Housetraining The Older Dog.

[cannibalgoldfish]

Well, my boys one of my boys have issues, that are getting worse. Seriously worse. Now Loki (with a possible anxiety disorder) is chucking a tanty more often and aimed at Wylie. It is getting beyond certain issues and now I need to take firmer steps. Fast forward through the whole thing and I'm managing him. He is now getting really food posssive and growling enough to put a tasmanian devil to shame everytime Wylie goes near his food. I separate them now at dinner and we still have a fight over nothing... I mean nothing. Loki has started growling at Wylie if he moves into the backdoor area.

I need tips on housebreaking dogs inside. Loki was housebroken when I got him. Spent a few years inside with another dog, but then I moved and now he hates being inside. Wylie has never been an indoor dog, is not desexed and likes to pee on things.

So, I am running out of options. we were going great until recently. So, how do I go about housetraining a pair of old dogs. Do I need to crate train them and if so, a crate each? The other issue, if I want to house train Wylie, will desexing him help? I have planned to get him done but never had the time,( stuff , and that, was going to be a show dog, but not, forward me to the desexing thread!) but more to the point, will getting him fixed help with his marking indoors? If not, or if so, I need some help to get them both ok inside.

I am possibbly needing to bring both my dogs inside over night and can someone help me with breaking old house scared dogs in. Will getting Wylie desexed

( I am getting it done anyway) make a difference in his stinky marking?

I posted about Loki a year back. He has issues and the vet and I am treating them. I am giving him a bit longer to work on some and recording everything about it before I go looking for overseas help. He is pretending the world likes him this week, so hopefully that will help... Loki has issues.............

Please, PM if you can help. For tha last year I could manage it but it might be getting worse!

[cannibalgoldfish]

Lately he is starting to worry me. If I cant fix the problem then I'm at aloss!

[cannibalgoldfish]

Well.... dont all jump in at once...

Ok, My post was all over the place and I apologise. But I am starting to stress here. I have lived in one place for many years. I talk to my neighbour and all was well. But now one of them is ringing the council to complain about my dogs. She has done it three times, and all three times there was a reason they were barking and the council guy who came out has told her this. But I'm scared she might bait my dogs. I can only go on a here say rumour from a guy next door to her...

Basically, my dogs are not barking, even when I'm not home unless they have reason to. She is ringing up when ever they are which is only if there is something outside my house. I have asked around, everyone agrees.

I want to avoid all future problems with this neighbour and try to bring my dogs indoors. I have two dogs, one was housebroken, the other not. Loki is the source of many issues and keeping him in will help. He was the one who grew up as an inside dog but now wont stand for it. Poops indoors and chews door frames until you let him out. Wylie cant be left outdoors so if I bring one in, I need the other. Can desexing an entire dog stop him marking indoors? Or can somebody give me some tips to stop him? How do I train two older dogs? Any tips?

I need to be able to bring them indoors in case the problem with my neighbour gets worse.

[Blue Fox 001]

How old are the dogs?

If either is older than 12 - 24 months castration is unlikely to help with marking issues. It becomes a habit after time and removal of testosterone will not remove the habit. But as you said your getting him done anyway and of course there are all the added benefits if reduced testicular cancer blah blah that you already know so good on you

I have only crate trained a pup but all the literature says you can crate train at any ages so should be do-able, might take a bit more resolve on your part as they are likely to be more persistent than a pup. Definitely separate crates. There is lots of info on the interwebs about crate training so I won't type all the dos and dont's in here.

Sounds like your on to it and you'll be less stressed once the dogs can come inside and be safe.

[Staranais]

I've only had one entire male dog.

He was never allowed to mark inside. That's training, not hormones.

However, when I desexed him at about 7 or 8 years old, he did marked noticeably less often when he was outside. It was definitely the desexing causing the change, since the marking decreased when I gave him a Suprelorin (contraceptive) implant, increased when the implant wore off, then decreased again when I got him desexed surgically!

I don't think desexing would be the whole solution in your case. You want dogs that don't mark at all inside, not dogs that don't mark as often. But judging from my experiences it might help a bit, along with a crate & house training.

[OSoSwift]

At his age it may not help, but if your getting hime desexed anyway I guess time will tell.

I am not sure if you want them in when you are there at night or you want them in during the day?? Not sure, sorry if I am being blonde but your posts are jumping a little all over.

One thing you can do to help in the mean time - if he will tolerate it - is a bellyband. Then at least if he cocks his leg the pee goes into a pad not in your house,

You also say they fight over nothing but then ask if you need one crate or two?? Definately a crate each even in the need to be right next to one another.

If they suffer stress you may need to get anti anxiety medication to help reduce the stress while you do the training.

Hopefully I have read everything right

Edited April 20, 2011 by OSoSwift

[becks]

Could they have a kennel and run somewhere in your garden where the neighbour can't bait them? As that seems to be what you are afraid of?

