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artvandelay
Posts: 1
From: PA
30 Jul 2005 11:45 PM
I have a 2 1/2 year old collie, brittany spaniel mix, Cassie. I've had her since she was a pup. She's gone over a year without urinating in the house. She has a dog door so she can go in and out as she wants. She spends the day alone while I work. Just recently for the past three weeks, she hasn't gone a day without urinating in the living room while I'm at work. I'm not home when she does it, so all I can do is point out the area to her and scold her. She knows she's doing wrong, because if she does it and when I come home, she wont go into the living room. Why is she doing this and how can I get her to quit?
Thanks
Greg
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sarabe
Posts: 45
From: Uk
2 Aug 2005 4:40 PM
Perhaps something frightened her outside, maybe she caught her leg in the dog flap. Until she writes her memoirs we'll never know.
I am not surprised that she won't go in the living room if she gets taken in there and scolded. When I was at school I used to get into big trouble for chewing the end of my pen. I was so scared of the teacher that I found myself doing it through anxiety. One day when I walked into class some kids had put a chewed pen on my desk and I knew I was in for a telling off from the teacher even though I hadn't done it that time. I guess I looked guilty though because it didn't occur to him that it wasn't me who had chewed it.
The presence of a wet patch on the carpet coupled with your arrival home will no doubt cause your dog to show appeasment in an attempt to turn off your anger. If she knew she had done wrong then she wouldn't do it again. I would suggest that you show your dog some sympathy, take her to the vets to make sure that she doesn't have a urinary infection, investigate the possibility of her being worried about going outside when you are not there and shut her out of the living room for damage limitation. It would maybe be an idea to have someone spend some time with her half way through the day to make sure she gets out to go to the toilet.
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Mudinyeri
Posts: 8
From: Omaha, NE
2 Aug 2005 9:30 PM
I agree with Sarabe, something is at the root of the problem. Generally, dog will only become "un-housebroken" when certain conditions exist:
1. Too much freedom - not crated during the day if their owner(s) are not home
2. Normal potty area becomes undesirable - frightened in the area, injured in/getting to the area, wet grass, etc.
3. Separation anxiety - trying to get your attention since you're away all day
4. UTI or incontinence in older dogs
5. Illness - uncontrollable diarrhea, etc.
6. Territorial marking - any new people or animals in the house?
From your post it sounds as if your dog has free roam of the house and access to the yard through the Doggy Door. Free roaming dogs are the most likely to become un-housebroken. They get to do whatever they please whenever they please. Crating your dog during the day will go a long way toward making sure she goes when/where she's supposed to go.
I know ... someone is going to say crating is cruel. Well, it isn't. Your dog's crate/kennel should be its haven. They should LOVE being in their crate. Make sure they get enough exercise when you are home and crate them at night or when you're not home. VERY few dogs will make a mess where they sleep. It goes against their instincts.
Our 4-year old Rat Terrier is crated during the day when no one's home (rarely) and spends quite a bit of her free time in the crate even when not "forced" to go in.
She also goes potty on command. We take her for a walk on her leash, lead her to the potty area and give her the command, "go potty." She sniffs around for a bit and then goes. That saves "land mines" all over the back yard and upset neighbors.
Now ... if we could just train our neighbors not to let their dogs go in our yard! 
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sarabe
Posts: 45
From: Uk
4 Aug 2005 11:43 PM
I agree that a dog or pup should have a crate for resting/sleeping in overnight and for short periods during the day when the need arises but no dog should be shut in a crate all day. 
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Mudinyeri
Posts: 8
From: Omaha, NE
5 Aug 2005 3:40 PM
Even when someone is home at our house all day, our dog spends the better part of her day in her crate napping.
If you feel leaving your dog in its crate all day long is cruel, go home at lunch time and let it out!
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rozina4
Posts: 1
From: London
21 Jan 2006 6:22 PM
Mudinyeri, pooing on comand is not my ultimate idea of dog training and I can hardly imagine it's YOUR DOG's idea of a happy life, either. I believe there is a tendency towards control freakiness there???? As for keeping my dog in a crate all the time I am at work, no thanks. I'd rather spend some extra money getting a lovely dog walker who will give him a couple of hours of fun rather than be selfish and buy a dog for my own satisfaction while on the other hand keep him 'in prison' (as I see it) so that my prescious carpets won't be spoiled.
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Philo237
Posts: 1
24 Jun 2008 6:44 PM
When I first brought home Philo, my 2 year old Aussie, she exhibited the same behaviour for a short period of time. I ended up installing an electronic dog door from PetSafe and after about a week of training, Philo hasn't had an "accident" in the house since. There are a few good websites that sell dog doors. I'm pretty sure I got mine from here: Americas Pet Storel and they were pretty good with shipping and service.
Clair, Review Centre, Laura
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