Dog Help! - Story City,IA

Updated on July 17, 2012
K.L. asks from Story City, IA
11 answers

We have a 10 year old Beagle that we have had for 4 years. She came to us from family of friends that were getting divorced and no one wanted the dog(poor thing!). She's the sweetest dog and has been great with our 7 year old. Well, we have a 10 month old and for the last 10 months, our dog has been 'acting' out. She is constantly peeing in the house! We took her to the vet and there are no medical problems...the vet told us she thinks it a behavior problem. She suggested we get a crate and crate train her...which has been going pretty well so far. Except today my 7 year old comes to me because there is a wet spot in her room...yep, the damn dog peed again! Our dog has ruined our carpet in a couple different rooms doing this(we are slowly ripping it out and putting hardwood everywhere)!

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

And does anyone know of another great carpet cleaner for dog urine? I've used Nature's Miracle before and it worked great, we just don't have any stores that carry it near us!

ADDED: The dog was unsupervised in another part of the house because that is where the dog was! We don't like to keep her locked in the living room with us while we are in there with our 10 month old...and my 7 year old was also in the living room when she went into her room. And you don't keep a dog in a crate all day long while you are home to crate train it! Especially an older dog that has never done this before. I've done my research and talked to a vet...I'm not locking her in a crate all day long.

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So What Happened?

Thanks so far ladies! I know I need to get her out for more walks! We used to go for walks 3 times a day, and now with the baby and it being so freaking hot in Iowa, we haven't been doing that. And, she's an old dog and doesn't like walking that much in the heat! But, I know that is probably one of the most important things that I need to start doing again!

I'm going to look at Home Depot for this cleaning stuff! We don't have a Petsmart near us, so I'm just trying to find some other product that is as good but is closer!!

Thanks mamas!

More Answers

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M.S.

answers from Washington DC on

Our senior dog started doing this at about 9 years old. Are you sure it isn't medical? It was simply her muscles not being as tight as they used to be, leading to incontinence. Our vet compared it to women (humans) as they get older, also. The only way to find it is to actually try the meds and rule it out. Our dog was put on d.e.s. and it worked like a miracle! There are other meds to try, also.

I agree with not locking her in a crate all day. Why have a dog if you are going to do this?

2 moms found this helpful
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B..

answers from Dallas on

Does your dog get any exercise? A walk EVERY day? Beagles NEED (it's a basic need for their breed) to get out of the house and yard, see the world, and use their nose every day. Often behavior like this is more a symptom of anxiety (new baby,) boredom, and pent up energy. Veterinarians and trained doctors, they are not trained behaviorists. If your dog is lacking exercise and anxious, then a crate will only exacerbate that. Get the dog out of the house for an exerting walk every day, and I'll bet her behavior gets better.

We use Nature's Miracle, and buy it at PetSmart.

2 moms found this helpful

M.P.

answers from Minneapolis on

As a teenager, we rescued a really overweight, 9 year old Basset Hound. Bessie was super awesome the first year we had her, and then she started peeing. She would do it in her sleep and everything. So we had her checked by a vet, and declared medically sound. Told us it was behavioral. We walked her, made her lose 20 pounds, tried different foods, even valum for dogs. Nothing helped, we would notice that sometimes urine would just dribble out of her. So the vet suggested we take her to the University were we did a battery of tests, x-rays, and blood work. Back then it was 400 bucks so you can imagine what that costs now. She was found to have Sebaceous Cysts near her bladder and urethra. It slowly was squeezing her bladder and pinching off the pee line. I guess its common in hounds, and overweight, elderly dogs. Might want to really dig deeper into the medical aspect before going all out on cleaning things when thats what your going to have to keep on doing. We opted out on the surgery since she was so elderly and in poor health. She had to wear diapers like a baby for the next year until she died in her sleep one day.

2 moms found this helpful

K.A.

answers from San Diego on

Home Depot carries an enzyme cleaner that I am told works even better than Nature's Miracle. I was told that Police use it to clean up after um..yucky..crime scenes.
I can't remember the name of it though. I am pretty sure it's the only emzyme cleaner they carry though. It's a yellow bottle with all sorts of cartoon stuff on it.
It's worked where I've used it so far.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

our dog used to poop in our daughter's room, it was her way of asserting dominance. So we had gates up until she passed away a couple of weeks ago. We had a step gate at her door so she could open it herself but the dog couldnt get in.

1 mom found this helpful

N.G.

answers from Dallas on

Crate training entails leaving the dog in the crate except for when they are eating, drinking, going outside to potty, or playing with you. When you are not paying direct attention to the dog, in the crate he goes. That's the way it works. It's not cruel. It works.

That said, I would not newly crate train an elderly dog. Perhaps her elderly bladder can't hold it as long any more, or the summer heat is bothering her when she goes outside. Are you letting her out often enough?

Our stupid chihuahua likes to pee in the bedrooms, so we installed a baby gate in the hall so he can't go in the bedrooms. Problem virtually solved. We have to be sure and let him out often enough too... he's small, he can't hold it very long.

1 mom found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

you can order it online.

http://www.petmountain.com/brands/93/1/natures-miracle.ht...

I'm truly sorry this is happening. I have no suggestions other than crate train and giving her more walks during the day - or letting her out more often.

GOOD LUCK!!

1 mom found this helpful

V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

What was going on that the dog was in your daughter's room unsupervised? Crate training usually involves the dog being in the crate unless it is under direct supervision.

ETA: Of COURSE you wouldn't keep it locked in the crate all day long. But you should be supervising the dog when it is NOT. If the dog was in another part of the house, it should have been being supervised. Old dog or puppy, they can be lots of work. Nobody said it would be easy. I also realize you may not want the dog in the living room when you have a 10 month old on the floor playing. So, in my mind, that would be a time that being in the crate would be a good choice, since you can't supervise the dog and the baby in two different rooms at the same time.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.K.

answers from Appleton on

Vinegar will also get rid of pee smells and stains.

I use vinegar water in my carpet scrubber to clean up from my dogs.

You can also get a rug shampoo with or without a Rug Doctor that helps with urine stains.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.B.

answers from Detroit on

I would seek a veterinary behavior specialist - she sounds like she is maybe having some anxiety issues and sometimes meds and behavior modification can help. But only if your vet has run bloodwork and a urinalysis first to truly rule-out a medical problem. Incontinence (losing control, as opposed to actively voiding in the wrong area) should be considered too. And sometimes as dogs age, they start getting a little senile and forget their housetraining.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

I have always said dogs don't get mad, they get even! I wonder if the dog is jealous of the new baby!

I had a hard time house breaking my rott. What I finally did was move his food around to different areas of the house. A dog will not pee or poop where they live. So, if your dog is used to being in the living room, he/she will not poop or pee there because it recognizes that room as a "living space." I would move the dogs food and water to the place that is the dog's favorite place in the house to pee. After a few days, move it to the next most popular spot and so on. As the dog starts seeing these areas as "living areas" he/she will be less likely to pee/poop there.

I just got a new puppy and we are doing the same thing - he likes to go under the kitchen table to pee so guess where his food bowl is today?

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