Housetraining, I'd go with having one tethered to me and take him out regularly (so give him chances to get it right).

If they are fighting over nothing, i might be best to rehome one of them. Having them live under the stress of when the next wrong look is going to cause the next scrap, isn't fair on them.

[poodlefan]

I'd not give it any more than a "maybe".

Sounds to me like a consult with a decent behaviorist might be your best starting point. This can help with issues between the dogs and give you strategies for managing the transition inside.

[cannibalgoldfish]

Tonight reminded me that I have a huge problem... It used to be that I couldn't feed them anything special or any treats without Loki complaining... But no, it is anything. He isn't hungry but will chuck a big verbal tanty if Wylie so much as breathes any where near his food. Feeding them seperatly has helped but now Loki wont eat all his food, even fed apart. He is lean to begin with but now has dropped a bit of weight. I am taking him to the vets to see if it may be a tooth issue. I am now grasping at straws but if he wont eat what ever is offered, no matter how much he seems to want it then it is the first step I can take. He is just not eating. I will talk to the vet about the agro issues. He (the vet) is reluctant to drug up a dog as he feels it is an excuse to cover bad training. Sadly Loki is getting worse no matter what I do.

I am not sure if you want them in when you are there at night or you want them in during the day?? Not sure, sorry if I am being blonde but your posts are jumping a little all over.

I am looking at having them in at night. It wont solve much but it will stop Loki's panic attacks during the night. The slightest sound of a car back firing or a loud bang sends him franticly charging the fence and he ends up either jumping bigger and better "dog proof " heights or rubbing and gouging his face raw in the process. I cant help during the day apart from chaining him( with a non tangle line that he cant choke himself on, best I can do so far) but maybe I can possibly bring him indoors rather than that temporary solution. My little boy is now 9. ( :D ) and for his breed he isn't old at all. I want another 9 years out of him without all his stress.

Wylie, the other dog has only marked indoors a couple of times. He knows it isnt allowed but every now and then if I and he relax he will cock his leg. I usually catch it before he lets go and he stops. I dont think it is learned behaviour yet? Thats why I'm hoping I can stop him getting into it. Not sure if it is marking because it always seems so absent minded rather than deliberate marking.

[Crisovar]

Two crates, and qualified help from a reputable trainer.

It sounds as if you have several issues here.

[Jigsaw]

Definitely a vet check first. It's also possible that he's become so anxious about guarding the food he's not eating it. Drug therapy helps increase your dog's threshold to stressors and is best used in conjunction with a behaviour modification program. Drugs used for anti-anxiety do not make the dog dopey or sleepy generally. Having a dog that is less stressed helps lower the owner's stress too. :D. When you feed them separately are you just widening the gap between them or using different rooms?

Crate training can be introduced at any age, done gradually most dog's are quite happy to accept a crate even later in life. I would be tethering the marker to you so you have more control over what he's doing. Maybe treat him as if a puppy again and take outside every half hour lots of praise and reward for marking outside.

It may also help if you have a professional come in and assess the dog's too. They should liaise with your vet and should be able to map out a plan for you which may help you feel more in control of things too.

[Greytmate]

In my experience, desexing helps a lot when bringing an older male dog inside the house to live for the first time.

The inclination to mark is lowered, so training works very quickly to lessen the habit.

If the dog does still have a few accidents (forgetful moments), at least it won't be as stinky and sticky.

The fastest way to achieve a good result is to never leave the dog unattended in the house for even a second, because that is all it takes. A crate and other tools might be needed.

As soon as you see the dog have a sniff and take up the 'position' throw in a negative. Depending on the dog it could be something as simple as a foot stamp, a hand clap or a verbal command. If it doesn't work, move to knock the dog off-balance, along with a negative verbal command. Then give the dog something else to do and praise it for giving you its attention.

This method has worked for me on almost 100% of adult male greyhounds on being desexed and brought into a house. On the one or two dog where the habit remained it was lessened very considerably. The danger time is when the dog comes across new dog smells.

You could try that training without the desexing if you want to see how that works, but I have noticed it is the desexing itself that makes the biggest difference, it works within a week or so.

[Irish Lassy]

We have an older male desexed and this did not help his leg cocking at all..

Wont do it in front of you but will do it sneakely.

He has to be belly banded inside -if we are not home..

[westiemum]

My older puppy farm rescue westie was castrated at 6.5 years - and it and some training helped reduce his marking behaviour a lot - and he was marking everything in sight! Very quickly he was not marking inside at all. But he still does it outside the property and on walks - the other dog smells seem to be just too strong and he marks every half dozen steps unless i deliberately keep him going. So yes in my experience castration helps a lot - but with training too (same as puppy house training).

Hope that helps.

Edited April 25, 2011 by westiemum