Ok, So I Can’t Figure Out My Dog’s Behavior.?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I have a 5 year old greyhound. I’ve had him for almost 3 years, and when we adopted him he was already house trained. He never had any problems with doing his business outside, i was actually surprised for how long he could hold it sometimes. Anyway the last three days, he’s been having problems. He has gone to the bathroom the last three days in a row in the house, and he wasn’t even home alone for the first time. The two other times we only left the house for about an hour. We even let him out shortly before we leave.
This is very out of character for him, so does anyone have an idea about why my dog is suddenly going to the bathroom in the house?
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I’d get him in for a check-up if there has been no major change in the house. Things like new people, moving, new pets and so on can cause problems, but since you didn’t mention anything like that, I would think ruling out a medical problem would be prudent.
Good luck!
Could be a medical issue, like a urinary tract infection or worms. It could be separation anxiety, except you said that one time you were at home. Has something changed in your home? Is there stress from . . . a move? a new relationship? a break-up? a new job? Believe it or not, those types of things will throw a dog’s potty training off. I’d recommend taking him to the vet to rule out a medical issue and then restart potty training. It should be just a refresher for him. Hope he’s healthy!
Sickness.
Any sudden change in bathrooming behavior should be seen by a vet.
He doesn’t seem sick?
Dogs hide discomfort and illness from the most beloved humans. It’s instinctive.
What could it be?
Bladder or some other infection.
Growths on certain muscles will cause them to malfunction allowing the animal to mess themselves.
ok…i would say prolly its his age but another thing that he could want is attention and about the age thing its worse when he had to hold it. my dog would do that if it wanted attention alot! and shes only about a year and a half so i know thats what is up with mine when she does it. but i hope i helped
You say he can hold it a long time. Holding it a long time can cause urinary tract/bladder infections. You need to take a sample of his urine to your vets and have it checked out.
I would take him to the vet to rule out a urinary tract infection.
its not normal maybe uti go to vet soon
This might sound gross, but does his pee smell like brown sugar? I had a 12 year old Min Pin–totally house broken and she suddenly, at 12 years old starting peeing in the house. I noticed it smelled like brown sugar and my sister said that usually is a sign of diabetes. Sure enough, she was found to be diabetic. The body doesn’t break things down the way it should so that’s why it might have a sugary scent. If your dog is drinking noticeably more water and peeing way more often, take him to the vet. They just can’t hold it as long because they’re drinking so much more water. I’d take him to the vet anyway in case it’s something much less serious like a unrinary tract infection. Good luck
The rule outs would be incomplete housetraining, left too long to hold bladder, bladder infection or separation issues.
Incomplete house-training– probably not, since you’ve had him for two years now. Change in schedule? Does he know how to signal to go out? If he usually goes to stand that “that door”, is anybody there to watch him signal or another option for him if nobody sees that signal?
Left too long? No, you said it wasn’t that long– only about an hour. Still, if it’s been really hot where you are and he’s been drinking a lot of water, he may not be able to “hold it” as long as usual. (She said, drinking a large glass of water!)
Bladder problems? Look for urgency and frequency. It’s possible. If it continues, clean catch a specimen (pie plate works great) and take it in to your veterinarian.
Separation issues: Many, many greyhounds have separation issues, because they grew up never, ever being alone. Always with other dogs or other people. Separation anxiety, contrary to what people usually think, is more common in dogs that are always around people. So, if you have someone home all the time, retired, work at home, kids at home, home on vacation etc. he may have more anxiety-related separation issues after being with people 24/7. We call it “Monday morning syndrome” because it’s often showing up on Mondays after people have been home 24/7 with their dogs through the weekend.
If it’s an exacerbation of an earlier separation issue, check out what you’ve changed. Most retired racers are perfectly content to be in their crates, because they grew up that way. Most pet owners adopting greyhounds think crates are “cages” and stop using them– except when they leave. So, the dogs learn that being put in the crate predicts their owner leaving 100% of the time. So, people stop using them at all. Except that they didn’t solve the problem, because the problem was not a “crate problem”, the problem was that the dog was anxious about being left alone. So, now the dog is loose in the house, has learned to recognize your departure cues (picking up keys, purse, taking a shower early in the morning, wearing work clothes, etc. etc.), and by the time you get ready to go, the dog is pretty anxious. May look it, or may just look sad or depressed. Anyway, this may be what’s setting up the accidents.
Here’s a great link with more information about separation anxiety in dogs:http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.h…
Separation anxiety is a matter of degree: many dogs have separation “issues” and full-blown SA is relatively rare. However, any time that you’re seeing accidents in an otherwise house-trained dog and/or excessive vocalization and/or escape behaviors (chewing clawing, knocking things down by windows or doors), consider that your dog may have SA or separation-related issues.
Also, check out what’s going on in the environment around your house that may be making your dog anxious, now that it’s the season that our windows are open. Construction? Noisy kids? Someone setting off fireworks next door? Changes in your environment? A new dog arrived or another one left?
It’s always a good idea to have a dog checked out when they display a sudden change in behavior. Always rule out the health problems first with your veterinarian.
Good luck. I love the retired racers. They’re the best dogs…