Indoor Peeing Dog

Still Not Housetrained

Question:

I have a 3-year-old Chihuahua named Kiki who I seem to be unable to potty train. I have repeatedly tried the most commonly suggested technique of sticking the dog’s nose in it, scolding her and putting her outside. Yet she still does not understand and has daily accidents in the house. At her age is it a lost cause?

Dr. Nichol:

It’s frustrating living with a dog who defiles your home. This gross habit can make you mad as @#%&! But the methods you’ve tried so far could never succeed. Repeated reprimands have caused Kiki’s anxiety to spike, making it harder for her to learn. She really wants to find the restroom. Dogs like her are more likely to catch on if we apply modern learning theory.

Kiki’s natural inclination, like all creatures of her ilk, is not to soil her living area. It’s been hard for her because, like most pets, she’s stuck inside a building – your house. Unless you have a dog door, she has to hold her urine until you remember to put her out. Your timing may be way off. Poor Kiki hasn’t a clue.

Dogs are our best friends. They belong in our homes but they’d be better suited to sharing a cave with us, off the grid, on 100 acres of National Forest. Like their free-living cousins, they’d enjoy the natural choices that are wired into their canine brains. Kiki could slip out to “see a man about a horse” whenever necessary and then happily rejoin you in your pristine earthen hovel. Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it?

Part of Kiki’s dilemma is that she’s developed the habit of returning to the same indoor spot when nature calls. She doesn’t know what else to do. Punishment wouldn’t help even if you busted her in the act every single time because, well, urinating is normal. The poor dog has no idea of what you want from her.

Set the kid up for success by giving her a schedule. Just as soon as you bounce out of bed in the morning, and use your bathroom, jump into your clothes and trot your fine pupster outside, on-leash, to the designated dog latrine in your yard.

Housetraining nuts & bolts

A dog needs to know where to do its business

Teaching Kiki the Chihuahua where you want her to go will be simple if you, her grand poohbah, shoulder your share of the repetitive training. I know you can do this because dogs, like us, are operant learners. That means what gets rewarded gets repeated. Any of us will go to a job where they treat us well and pay us what we want – on time.

Lay a canine-specific foundation for Kiki. Rather than reading her the riot act when she fails you can make sure mistakes never happen in the first place. While you’re catching your nighttime Z’s Kiki will snuggle into her own cozy little den. A dog crate, about 1.5 times her length, width, and height, will harken to a secure, natural hideaway. Use a sheet to cover the top, sides, rear, and the doorway to about 3” above the floor. No more sneaking off to do odd jobs around the house while you sleep.

Every morning, ASAP, you’ll happily lead your leashed pupster to the preferred dumping ground near the backyard fence. Stand quietly as she eliminates. You’ll be tempted to throw a party complete with hors d oeuvres but that would confuse toddler toilet training with a dog’s natural reward for marking the boundaries of her territory. Rather than food or praise, you’ll accompany Kiki on a hike, of any length, down the street. She’ll recognize your crafty canine leadership right away.

A reliable routine will be essential. Give the kid a bathroom break, complete with the earned reward of a brief stroll, first thing in the morning, following each meal and every 3-4 hours in between, until last call at bedtime. Is Kiki that thick headed? Ah, no. Her long-standing indoor habits will take time and patience to fall by the wayside while she learns what her leader really wants.

What’s to stop the little scamp from creeping away to tinkle on the rug when you’re working or engrossed in your afternoon soap operas? Keep her tethered to your belt by a 6-foot leash so she’s always nearby. Until her house-training skills are bullet-proof, she ain’t going anywhere without her patient and, yes, long-suffering leader. I know. Ain’t ain’t a word.

A house-trained dog who still fouls the floors

What to do if the pee continues

Shouldn’t applying a dog’s behavioral instincts to getting her house-trained yield reliable results? Sadly, we humans and our pets are imperfect. If Kiki somehow lets loose on the rug again, fuhgeddaboudit. Literally ignore her mistakes and yours – for loosing track of her. Even mentioning it would reinforce a habit you are desperately hoping she will abandon. Quickly forgive Kiki and yourself. Keep calm and carry on.

After a couple of weeks of close-tether training, Kiki (linked to you by day, crated at night) should be clear on the concept. About 15 minutes after she finishes breakfast you can drop the tether, lurk around a corner, and stalk your dog. You’ll be ready as the little peer moseys off dragging the leash. If she starts to squat you’ll silently pounce on the leash and quickly lead your girl to the designated outdoor dumping ground. Even if she’s finished eliminating when you get there, you’ll reward her anyway with a jaunt off-territory. Then clip the leash to your belt again and return to indoor supervision and outdoor opportunities for a few more days. Then you’ll give your student another chance to fly solo and demonstrate her skills.

There could be more going on. If Kiki acts like she’s catching on but she still can’t control her urine she should see her doctor. Dogs can suffer from painful urinary infections or bladder stones. These pupsters have a burning need to urinate often. There could be a bigger problem like kidney disease, even in a 3-year-old dog. Diabetes and excess cortisol from the adrenal glands, called Cushing’s syndrome, would cause excessive thirst and urine production, filling a bladder to overflowing fast. Less often, we see a birth defect called ectopic ureters that drain urine into the vaginal tract instead of to the bladder where it belongs. Surgery is the cure for these dribblers.

Spayed female dogs, having bidden farewell to their ovaries, may carry a different handicap. About 20% of them no longer have quite enough estrogen to maintain control of their bladder’s sphincter muscle. These girls leak only when resting or sleeping. We have effective and safe medications to make this a non-problem.

A urine soiler who can’t quite quit

She can still share a clean life with you

Kindness and patience with house training are essential to clean living with any dog. Getting there might also mean treating medical problems like bladder trouble. If little Kiki is still whizzing willy nilly, there may be a behavior disorder, that isn’t a training issue, that needs attention.

It matters when and where those wet messes happen. A dog with separation anxiety may only lose self-control when home alone. If you don’t have a video surveillance system you can purchase a cheap table top tripod for your smart phone on Amazon. Aim it at the location of those assaults on your good housekeeping and it’ll capture your wigged-out dog’s body signaling and emotional state when you’re not there to supervise.

Separation anxiety is a serious problem that no amount of house training can fix. These freaked-out canine brains, with their emotional support person gone, are overwhelmed with panic, adrenaline surging. Science-based behavior modification plus carefully chosen antianxiety meds are the only path to success for these pets. The great majority do quite well but, from time to time, the wheels can fall off. They need a committed pet parent on their side.

Age may be a factor. Elderly dogs and cats, with a history of perfect bathroom etiquette, can gradually lose their skills. If a medical workup comes up negative, we consider cognitive dysfunction syndrome, a.k.a. dementia. It’s often overlooked but occurs in 28% of dogs over age 12. We can’t cure them but we improve life for many of these seniors and for their people.

A recent study showed that a few pint-sized pupsters, like Chihuahuas, can be plenty smart but impossible to fully house train. They improve but never reach complete reliability. It’s frustrating for sure. Some of these little urinators happily use Pee Pads on their favorite locations, never desecrating another rug. You can also consider outfitting a female dog like Kiki with washable dog diapers. The boys can wear a belly band that you can throw in the laundry.

Dogs who poop and pee indoors are not spiteful, nefarious villains. Whatever you do, never punish. Injecting fear into their confusion would only worsen the problem. And don’t even think about rehoming an otherwise good dog. You would each suffer a life-changing stress. You’d miss that little snuggler.