Behavioral Incontenence
I have a 9
month old dog that is not house broken. We cannot let him roam the house
while we are at work because he will urinate. He learned to lift his leg,
so his crate is nice and dry, but my floor is nice and wet. The vet said
a dog should be able to hold it for 12 hrs. max if they have to. But this
dog won't. We do let our two cats roam around, but we cannot trust
our dog. Any suggestions? I don't know how much longer I can continue
cleaning. When he was younger he didn't have a problem. Now that
he's been neutered he just doesn't hold it. An infection has
already been ruled out. Any advice would be appreciated.
First,
investigate and rule out all non-behavioral causes, such as bladder
stones, bladder sand, excessive water consumption, congenital urinary
tract deformities, in addition to the infection you already mentioned.
You may want to contract with a professional housecall dog trainer to
help you with training. Training is gradual, so don't jump
immediately to a 12 hour period and get mad if accidents are made. You
want 99% to your attention towards your dog to be positive, so make it
easy for him to do right things at first. Reward with praise, love and
affection. For instance, let him roam the kitchen for five minutes,
then praise him for not urinating. Then take him outside, and reward
him when he urinates outside. Gradually increase the time inside. You
may use newspaper on the floor to symbolize the area that is OK to
urinate upon. At first, 100% of the floor is newspaper- he can't go
wrong. Reduce the area covered as he learns. Punishment should be
mildly stern verbal communication only, and is only effective
immediately when mistakes are made. Coming home and finding puddles
doesn't warrant scolding unless you see him have the accidents.
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