I've got the peein' dog blues

[cimorene]

Unfortunately my dog, Perry, has come un-potty-trained (or rather, housetrained: he's never peed on the actual toilet) in the last few months.

He's about 12 years old, and has had a pretty good bladder and no accidents except when sick after he was housetrained, but a few months ago he either had a bladder infection or just some incontinence and peed on the floor inside a couple of days.

In retrospect I see it was my fault, although I don't think I could have predicted what would happen. I knew something was wrong with him. He showed me the pee himself and hovered guiltily with his tail drooping while I cleaned it up the first few times, requiring reassurance before he'd go away. He also peed as close as possible to the cat litter box at first (which is in the bathroom - which is to say, the toilet in European terms, since the sauna and shower room are separate) and then outside it. Well, he was paper-trained in the process of house-training him; so I put some paper outside the bathroom where he'd peed, and we took him to the vet. He got some medicine that was supposed to give him better control of his urinary tract, if that was the problem. It didn't though.

Instead of stopping peeing on the floor, he started peeing on the floor more often and then pooping on the floor too. Now it's clear that he just thinks night time is free-for-all time and he'll pee and poop in the same place regardless of whether the paper's there; he'll never go inside when somebody's up, even if I pull an all-nighter, but even if I just go to bed to nap for three hours in the middle of the day he'll pee on the floor.

So now I just have no idea what to do. Consult an animal behaviourist? Get dog diapers? (But will that even work? He sleeps in my bed!)

Comments

[pixxers.livejournal.com]

I suggest crate-training. I've had dogs conveniently forget that they're not supposed to use the toilet in the house and we've had to start their crate-training all over again. It's a pain in the arse, but it works.

/sympathy

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Oh man. I hate to consider that when at his age, the only time he's ever been in his crate is for travelling. He was rescued when he was 1½ and I paper-trained him instead of crate-training him then so he'd probably be incredibly confused. Or flashing back to his flight from the US which was the last time he had to be in it.

[pixxers.livejournal.com]

It's terrible when an older dog picks up bad behaviors. What kind of dog is he? I really do understand your reluctance and would probably only crate him when you're asleep. Sometimes it only takes a couple of weeks for them to get with the program.

Poor doggie. :(

My chihuahua just peed on the carpet, btw.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

He's a beagle.

I'll keep that idea in reserve. I'm pretty sure if I could shut him up in the bedroom with me he wouldn't do it - he barks to be let out in that case, and he wouldn't pee in there - but unfortunately, the cats will launch themselves at the door all night like little missiles if it's closed. My next idea is for me to sleep on a mattress in the hall. -_- Okay, admittedly it sounds crazy, but if it works it'll be worth it.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

The fact that he only does it while you're asleep - not at a consistent time of day - seems a bit weird. Has anything else changed recently that might be causing him to pee/poo inside as a way of expressing his dislike? Something that effects him most when you're sleeping?

[cimness.livejournal.com]

I think the fact that he does it when I'm in bed, specifically, shows that the behaviour is logical from his point of view. He doesn't realise that it's bad at all - he thinks the rules just changed, and I can't figure out a way to make the actual rules clear again.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

Maybe if you would add an extra pee routine walk in the middle of the night?

If nothing works, one thing would be to just buy the chronic diaper sheets to place to the floor for the nights. I don't know where you can buy them, but you could ask from the vet. I got one when my cat had an operation and was in a threat on peeing herself during waking up, and that stuff absorbs pretty much anything.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

There is that. It'd be easier to clean up than newspapers, anyway.