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My Housebreken Dog is Peeing In the HOUSE!

Behavioral Issues
  • My 15 month old basenji boy has not had an accident in the house for many, many months. He was slow in housebreaking as he came from an elderly breeder who had him and his 4 sisters locked in a single crate 24/7. He ate and peed in the crate for 4 months until we rescued him. We have a 2 year old basneji girl who has no house breaking issues! The past week, our boy has peed and/or pooped in the house almost every night! WHY? We take them out every 4 hours or sooner … they sunbathe in the backyard for hours a day. Any ideas as to why he could have taken a step backwards? Thanks for you thoughts!

  • i dont think this helps - but this was my experience. Hope was easy to toilet train right from 9 wks she never went in the house. and then there was a period were she would pee in the house again (unsure of the age frame) but we were so confused as to why she went from being so perfect to being a little brat we had to watch her again and then after a month or so she came good again.

    shes not desexed so it might have been her marking or when she got cranky with us she would punish us by peeing on the bed or carpet (little sh!t). it was like she was going through a rebellius stage. Of course we got her checked out by the vet to make sure she didnt have any UTI's or other issues as sometimes they can do this to let you know "hey, there something up. this is the only way i can tell you".

    anyways - thats my experience. i am sure many others will have answer(s) for you. maybe worth getting him checked just to be sure everythings well? :)

  • Firstly I'd advise you to get him checked out by the vet in case it's a medical problem.

    Did he experience any changes or trauma just before he started to break his housetraining? Something may have triggrered his reversion to his earlier days.

    I usually advise to go back to basics with his house training to sort the problem and then it's amatter of patience.

  • I agree with Patty. A vet check on abnormal behavior is always best. I had a Basenji who never touched anything in the house at 14 yrs old chew up a chair cushion. A vet checked confirmed a bad UTI. He actually pee'd blood waiting in the vet. My fault for not taking him in right away when I suspected something.

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    JKentJ
    What worked for me was taking my Basenji for a short walk along the road that I live on every hour until she went. After just a couple of days it made a big difference and after that I increased it to 2 hourly, 3 hourly and so on. I think it worked because she became used to going outside and it felt less familiar going inside. Going outside and waiting for her to perform with her getting stressed, wanting to go back inside and not understanding what I was asking didn't get us anywhere and this was much quicker and long lasting. Now she goes for 2 decent walks per day (morning and night) and usually asks to go into the garden once in between (she is 18 months old). My Basenji was a puppy so if you decide to try this you may not want to start at hourly. The other benefit of this is that she doesn't tend to want to poo in the garden unless she has an upset stomach.
  • 4 yr. old WILL NOT stop peeing the house!

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    DebraDownSouthD
    Obviously I agree that a vet check for a medical issue is first and foremost. The dramatic increase is a signal that something medically is off-- could be urinary track, hell could be crystal or thyroid or many things. A full evaluation is called for anytime your dog has a sudden change or increase in a behavior. However, >>We've always had a bit of difficulty getting her entirely housebroken - she messes in the house every once in a while, but had a months long streak of being good.<< is not a great sign. Even if she has a medical issue, you still have a problem because you have a dog that is not housebroken and it is so much better to spend the next 3 or 4 months really addressing this than spend the next 8 to 10 yrs living with it. Housebreaking is a bit like being pregnant... you are or you aren't. Sure, a sick dog doesn't count. But unless sick, or some crisis leaving a dog so long it has no option, pottying in the house is simply not okay. So once you get the medical checked out, go back in time, and retrain as if a puppy. It's a little easier since she already knows to go out when you are home... but a whole LOT harder because when she does potty, you generally aren't. I see no way to do it without returning to crate training, not just when you are gone, but home also. Basically you are going to have to go out with her to potty, sing her praise, give her a treat. Take her out when she gets up in the morning, every 3 or 4 hours during the day, after meals, before bedtime. If she doesn't ever potty in the house at night, great. If she does, then her new sleeping zone is a crate. It helps if you have one where she generally sleeps and a 2nd on near the main action for during the day... because you need to start putting her in the crate when you cannot actively watch her even when you are HOME until you get 100 percent no house accidents. I'll put a couple of links with clear instructions. Since this mostly is if left alone, separation anxiety might be the stimulus. Sometimes medications for a while, plus really good toys they only get when left alone (especially mind stimulating ones like Shirley suggested), Kongs with some smeared cream cheese or peanut butter (don't use a lot!! Keep a couple in the freezer!), safe chew toys, can help get the dog over the anxiety. Talk to your vet, because you can't effectively do housetraining while not helping with the separation issues. http://www.vetstreet.com/dr-marty-becker/its-never-too-late-to-house-train-an-adult-dog-heres-how-to-start http://www.canineprofessionals.com/housebreaking-adult-dogs
  • Pee!

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    Btw, let me add… after about 5 mos, neutering often has NO effect on marking behavior. You should also treat ANY new dog, puppy or adult, as a puppy. Which means you either have them leashed to you, crated, or actively watching every single move. It is far easier to stop marking from starting (or any bad behavior) than correcting it once establish. You also need to go back to that when marking or other unwanted behaviors start. Sure, it's a pain in the butt, but easier than letting it become a habit then try to retrain.
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    My son has been afraid of animals his entire life. We didn't know it until we were visiting a friend when he was 1 year old and their cat WALKED across the room. He freaked out. From that point on he was afraid of any live animal, but loved stuffed animals. He is 6 now and we just got an 8 week old Basenji. We talked about it alot, (he has slowly gotten used to our friend's cat, but every time the animal made a sudden move he jolted). He was excited to get the puppy, and we sat with him while he got used to exactly what the puppy would do. It has only been 2 months and my son is so good with our dog that he is not afraid of the dogs across the street who are high strung little fluffy things that always sent him runnning and screaming into the house. When I asked him about it he said he wasn't afraid now because he had one now. We waited to get a dog until both of our kids were older and could handle some responsibility. It was the best decision we made. He is still uncomforable around large dogs and other large animals, but has made remarkable progress. I don't know how your nephew will respond, but as he gets older he may realize that he has some control over the animals and that may help. Good luck!!!
  • More peeing problems??

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    thanks to all your suggestions. this is the second day/night now and she has peed outside. She has started to go towards the door when she needs to go to do a pee, so i've let her out..stayed with her until she does (which has been very quick, it used to take 5 or so minutes but now only 5 seconds..which is great!! She gets alot of praise when she does and she is quickly allowed back inside. Fingers crossed it stays that way!! Yes all bedroom & toilet doors shut..i learnt not to let her out of our sight as she is very sneaky??? One more question which i find odd..why is there a need for her to clean up after herself after peeing on the floor or her bed??
  • Pee trails

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    It can take at least 6 months or more till they are truely house trained.