Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Howdy,

New to the site, I just found it after some searching in an attempt to find a place with some folks who may be able to help me out.

I'm having some real trouble with my dog Jeff and I could use some advice from folks who know more than I do about this sort of thing.

Jeff is an English Mastif. He'll be two in late January and Ive had him since he was 8 weeks old. He's primarily an inside dog but spends several hours a day outside in the backyard. He spends his nights sleeping in the bed with me.

Jeff has developed a problem recently thats *really* causing some trouble. He's begun urinating inside. This started about two months ago, but has gotten worse lately and I dont know what to do. He's not going to the bathroom inside exactly, because he'll do it right after he comes in from being outside when I KNOW he just went. He also pees in the exact same spots everytime, and I think hes marking. He pees on the same corner of my couchs and on the corner of my bed. He will never do this when anyone is around, so I cant catch him in the act and scold him. It doesnt take him long either. In the time it takes me to go upstairs and grab a coke he'll sometimes pee. Other times though Ive been upstairs or gone for an extended period (2-3hr) and come back down and he hasnt bothered a thing.

At this point everytime I so much as go to the bathroom or walk upstairs I have to put the Jeff in the garage until I'm there to watch him. He *really* hates being in the garage and cries and whines like the world is coming to an end - which breaks my heart to hear.

I dont know what to do though. I cant keep cleaning this pee up. The smell is other-worldly and as it gets into the carpet padding its getting harder and harder to clean completely. I love Jeff but he's destroying my living room and I dont know what to do. Since I cant catch him in the act I dont know how to discipline him. I can yell at point at the pee, and he certainly understands I'm angry but I have no idea if he relates my anger to what he did.

Also, Jeff is not fixed. I will be getting him fixed before long though. I dont have papers on him (rescued him from a litter that was going to be put down to save-face for the breeder =/) and dont really care to breed him if I did. Also, if it helps, I have 4 cats and we have a little male pekenise as well, but the pekenise doesnt come downstairs, ever.

If anyone could shed some light on this behaviour I would really really appreciate it. I share this house with family and their talking about wanting to give Jeff away if I cant solve this problem and I just dont know what to do or how to proceed.

Thanks folks.

Some pics of Jeff.. =]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/MusPuppis/JeffJump.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/MusPuppis/Jeff2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/MusPuppis/Jeff.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/MusPuppis/HPIM0147.jpg

I don't know a whole lot about this, but I do know a few things.

The first thing is that when any behaviour in your dog suddenly changes, he should go to the vet to be checked out. To me, it doesn't sound medical because he seems to be controlling it quite well but there may be something there. I would take him just to make sure. You could even get them to check him out when he goes in to get neutered.

It does sound like marking. I don't know what would have possessed him to do it in the first place but I do know that if it wasn't properly cleaned up and he can still smell it there, he'll continue to mark there over and over again. The best thing you can do to clean it up is use an enzyme solution like Nature's Miracle or something similar.. Someone told me too that cleaning it up with vinegar and a little baking soda, and then misting the area with some vanilla extract and water will do the trick quite nicely. I've never tried it though, so I don't know for sure. And if you have light coloured furniture or carpets, I'd be concerned about spraying dark vanilla on it..

My plan of attack, personally, would be to take him to the vet right away to make sure nothing is wrong. Then clean everything up very thoroughly, even rent a carpet shampooer if you need to.. If it's in the furniture, I'm not sure what to do. If he insists on using that furniture I would restrict his access to that room. And the third thing I would do is make sure that he has no opportunity to do it again for at least a few months. I would have him on a leash in the house and take him everywhere with me, even the bathroom. Of course, my dog is 40lbs. There might be some practical problems when you're dealing with a mastiff

I've heard that neutering helps, but only if the dog is very young (less than a year) and has only marked a couple of times.. I don't know how reliable that is though, I just remember hearing it somewhere..

