Calling all dog people!

[sparkswillfly]

Im in desperate need of help. My dog keeps urinating on my bed!

The situation is: I dont have a bedroom door, he can jump over all babygates and the back garden leads off my bedroom. He sleeps in my bed and I have tried to get him back in his crate at night but he barks ALL night and doesnt stop. I wash all the bed stuff in biological washing powder to get rid of the smells. He only ever does it after 9pm!

I have read so much conflicting information about dominance and vulnerability and I find it very confusing. I even joined a dog forum but didnt get a very good response, most people were quite rude to me. So your my only hope. Dont know how much more I can take.

 

[Mamafy]

it sounds either hes missing you or he senses the baby coming and its territorial I'd get the advice of a dog trainer

 

[nkbapbt]

Has anything in his life changed lately? Such as the amount of attention he is getting...walks...exercise? If it has..this could be a cause (for sure!) dogs are creatures of habit. Some are pretty cool with change, while others DO NOT like it!

If things have changed for him, if at possible try to change them back as close as possible. If its an attention thing..just try to give him a little more..if it's an excerise thing..see below..if you want more ideas...Im full of them, having two needy dogs of my own! =)

When did he first start doing this?

If he isn't just a puppy who doesn't know any better..I would suggest first ruling out any health issues. Because it could be possible he does have a heath related issue. If that is ruled out..well then clearly it's behavioral, but dont just rule out health without checking into it. My old dog did this and we found out she had terrible bladder damage from before we got her (since was hit by a car..and we adopted her afterwards..).

Also is he fixed? If he isn't, it could be marking..and if the spot isnt coming out good enough in the wash, the smell left over triggers their bladders to go there again...hence why dogs tend to repeatedly pee in the same spot! GRR

If its nothing health..its a leadership issue. And I would correct it NOW before the baby comes, because (not trying to freak you out) but it will only get worse if you do not curb it now.

I would suggest revoking an bed access he has now. And start him on the NILF program..its pretty easy to follow and though it might not seem like something that would work for this..trust me..it should! Because it places you as the top dog, which sounds like right now he thinks he is the boss (not good!).

NILF

I would suggest taking him out one extra time around the time he does this as well. And if you dont have one get him a Kong as they are entertaining for the dogs..and if you are too tired like me right now..its a good distraction for your dog.

Also if its a boredom thing? I suggest getting some little treats your dog loves, and hiding them in simple places around the house to start..like bookshelves...nothing he can wreck. And let him "track" them. Being a Beagle..this will be beyond fun for him. I usually lock my dogs behind a baby gate so they can "watch" me putting things out for them to find..then I open it and say "go sniff" they race around like mad trying to find the treats! Plus scent games are just as tiring for dogs as actual physical excerise.

I hope this helps..If you need more ideas..let me know.

 

[ryder]

You could call that guy that is on TV lol... I dont remember his name but ive seen his show a bunch.

 

[jms895]

Send him to Dog Borstal!! That bloke mick will sort Mowgli out!!

 

[sparkswillfly]

haha I watched dog borstal last night! Great post nkbapbt. He is 9 months old and has pretty much done it since we had him. We had him neutered about a month ago. I think Ive found an extra tall babygate that Im going to try and ill def try the tracking game. Thanks!

 

[Coffee]

Hey, if what nkbapbt has suggested doesn't work, look in the yellow pages for dog trainers and psychologists! We had a dog psychologist out to our dog after many trips to vets and behavioural nurses did nothing to curb her bad behaviour and like you, i was at the end of my tether! We had a guy come out (spent 2 hours with her, cost around £60) he used to work for the police training dogs. Anyway, it was amazing! Not sure what he did but those 2 hours changed the way she behaved forever! She stopped barking as much, stopped being naughty, even completely stopped pulling on her lead when we go out for walks. This was about 10 years ago now and she's been good as gold ever since!
He explained to us that every breed of dog is slightly different in the way you need to discipline and teach. So the advice we had been getting from our vets was very broad advice, which he said wouldn't work for our particular breed. He showed us what would work for us and within 5 minutes she was much calmer and behaving herself. We've never looked back!

 

[Tiff]

If he's done it since you first got him he probably is in the 'habit' of going there now. I had that problem too when I first got my dog.

