Hello There,
I hope that you are enjoying this holiday season with your family, friends, and of course, with your basenjies. I am the proud mother of a 2-year-old female Basenji, named Zola that was already housebroken. A situation has come up with Zola that I am growing very concerned about. She has been with us now for about 3 weeks, and during the past week she has peed in the house 3 times. I was told that she was already house broken, and I take her outside plenty of times during the day to relieve herself. It's happened in 3 different rooms, all upstairs, when no one is looking. And today… she did it in my parent's house! They JUST had the carpets cleaned professionally, and I am so glad I caught her before she let it ALL out.
I am greatly confused about this. Whenever we go outside, she goes. She only started doing this, this past week. We totally control how much water she gets, and I can't get a "pattern" of behavior down (for example she does not pee at only certain times of the day). So basically, I don't know what to do.
Any ideas?
Rule out a medical issue like a UTI first. Sometimes the only symptom will be inappropriate peeing.
go back to the basics, like you're potty-training for the first time. dogs are often potty-trained in their own house, but can't apply that behavior to all houses. keep in her crate for awhile, take her out, if she goes, praise and reward her with a bit of freedom. if she doesn't, she goes back to her crate and you try again later. also, don't let her have free reign of the house until she's reliable in your house. keep her in sight until you're sure she knows what the routine is and where the appropriate place to go is. good luck!
I agree, rule out anything physical. You say "She has been with us now for about 3 weeks, and during the past week she has peed in the house 3 times". Does that mean she was good the first two weeks? I would wonder about a behavior change after a couple of weeks. Female Basenjis will often mark territory…..so peeing at your mother's house could have been that if it happened in isolation, but changing habits at home is a different thing. Have there been any other dogs in the house that might have left their "calling card" in the past? It's still very early days in your relationship. It would be good to talk to whoever had her before you rescued her, if that is possible.....
some dogs you have to supervise when they go out. (the malinois who lives here is like that) And basenjis are bad about not going out when the weather is less than nice (rain, snow, windy, cold).
dogs also don't generalize very well, so if this is a new situation (new house? new family?) it may take a little while to learn the rules. even if they are the same rules.
but yes, definitely rule out a bladder/urinary tract infection first.
Can only say the above what I would recommend== vet appt and go back to basics. Dog is either in crate, on leash or ACTIVELY (as in confined in room with you with you watching!) watched for the next month or 2 while she learns to apply housebroken to your home. And congrats on your new addition. Do you know if she has been tested for Fanconi? If not, please get the DNA test done asap.
Oh my gosh!! I am so excited to share this; I think all of us can learn from this one, I did (TAKEN IN PART FROM TURID RUGAAS http://www.canis.no/rugaas/oneqanda.php?id=455: Another possible cause is stress due to recent changes in the dog’s life. Heart rate and temperature rise when the stress level rise, and the level of stress may rise as a result of changes, insecurity, too high demands, excitement (bitches in heat), and a lot of other things. (The medical reason that stress and urination is connected is that the production of ADH in the brain decrease during stress. ADH is the hormone that helps the kidneys to hold water.) "there is more and I urge to to seek the link and her website. I am now reading one of her books…
link doesn't work.
You've mentioned that "you totally control how much water she gets": Not a good idea, as this can CAUSE a urinary tract infection. I'm speaking from experience, unfortunately. Instead of controlling water intake, I now PUSH water by adding it to my dogs' food to ensure they get enough. I also strip test for Fanconi AND UTI's etc. monthly with test strips or whenever I'm concerned that one of my dogs might have a problem, as they're older & special needs.
VET-10 strips from Teco Diagnostics check for glucose, blood in urine, specific gravity, urine alkalinity and a number of other simple indicators of problems. They're the same test my vet uses, in fact she suggested I get them to help determine if I need to make an appointment–sometimes it's hard to tell if a young Basenji is peeing in the house because it's raining outside, or if an older dog is incontinent due to age or another factor like Cushings or a bladder infection. They're not to replace your vet, but they CAN tell you if there's an obvious problem.
Do let us know what the vet says. I use babygates to keep dogs out of rooms we are not in. If her vetting is ok, start by taking her out every 2 hrs and stay with her until she goes, then give her a treat. That should get the behaviors you want.
YodelMa
How come you just don't do the Direct DNA Fanconi test? If Clear or Carrier you would not need to strip test for Fanconi,
Hey Everyone,
I wanted to follow up on my original post. Zola saw the vet yesterday, and everything checks out great!!!! She is a healthy girl, and so far is clear for Fanconi as well. The vet thinks that she is still just adjusting to us, our house, and our rules. We have gone back to basics and she is never our of our site for any amount of time. She is crated when we have to leave her alone (but that is another issue) and she has not peed in the house since I posted this thread. She is settling more and more into our routine. I think with more time, and getting used to our schedules and routines, she will be OK. Now if we could just get her over her serious separation issues….. but I posted about that in another thread.
Thanks for all of your feedback.
I highly recommend ordering the DNA test for Fanconi, http://www.offa.org, then you will know whether you should be strip testing monthly to catch early symptoms or not.
Also, you may want to sign up for a positive reinforcement obedience class so you and Zola can build a vocabulary that you both know to help communicate. Classes can be good relationship building time and help fill your tool bag for when you might need it.
link doesn't work.
Actually the link works, but it will not connect to the 'q & a' part. (a second link as such) If you go down to the 13th question, it will highlight the second 'link' with that answer I found so interesting….
