# Peeing in the house - new baby - family needs help



## rents (Mar 3, 2012)

Hello -

I'll be as basic as possible.

In my house we have
Harry - Jack Russell 4 years 
Max - Bichon 5 years
Lucy - Maltese 3 years

Max frequently urinates on most things in the house. He's gone on our couch, clothes, laundry baskets, doors, plastic bags, cases of water, chairs, and most anything he can reach with his stream. Most of the time, its not a full urination, but rather what seems to be a "marking his spot"."
Last November, my wife and I welcomed our first child into our lives. The dogs are good with the baby, but Max has already peed on the baby's bathtub, hamper, pack and play, and assorted toys. Max will not pee on things if you are in the same room as him. He usually goes when we are not home and sometimes will just run into another room and go.

Harry, the jack russell, is the dominate dog of the house. He often gets in Max's face to "keep him under control." I'm not sure if Max's in house peeing is a result of marking his territory over Harry, or what. What I do know, is that we need help and I'm not sure what to do.

I do not want to get rid of Max, but I can't live a life where everything, including my baby's toys, have to be off of the floor.

Here is what we can't do. 
Crate him. 
Make him wear a doggie diaper.

I'm open to pretty much any other suggestions. What can I do to help Max and this problem?
Thank you in advance for any help/suggestions.


----------



## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I would put a belly band on the dog. It does not cure him but will prevent him from marking on things and works good on male dogs that are not properly house trained. I would then not let him have access to the whole house. Either keep him crated when you can't watch him or fastened to either yourself or something so he is restricted where he can go. If he is five years old and has always marked, it is going to be hard to break him of doing it. Is he neutered? If he is not sometimes (not always) it may help.


----------



## rents (Mar 3, 2012)

Max was actually a stray that we decided to keep. When we first found him, he was not fixed. After we decided to keep him, we had him snipped.
Most of the time, he will go to the back door and scratch to be let out to do his business. So I guess in a way, he is house broken, but not %100.


----------



## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

Why is crating him not an option?


----------



## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

He's not house trained at all. 0%. You need to go back to house training 101 and start over as if he were an 8 week old puppy. If you can't crate him, and Kabota can't be crated, either,, you must restrain him somehow, xpen, leash, etc.


----------



## lisaj1354 (Feb 23, 2008)

> Here is what we can't do.
> Crate him.
> Make him wear a doggie diaper.


Why are these not options? A Belly Band, frequent walks and crating will stop the behavior.


----------



## begemot (Feb 1, 2011)

rents said:


> I'm open to pretty much any other suggestions. What can I do to help Max and this problem?


Learn how to housetrain a dog. This means constant vigilance when he's loose inside. You should keep him leashed to your belt. When he starts to go inside, immediately interrupt him -- don't punish him! that's probably how you trained him to run to another room to pee -- and take him outside to finish. Wait however long it takes for him to go before you bring him inside. And always, always, give him treats for going outside. Keep a bag of treats on a hook by the door so you never forget them.

If he hasn't tried to go in two hours, take him outside anyway. Keep doing this until you start to see results, and then you can reduce the frequency.

Unless you're an unemployed, housebound insomniac you're going to need to let him out of your sight sometimes, which is why a crate is such a good idea. Why don't you want to use a crate? If you absolutely refuse to crate him while you're unable to watch his every move, your only other option is to put him in a small enclosed area with puppy pads. Either the bathroom or a pen.

Last, you need to buy a gallon of "Nature's Miracle" or some other special cleaner that removes the traces of scent markers (which the dogs can still smell even after you clean with an ordinary cleaner, and which encourage them to go again in the same spot), and soak every surface in your house. Seriously, follow the instructions and don't skimp.

Check out webpages like Errorless Housetraining for more info and tips.


----------

