My 8 months old dog poo/pee issues

Question
QUESTION: Dear Sir,

My 8 months old westie only poo and pee at the right place when we are around the apartment.

once we go into our bedroom to sleep in the night, we close the door, or if we go out of the house, he will poo/pee at all the wrong areas.

he usually poo/pee at the same place, the wrong one, when we are not in view of him.

what is wrong with him?

ANSWER: Hello,
1)  There is nothing wrong with your dog except that he was not housebroken in each room.  He thinks that he should be doing one thing when you are there and another when you are not, OR you have not established yourself as an alpha and he is reclaiming the room when you leave.  By peeing in there he is owning the room by marking the area.

1)  Get a small pen, it is called an expen, for when you are not there.  Put his bed in there and his pads, when you must leave, put him in there.

2)  When he is running around and you leave the room, go where you can still see him and he can't see you,  as soon as he starts to pee, run in and scold him, pick him up and put him in the proper place.

3)  If you have a camcorder or video recorder, put it up so you can see him and watch him in another room,  when he goes to pee, run in and correct him.

Westies are not easy to housebreak because they are so focussed on other things that they are like little kids playing who forget to come in to go to the bathroom.  You will have to make a VERY concerted effort for about one month, to catch him every time and correct him.  Also, make sure that you put him in the "right spot" at least five times a day to remind him where he should be going.

He may also be bored, teach him commands and tricks and take him for long walks.

The  more he knows you are the alpha person, the more behaved he will be. He wouldn't reclaim the room if you are in charge.  Make him sit before you feed him and make sure you go through doorways first.  He has to learn sit, stay, down, and leave it, before he will respect you, and you must be strict, but also, he needs good times with you, too.  Get a balance of training and play time, but make sure you are always in charge.

nancy




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Nancy,

Thanks for your most valuable advise.

But my dog only poo/pee in the hall, the same spot, when we go out, so it is not possible for us to correct him when he do wrong.

He is perfectly alright when we are in the house.

I crate him up now and when I open the gate, he cannot come out till I say "ok".  Same with feeding.  He cant eat until I say "ok".  I have also always ensure that I am the first person going out or in the door whenever  I bring him out.

Answer
Hello,

When you go out, how long are you out?  Also, can you crate him or expen him when you go out?  At 8 months he should be confined when not supervised, until he can learn to hold it.  Is he a small dog and needs to go out frequently?  And last but not least, check to see if he has a bladder infection,  I had a dog that was peeing and it was a bladder infection and it caused her to go both poop and pee.  When we fixed that, she no longer went in the house.

So let me know the answers to these questions and I can help you more.  my e-mail is mcnanfox1@aol.com