I hope someone can be more helpful to you.. There's got to be a way to train him not to, or something similar.. Good luck! He's a very beautiful boy

>>Howdy,
>>
>>New to the site, I just found it after some searching in an attempt to find a place with some folks who may be able to help me out.
>>
>>I'm having some real trouble with my dog Jeff and I could use some advice from folks who know more than I do about this sort of thing.
>>
>>Jeff is an English Mastif. He'll be two in late January and Ive had him since he was 8 weeks old. He's primarily an inside dog but spends several hours a day outside in the backyard. He spends his nights sleeping in the bed with me.
>>
>>Jeff has developed a problem recently thats *really* causing some trouble. He's begun urinating inside. This started about two months ago, but has gotten worse lately and I dont know what to do. He's not going to the bathroom inside exactly, because he'll do it right after he comes in from being outside when I KNOW he just went. He also pees in the exact same spots everytime, and I think hes marking. He pees on the same corner of my couchs and on the corner of my bed. He will never do this when anyone is around, so I cant catch him in the act and scold him. It doesnt take him long either. In the time it takes me to go upstairs and grab a coke he'll sometimes pee. Other times though Ive been upstairs or gone for an extended period (2-3hr) and come back down and he hasnt bothered a thing.
>>
>>At this point everytime I so much as go to the bathroom or walk upstairs I have to put the Jeff in the garage until I'm there to watch him. He *really* hates being in the garage and cries and whines like the world is coming to an end - which breaks my heart to hear.
>>
>>I dont know what to do though. I cant keep cleaning this pee up. The smell is other-worldly and as it gets into the carpet padding its getting harder and harder to clean completely. I love Jeff but he's destroying my living room and I dont know what to do. Since I cant catch him in the act I dont know how to discipline him. I can yell at point at the pee, and he certainly understands I'm angry but I have no idea if he relates my anger to what he did.
>>
>>Also, Jeff is not fixed. I will be getting him fixed before long though. I dont have papers on him (rescued him from a litter that was going to be put down to save-face for the breeder =/) and dont really care to breed him if I did. Also, if it helps, I have 4 cats and we have a little male pekenise as well, but the pekenise doesnt come downstairs, ever.
>>
>>If anyone could shed some light on this behaviour I would really really appreciate it. I share this house with family and their talking about wanting to give Jeff away if I cant solve this problem and I just dont know what to do or how to proceed.
>>
>>Thanks folks.
>>
>>Some pics of Jeff.. =]
>>
>>http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/MusPuppis/JeffJump.jpg
>>http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/MusPuppis/Jeff2.jpg
>>http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/MusPuppis/Jeff.jpg
>>http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/MusPuppis/HPIM0147.jpg

>>>>>>>>>>>

No more punishment, not even scolding. That causes behavior problems, even including aggression, and is counterproductive to the housetraining because it causes the dog to hide from you to do it. Dogs do not understand you are mad about WHERE they are doing it. They think pottying makes you mad. So punishment does not work, except to create sometimes devastating problems.

Your cleaning isn't working. It needs to be deep treatment with exactly the right product to remove the scent. The fact that he is returning to the same spots is a dead giveaway that this is not being done. You need a bacterial enzyme odor eliminator product. Nothing else actually works to remove the scent that stimulates a dog's instincts to be unable to resist using that spot again.

He needs medical evaluation. Certainly a medical problem can be involved, including prostate problems that are inevitable in intact males if they live long enough.

Research now shows that neutering aids in reducing urine marking no matter how old the dog is when it is done. You'd have been far, far better off to do it by the age of 14 months, but it will still help.

A belly band can help. This a male dog "diaper" you can use part, but not all, the time. Using it all the time could breed infection, but you can use it to have the dog loose in the house out of your sight for brief periods.

Don't give him the run of the house unsupervised unless he's wearing the protection. You could use a crate for part of his alone time, or a small room that he won't eliminate in.

Likely this problem can be solved if you handle it well. A dog that size would prefer to make his marks outdoors anyway. He just needs some basics taken care of to get his instincts aligned with your needs.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47