What I did (and not to say that I'm an expert by ANY means!) was to go back to crate training. Pretty much had to start right again from scratch, and I did it in around the same time as you are now (around 9-10months of age). The problem is that you're going to have to resign yourself to the fact that he's going to bark, whine, cry and beg to be let out of the crate. Anytime you cave and let him out it's re-affirming the fact that he doesn't need to be in there. I suggest starting on a weekend when you don't have any plans so you're okay with the lack of sleep.

The reason why I suggest going back to crate training is because dogs will rarely go to the bathroom where they sleep. That way you can start to control when he's going out to the bathroom. It has to be a bit of 'tough love' at the beginning though. If you can't watch him like a HAWK then he's to be in the crate. It broke my HEART to listen to my little dog cry and scratch at the crate, but you definitely don't want to have behavioural problems with urinating everywhere either, so it's kinda like the lesser of two evils.

When you take him out of the crate, bring him directly outside to go to the bathroom and (this is important) DO NOT come back inside until after he's gone to the bathroom. Believe you me, this freaking sucks! Gizmo kept trying to go back to the door as he needed to go to the bathroom, but associated the bathroom in the inside of the house, not the outside. I even went so far as to buy this spray that acts as an attractant, to make pups want to go wherever you spray it.

Very very important... DO NOT COME IN until he's gone to the bathroom!!! I had to wait outside in November (freezing cold weather) for 45 mins until my stubborn little dog went pee, ha ha ha. When he did, I gave him really special treats (sliced hot dog) that he ONLY got when he went to the bathroom outside. The positive reinforcement will work wonders over trying to negatively correct a bad behaviour. Right after he went to the bathroom, I'd reward him then we'd go inside and I'd play with him for a bit. Then if I had to do something and I couldn't watch him he'd go back into the crate.

The crate was never a bad place, and never put them in there after you've discaplined them. If Giz went in the house, I'd put him in the bathroom (lights on) and close the door and that was his punishment for going inside. It took a few days, but he started to catch on that going outside = yummy hotdog treats and going inside = segretation from family.

It's really hard (if you're a softie like me) to do it, as I hated hearing him cry and always felt like I was abusing him in some way by making him be in the crate. However, in the long run you don't want a dog that isn't housetrained. Most people get so frustrated with dogs that arn't that they end up giving them to local shelters, which is the bigger tragedy. In my personal opinion, it's rarely the dog's fault when they're not behaving properly. Normally it's their owners that are the source of the problem.

I really hope none of that comes across as too harsh, it certainly wasn't intended to be! It's a subject near to my heart as I had to do the same thing with my dog, and it was super hard but sooooo much better now in the long run. Keep up with it, and then you can start testing your freedoms with the dog. If he gets too much freedom and starts peeing again on the bed, then back into the crate he goes. They're smart creatures, and will figure it out eventually.

Good luck hun! Let me know how it goes! If you're ever needing anyone to rant to about how frustrating it is to housetrain a dog, PM me! I can totally relate!

 

[hellotasha]

My dog does that too hes a lil git, ive had to buy a new mattress so now hes bared from my room haha x

 

[nkbapbt]

haha I watched dog borstal last night! Great post nkbapbt. He is 9 months old and has pretty much done it since we had him. We had him neutered about a month ago. I think Ive found an extra tall babygate that Im going to try and ill def try the tracking game. Thanks!

If he has been doing it this long..its a habit and attention seeking behavior. And honestly it will take some work to fix. Again Im not trying to freak you out..but I always hate when I ask for dog advice and people give me what seem like great quick fixes..and never really explain that the dog wont be going from say chewing my shoes every day...to totally stopping the next day. It just doesn't happen like that for most dogs! hehe

Since it sounds like habit, revoke his rights to your bed...dont let him sleep up there..dont let him up there at all. I know how harsh this sounds..but he needs a harsh wake up call that peeing on your bed is NOT ok!

I found what looks like a great Beagle forum for you...Our Beagle WorldI suggest talking to them..because I find other owners who own the same breed tend to have GREAT info! I would be so lost without my bully forum, I mean they have saved me TONS of money in vets bills helping me solve my dogs allergy issues.

Tyff had a great suggestion..crate training! I personally do not use it, I dont have too with my dogs but I have had MANY foster dogs who needed it..as they were holy terrors! She is very bang on about it needing to be a safe happy place for the dog, not some where they are sent when they are bad. Or it just will not work.

Crate training info:

This site looks wonderful..its ALL regarding Beagles! (crate training, house breaking, common Beagle related problems..even bringing home babies!)

Some more tracking game ideas just in case! hehe

Tracking Games at Dog Play

Good luck!