QuestionOur male bassett is 10 months old, would let us know by going down the stairs to our garage entry door and barking to go out. in the past week he will just pee in the kitchen with no warning. Could he be sick? the only thing that has changed is we removed carpet treads from the wooden stairs leading to the garage. Any help would be appreciated, he is perhaps the best dog one could own and I hope we are not missing something.
AnswerHi Patti,
The first thing to do when something like this happens, and you were SURE he was housetrained prior to it, is to have him checked at the vet. All types of infections can lead to this behavioral change...kidney, bladder, urinary, etc. Ask the vet to run a urinalysis to check for crystals in the urine (indicative of an infection).
If he gets the all clear, the best thing to do is to go back to basics. Pretend as though he's just moved in and isn't housetrained. Do what you did at the beginning. Most of the time, if it's a behavioral issue, they only need a week or two of reinforcement. :)
Most dogs reach a stage of adolescence similar to that of a teenage human. They're previously good behavior flies out the window and you think you've got a different dog. ;) Happily, it passes. lol!
He may be having problems walking down the steps. Have you watched him walk down? Does he appear to be ok? Some Bassets, because of their long backs, don't feel comfortable on stairs and/or jumping up onto things, etc. You might want to try clipping his lead on and walking him up and down the steps and treating him when he does it properly.
Any more help I can give you, just post back. :)
