Over night incontinence

[annieg]

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Hi,

I'm after some advice please.

We have a 4yr old Cain Terrier, had since a pup. For the past 2-3 months we have been getting up each morning to pee on the kitchen floor but not on the pads we put down. This happens every weekday but not on a weekend. He gets up out at 9pm when we head up stairs and we get up generally wound 6ish.

Now i have to admit he doesn't get walked as much as we would like but he is still a very active dog and has plenty of garden to run around. Both my partner & I work, so he is on his own for at least 7-8 hours a day and he doesn't mess at all.

I will say that over the past 6 months we have moved house, my partner and I have been through IVF (and failed) which has obviously left us a little out of sorts. Our pooch did suffer from a bit of separation anxiety after the house move which we believe we have combated but i have noticed he becomes not scared but timid when voices are raised and he hides under our coffee table.

At times i admit i have cussed him over his peeing but now i don't say a word and just put him out when i get up.

He is a very loving dog and is always striving for affection, which he gets in bucket loads from the hubby. I just wish i could find out the problem and solution to his over night peeing.

Any help or advice anyone can give will be very much appreciated as i'm starting to hate having to walk in my kitchen first thing.

Oh i will also add that he knows when he has done wrong as he wont leave his cage until coaxed a little, however when he does have dry nights i give him lots of praise and he comes bounding out to greet me. Also this has happened before at previous houses but never for this length of time.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

xx

 

[Caribou]

Hi, this is an older post so not sure if you've managed the issue already.

My suggestion is quite simple but it will require a bit of work from you (and a bit of sleep deprivation for a few weeks but not forever). You say he is left alone during the day for up to 8 hrs and is fine. However, please note if you go to bed at 9pm and get up at 6am then that's an 11hr stretch which may just be too long for him.

My suggestion is two-fold:

First, take him out later at night: 9pm is not very late if you're getting up at 6am (again that's 11hrs). Do you really got to sleep at this point or do you read/watch tv for a while. I'd say if you possibly can, get up at 11pm and let him out (you don't have to go outside with him), to give him the opportunity to toilet if he needs to. I suspect you probably take him out later at night on weekends than during the weeks which is why it probably happens only during the weeks.

Second, set your alarm earlier. If he is going to the kitchen to toilet at 5am, get up at 4:30am and let him out for a toilet opportunity - when he's done you can go back to bed for an hour or two. Do that for a week, then do 4:45 for a week, then 5am, then 5:15... carry on stretching it slowly but surely until you reach a point where you can live with the time and your pup can hold it that long (you may never reach 6am if you are married to the 9pm bed time).

In terms of the pads you put down - if he is avoiding them he *probably* has some negative association with them but we may never know why. Switch them out for a different brand that smells different or try newspaper and see if that works.

My own puppy had to be potty trained like this when I got him as he had lived outside prior to coming to me. At first I had to get up at midnight AND 4am, and slowly but surely stretched that midnight out to 1am then 2am... eventually he was able to make it through the night completely dry - but our night is still only 8 or 9 hrs long. At one point in the early days I also took away his water after 9pm but only did that in the beginning (my vet doesn't approve of withholding water, FYI, do don't do it on my advice!)

Good luck! With patience and a little sacrifice you will get it right! Let us know how he is getting on, k?

 

[gypsysmum2]

It sounds as though he has never really grasped the house training.

I would go back to basics and re train him. To do this you have to take him to the garden when he needs to go. When you are out there just ignore him until he performs when you should be VERY pleased and give him an immediate reward. Do not wait for him to walk towards you, he must associate the reward with the pee/poop so it must come to him as he finishes. What you are trying to train is a behaviour that gets the dog to hold on until he can be taken to the garden where he will get a fantastic reward! It will take time and patience and in the meantime I would, as above, get up/come home to let him out regularly.

Puppy pads and newspaper only serve to give the message to dogs that it is "ok" to toilet indoors. We, as owners, are less vigilant when pads or newspaper are down.

As you have been, understandably, upset at finding his pee he will have picked up that you do not like pee! This can have an impact on behaviour. He will be avoiding you when he needs to pee. This can result in a dog holding on to his pee until you have gone to bed or gone out. Do try to be neutral when you find an accident.

Dogs don't have morals so they cannot feel guilt. What he is displaying, when you find a pee, is fear.

I am sure, with perseverance, you will get there. Much harder to change a habit than teach the right one in the first place

 

[4PawsandClaws.co.uk]

I would agree with the above. Definitely try taking him out later at night and secondly retraining to associate him going to the toilet with a reward when he goes outside.

 

[Raven oaktree]

Its not guilt its fear !! He doesn't come out of his cage because he is afraid of you!

You say he is left alone for 8 hours a day then left from 9pm till 6 am ..thats 17hours a day he alone ..you admit he isn't walked often and stress is high AND you have a new home ....

Have you thought about getting a dog walker. Going out for a dog isn't just about exercise..its about a different environment, its about playing and bonding with him , its letting him socialize and pick up his pee mail..its about breaking up his day and giving him something interesting and exciting to do that is all about him ..giving him some Tim to play and be a dog.