15 year old dog peeing after baby

Question
HELP! My first child, a 15 year old Boston Terrier will not stop peeing in our
house. She has NEVER had this problem in the past.
I have a 7 month old baby and the peeing began as soon as I brought her
home, literally. I came home and went into the baby's room to nurse and my
dog followed us in and peed right in front of me. I know I did a very poor job
of preparing my dog for the baby, but what can I do now. Most often, she
pees in the baby's room while I am changing or playing with the baby.
Tonight the baby was fussy so she was in bed with me. I went to go put her in
her crib once she was calm, around 1:30 AM, and I found my dog had pooped
right in front of her crib, in her room, then walked in it to make a huge mess
all over the room. I am just so shocked and sad. Please, any help would be
greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Rita,

At 15 years old she may be feeling slightly usurped. Her marking problems may be exasperated by her age. You may want to consider having someone come out and work with you to help her see the baby as a good thing and not a competitor for your affection. Many trainers specialize in dog-child prep classes. We do one here at the hospital as part of their child prep series. Try www.ccpdt.com

In no short order you will be having to put up baby gates that may as well happen now and one on the baby's door will move the likelihood of marking farther away literally and figuratively.

The real challenge for your dog will be when that baby start toddling so you have window to redefine her as a good thing before then.


There are also many books on the subject now. If you go to www.dogwise.com and click on the link that says "children and dogs" there are quite a few to choose from.

Mostly, time and some increased social distance will help.