my older dog is house broken but not

Question
QUESTION: I got a 9 yr old dog from a shelter about 2 months ago. he is housebroken. when he first came he tried marking territory which we stopped in 24 hrs. he does not use the bathroom in the house he always let us know. i have a crate for him which i have to put him in when i leave or sleep otherwise he uses the bathroom in the house even if he just went outside and used the bathroom. the time limit of being gone could be 30 min to a couple of hours either way he uses the bathroom. at night if he is in the bedroom with me and the door is shut he won't use the bathroom. but i am unable to keep my door shut with having small children i need my door open to hear. and if i leave him out to roam the house at night while we are asleep he uses the bathroom in the house. i don't want to have to crate him how do i stop this behavior we have shown him how unacceptable it is and he knows what he has done wrong.

ANSWER: Hi Heather,

Congratulations on your adopting a shelter dog!  First, I would ask if your dog is neutered.  Most dogs that come from shelters generally are, but I won't assume that this is the case.  If not neutered, neutering can reduce a dog's desire to mark territory if that is indeed what's going on.  I was wondering how you stopped what you say was territory marking in 24 hours - that is, what method(s) did you use?

Regarding your dog urinating when you leave your home, in addition to territory marking that may be going on I would wonder if there is a component of separation distress going on when you leave?  Most dogs with separation issues will urinate within the half an hour time frame that you mentioned.  So, I would ask if he seems visibly agitated or anzious in any way as you prepare to leave?  Does he pant, pace, have dilated pupils, whine, drool, or even shut down and become markedly less active and appear depressed before you leave?  I'm thinking you may have dual or several issues going on, although I can't be sure without seeing him and I can only guess.

I don't understand your reluctance to crate him, and I'd like to hear your thoughts as to why you're reluctant - but I certainly respect your decision and so I'll try to offer you some options to crating.

If you'd like to keep him loose in your bedroom while you're asleep but need to keep the door open in order to hear the children, you might want to consider using gates that you can put up across the doorways.  Gates will allow you to hear your children and will also keep your dog from roaming out of your bedroom at night.

I would also suggest a couple of other things.  Since this is an older dog, I would have a full veterinary work-up done on him.  He may have been housetrained at one time but may have some component of canine cognitive disorder (a canine form of dementia).  If so, there are medications and supplements that may help him.  I would also ask the veterinarian if his urinary tract seems healthy.  I don't really have an idea of the frequency of his urination, but if it's fairly frequent he could have a urinary tract infection (UTI).  

He may not have a cognitive disorder or a UTI at all.  I'm just trying to cover all bases for you in this brief format.  So, another approach I'll suggest is treating him as if he's a puppy and has never been fully housetrained and start from square one with him.  The basics are to confine him to small areas of your home so you can always keep your eye on him and interrupt him if he starts to potty in your presence and whisk him outside to finish.  As he learns what's expected, he earns more roaming freedom, but earns it gradually, room by room, or parts of rooms if your rooms are large.  Another way to keep an eye on him is to tether him to you.  The easiest way is to wrap a leash around your waist or clip it to your belt or belt loop with your dog attached to the other end.  Make sure he has enough room to lie down comfortably and not get accidentally stepped on while he's tethered to you.  When he does potty outside, reward him heartily, both verbally and with treats.  When you need to leave him alone, leave him in one room, gated if you don't want to crate him.  That will confine him to one area without the need to use the crate.

A good reference for housetraining is the booklet 'Way to Go' by, I beleive, Particia McConnell.  

If all fails, there are belly bands and doggie diapers that a dog can wear and you can fall back on these.  Some work very well, and I've used them myself with dogs that have fallen ill and become incontinent.

Thank you for adopting a rescue dog, particularly one in his later years.

Best regards,
Madeline Friedman, M.A.
www.ny-njDogTrainer.com

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


LUCKY   QUESTION: i don't mind crating him it's just i would like to leave him out at night while sleeping at least. i do know he has some seperation anxiety cause he is very anxious when we leave and goes in the window and barks for awhile cause he always wants to come with. when he marked territory in the house ( i had a dog previous to him) i just told him no when i caught him doing it and it stopped the next day oh and made him lay down for a few min like a time out almost he listens very well very sweet and not dominant at all. i just don't understand going at night while we are home he doesn't have frequent urination that i have noticed he goes ot at least every 5 hours but like i said if he is in the room with me and door shut he is fine and he doesn't whine to use the bathroom or anything. He just always wants to go outside. i use the same methods as i did for a puppy when he does go in the house i scold him with a disappointed voice and point my finger( thats always gets him)I show it to him tell him no pick it up and take it outside with him. I am taking him to the vet around feb and march when his shots are due i will ask him about that and have him check for uti or possibly some type of thing that could be related to his age if you have anymore thoughts please let me know. oh i am big with only adopting rescue dogs i want a rescue of my own one day. to many good animals like mine are on death row just because of little space and their age and i may only have a few years with him but i know he'll have a loving family before he passes instead of cold kennel and no love.

Answer
Hi Heather,

I wanted to mention that after your follow-up I had some more information and might have put forth some more ideas; but I felt I might be wasting both your and my time since in your rating of me you mentioned that you took two points off in the Knowledge category since I gaave you ideas the first time of which you had already thought.  So, I figure you're probably very dog savvy and any further ideas I might have you probably have thought of as well.

Good on ya for taking in this fellow and making his final years conmfortable and in a loving home.  Thanks for sending the picture, he's adorable and indeed Lucky!

Have a great day!
Madeline at AllExperts