# inconsistent peeing in general on my bed and growling



## sandrapena (Dec 4, 2008)

Hello! Hope someone out there can help me...I got my dog from a local shelter about 2 years ago and really love my little guy however his and our behaviour has been very inconsistent and I really don't want to have to give him away. 

When my boyfriend and I first got him we were amazed at how well he was trained. He hardly had any accidents in the house however months into it his accidents became more frequent and he started to break the garbage. 

I bought a training book and bought a crate and started becoming more scheduled with his walks and meals and keeping the garbage out of his reach, it helped for a bit then all went down the hill again as before he was peeing when we were not in the house and then all of sudden it was happening when we were in the home or if we or if we stepped out for literally 3 minutes to take out the garbage. He also started peeing on our bed, we had to buy a new mattress and then a year later he did it on our new matress. 

He knows how to let us know when he has to go out, he just goes behind the door and whines. However, if are watching tv and we don't pay attention to him (he is normally the centre of attention in our home) he doesn;t let us know he has to go and he goes to the bathroom and purposely pees on the rug and then hides cuz he knows he was naughty.When he does that we normally put him in his crate and then when we let him out we ignore him and let him know we are still mad. 

This behaviour is getting worse and worse. I am not sure if this has anything to do with it but for the last 2 years my boyfriend and I worked during the day and we would leave him in the crate or else he would pee and poo everywhere however we made sure to take him out in the morning and when we got home. Abut 2 months ago we have had guests living with us and the dog is no longer in the crate all day he is out and his routine has changed slightly he still goes out in the morning and evening however he is also going in the afternoon however he still doesn't stop peeing and pooing once in a while. It is not an everyday thing so it is not consistent 

Another thing is his growling when we first got him he normally growled at my boyfriend when he would get close to me (as if he were protecting me) however it would not happen often. All of a sudden he is growling at my boyfriend, me and our guests all the time and for no reason or if we tell him to get off the couch (it's as if he feels threatened).However he never growls at stransgers. He has bitten us once or twice in this stage if we touch him when he growls.

I would appreciate any type of advice....

Thanks, 

Sandra


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Well by your own words you got a well trained dog and slowly spoiled/changed him into the dog he is today. Do not feel alone as it does happen to a lot of dogs/dog owners. You will have to go back to square one and it will be a bunch of work. You will get help here just be patient.


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## Westhighlander (Sep 28, 2007)

You need to start all over. Get on a schedule. Crate him whenever he is alone and when you can not watch him. Practice NILF ( stickie ). Give him a treat whenever he pees/poops outside.

The crate also should not be use for punishment. If you want to do a time out use a bathroom or somewhere other than the crate. The timeouts will help with the growling, whenever he growls take him to the timeout area for 2 minutes and then bring him back. If he does it again , back to the timeout area.

Also he also doesn't know he was bad when he wees everywhere, he just knows you are mad by your body language, so don't humanize the situation. Just train him consistently and your problems should resolve in a few months unless there is something medically wrong with him.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 22, 2008)

sandrapena said:


> When my boyfriend and I first got him we were amazed at how well he was trained. He hardly had any accidents in the house however months into it his accidents became more frequent and he started to break the garbage.


How do you react when he pees or poos in the house? 



> I bought a training book and bought a crate and started becoming more scheduled with his walks and meals and keeping the garbage out of his reach, it helped for a bit then all went down the hill again as before he was peeing when we were not in the house and then all of sudden it was happening when we were in the home or if we or if we stepped out for literally 3 minutes to take out the garbage. He also started peeing on our bed, we had to buy a new mattress and then a year later he did it on our new matress.


Everything you typed is what you should do when housetraining. I'm afraid that you have mistakenly taught him not to pee/poop in front of humans instead of teaching him to pee/poop outside. This happens pretty frequently.

You probably have yelled and possibly done other things he doesn't like when he messes in the house. He got the wrong message from that. Punishing him when he screws up will not teach him the correct behavior. You have to show him what you want him to do. How else will he know?



> Another thing is his growling when we first got him he normally growled at my boyfriend when he would get close to me (as if he were protecting me) however it would not happen often. All of a sudden he is growling at my boyfriend, me and our guests all the time and for no reason or if we tell him to get off the couch (it's as if he feels threatened).However he never growls at stransgers. He has bitten us once or twice in this stage if we touch him when he growls.


Google the term NILIF. You will find the answer to the growling /biting problem.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

When housetraining a dog, if you yell or otherwise carry on when the dog eliminates in the house, you are teaching him that it is dangerous to go in the house WHEN YOU ARE PRESENT. You have not taught him not to go in the house. You have taught him he can safely go in the house if you are not there. Obviously, this is NG.

So, here is the suggested routine. 

1.) Get on a routine for peeing and pooping. You ahve done this in the past, go back to it. Be sure dog does BOTH in the morning before you go to work. If you cannot watch the dog, and the other people in the house aren't going to watch the dog, crate him as if no one is there. When you get home, again, out and make sure he pees and poops and gets a good long walk as well. Take him out every 2 hours until you go to bed. If you cannot watch him or are preoccupied with TV or whatever, crate him. 

2.) When he goes in the "right place" (outside), give him food rewards.. something REALLY good and treat him like he has just pooped or pee'd platinum. do not have him go out and stand at the porch, watch him eliminate and then come back to you for the reward. You have to be right there with him... I have actually stuffed treats in my dog's mouth while she is going. Give several treats (called jackpotting). Tell him he is a WONDERFUL dog. 
When she pees I say "Pee" and when she poops I say "cr*p" and so now she does both on command (well, you do need to be on her schedule for cr*p to work!). 

3.) When you catch him going in the house, QUIETLY interrupt him and get him out.. rewqarding profusely as he finishes up (but this isn't going to happen because you are going to stay on top of this and prevent it.. prevention is 9/10ths of the cure).

4.) If he is taken out to go and does not, bring him in, crate him and 20 minutes later take him out again. 

PRAISE AND PRAISE AND PRAISE FOR GOING IN THE RIGHT PLACE. REWARD AND REWARD AND REWARD FOR GOING IN THE RIGHT PLACE. 

As to the growling.. never give the dog anything he wants until he does something you want first. This is called Nothing In Life is Free and is also referred to as the "Premack Principal" in training theory/practice.


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