7 Month Old ... New Problems

[PeppersMum]

After just reading the advice for a while I have a couple about my 7 month old Powder Puff ... any advice would be great (sorry if it is long)

Toileting!

We walk her in the morning when we get up (about 6:30am) and she usually goes to the bathroom on the walk. She holds it while we are at work (or goes outside) and gets another walk at about 5:30pm when she goes to the bathroom again. If we aren't too tired she gets a walk before bed.

The last few nights at around 9pm, while we are playing she will pee on the living room carpet. She gets a very stern no, some time out (while we try and clean it up) then we take her into our courtyard for a while (where she usually doesn't go) and often another walk (where she does go). There are no signs that she needs to go as it seems to be mid way through returning the ball you threw or on a tug break. Is there something I am missing or is she just being an obnoxious 7 month old who will stop when she keeps getting in trouble? I am really worried about taking her to other peoples houses now when she used to be good and take herself to the door to go out.

Bed!

We have a soft crate that she gets zipped into at night. She has some water in there and is in our room at the moment. The crate has 2 full sides, and mesh on 2 sides. We have been putting a blanket over 1 other side and letting air in the 4th side. (I hope that makes sense)

After a few nights of her not liking getting zipped in she usally settles in a couple of minutes now. However she is waking and whining a couple of times every night (sometimes it might be to scratch) and it is driving us nuts. I understand the light might get her up at 5:30am ... but before that it shouldn't. Would she be too hot in her crate?

We are thinking now of moving her crate after the holidays (and time spent in other houses when she won't sleep in our room anyway) and putting her downstairs. Can I still zip her in down there? Will this cause heaps more problems?

[Stewie_the_Frenchie]

Re: Toileting.

Just a thought...someone please tell me if I'm wrong.

The fact that you are playing when she pee's tells me she's excited.

Also, around this time, pups go through a second fear period...this may have some thing to do with it? Perhaps, it all gets a bit much and she wets herself?

Just a thought, don't know if it holds much merit

[Miranda]

If I were you I would take her outside for a wee before you start playing and then again while she's playing, chances are that she's enjoying the game, gets excited and just forgets, she's only 7 months old you know. Stay outside with her, you can use a cue word like 'wees' if you wish, and then lots and lots of praise when she goes. There is no point in just putting her outside and hoping that she goes, you MUST stay with her and reward her for the correct behaviour. I don't think that she's just being an obnoxious 7 month old, dogs don't behave in that way and I don't think that 'getting into trouble' is going to help when actually you are at fault for not taking her out. As a wise trainer once said, 'Use a rolled up newspaper to housetrain your puppy.....use it to hit yourself over the head every time your puppy has an accident because it was your lack of vigilance that caused it. Not an exact quote, but words to that effect

Regarding the crate your puppy is probably too hot, I don't use canvas crates for specifically that reason and putting a blanket over one side of it is just making it worse. I'd ditch the canvas crate and get a wire one instead, there just isn't enough ventilation and the closed in area gets very warm especially in summer, the dog's own body heat contributes to the problem.

BTW be aware that just because a dog is housetrained doesn't mean that it won't urinate in someone else's house especially if the other house has a resident dog. All my dogs are 100% housetrained, but I wouldn't allow them to run around unsupervised in a friend's house, new smells can sometimes trigger marking behaviour even in a reliable dog. If you go visiting I'd recommend that you take your canvas crate with you and pop her in there when you can't watch her, that's about the only plus for soft crates, they're lightweight and easily transported.

[peibe]

Is she desexed?

I have had bitches with changes in their toileting at her age and it was due to them coming into season

[PeppersMum]

She was desexed about 2 months ago (actually that's when she first went to the bathroom inside again, but we were back to being better) so it shouldn't be that!

We will try to make sure she is outside at the relavent times tonight and see if that makes it better. I am hoping to do something to the courtyard soon to make it more appealing for her to as I think the weeds being higher than her in the garden part is a little off-putting!

I guess I will just have to watch her extra closely at mum's (everywhere else we go is very dog friendly and would put any accidents down to ... that happens ...)

Is there anything I can do in the short term to cool her down in her crate? We try to let the fan blow in a little, but I don't think we can get a new one this close to Christmas!

[cavNrott]

I would be arranging for someone to come in to let the pup out during the day to toilet. For a 7 month old pup to need to hold on for 11 hours could cause problems in that she's likely to develop an urinary tract infection or kidney problems due to having a full bladder for too long.

It sounds like this pup has developed the habit of holding on and when you're playing with her she is concentrating on the game and is losing control of her bladder because she's not trying to hold it. I certainly wouldn't chastise her for it. Take her outside before you play with her. Does she drink enough water?

Am I reading correctly that this pup only urinates twice a day? Once at 6.30am and again at 5.30pm and only once more if you take her for a walk at night? That doesn't sound right to me. When you take her out at 9pm you will need to stay with her to make sure she goes or just take her outside the property for a 5 minute walk. She really should empty out before being put to bed. Do you take her outside to pee when she wakes up whining?

I agree with Miranda that a soft crate, particularly with a blanket over it is far too hot this weather. Invest in a wire crate so pup has some air circulation.