by pretty well though (we've had a totally blind dog and he's nothing like that). Green pussy eyes and a stink like no other, it was one of the reasons why I took him from the guy as I was appalled at his condition. I thought a vet trip would fix the eyes, boy was I wrong! On the way home in the car I recognised the smell as something like sheep dip.

I'm pretty sure he's not deaf. I don't think he's *deliberately* defiant. To be honest I think he might not be running on all cylinders up top. Most people who've spent any time with him tend to come around to that conclusion as well. Initially they coo and ahh over him (he IS cute!) and dismiss my suggestion...but they come around. I don't know, maybe inbred?

I feed him commercial wet food. I mix it up so sometimes he'll get Natures Gift and other times it will be Pal. He also gets some of our leftovers occasionally. Mornings he gets a Wheatbix (Vet suggested it, to help with impacted anal glands).

I've NO clue what impacted anal glands are, but they don't sound very fun. I'm glad I don't have a puppy farm dog (sounding more and more like what he is)!