karen15 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) Background. I rehomed a 3yo female, desexed, cocker spaniel in July. I got her to be a companion for a male westie puppy I brought home in August. Both get along really well. We have a dog door which is open all day so the dogs can get in and out at will. They are walked daily for at least 40mins, preceded by a visit to puppy park to run and sniff. In the week before Christmas the cocker weed on the couch. I wasn't happy but didn't make a big deal of it. Christmas day and every day since she has pooed inside. 25th -27th we were away, the poo was before we left, and she was fine visiting, all toileting done outside. Since we've been back, every morning I go out for an hr and a half and come back to poo inside. She was banished outside yesterday, but has pooed inside again today. What would start this happening and what can I do to get her back on track? Puppy is fine. He has had accidents but they are when he can't get outside. Edited December 29, 2015 by karen15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Ps, cocker is crate trained Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Ps #2 nothing has changed in routine, food, house...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Of course something has changed. You went away. She probably sensed a change of some sort was coming based on your activities before leaving. Dogs have very limited ways in which they can tell us if they are upset, unhappy or worried. Toileting inappropriately just happens to be one of those ways. Hopefully someone with behavioural skills can come in and give you advice on how to address this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pjrt Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Hi. First thing I would do is have a thorough health check. Cocker spaniels are prone to a few eye health conditions that can rob them of their eyesight at an early age. Being a rehome I would suppose you don't have much in the way of breeder history. If by chance you know the dogs breeder, breeding, it would be worth finding out if they health test or breed clear. If not, off to the vet for a once over. If the dog has had onset of sight problems, changes to behaviour may be subtle at first. Hopefully it's all good though. Otherwise, I'd wonder if their has been an incident where the dog was outdoors toileting and took a fright of some sort. Dogs learn by association, whether negative or positive, will determine the forward behaviour pattern. If the dog has been outside toileting and there has been a sudden loud noise, unusual movement, or creature, from anywhere in the environment, it could be enough to set off a different behaviour pattern. Also, the doggy door may have got jammed or something and the dog smashed into it, or the flap hit the dog etc. Take a moment to think about exactly when the changes started. It could be as simple as the dog took a fright from a bsckfiring car, or a hot air balloon going over etc. that's the sort of thing that can freak some dogs. We used to get low flying helicopters literally hovering 20 meters above our yard checking the powerlines when I lived on property! If we weren't home at the time how would we know that is why the dogs were freaky when we got home, huh?!!! That would be enough for some dogs to never leave the house again. How are your neighbours? Is there any chance their behaviour has an influence on your dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Sounds like anxiety based behaviour possibly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) Little gifts, I only prepared to leave after coming home on the morning of the 25th. There was absolutely no change to routine. The dogs came with me and were very happy visiting. Blink blink, the vet gave her a health check when I took puppy for his shots. You're correct in I don't know her breeding, I'm her fourth home i can't even find her microchip with Qld canine council - I think that's what they are - they searched for me. would eye issues happen that fast? The neighbours love the dogs. We are on a main road so there could have been noise. I had a stack of palm leaves in the yard that I removed yesterday, thinking that might be the issue. Doggy door can't get stuck. It's soft plastic with a weighted bottom. It may have hit her, but she is using it happily throughout the day. The day she weed inside I think it was raining and she doesn't like getting wet. But Christmas morning, and yesterday and today, I've got no idea. She was perfect while we were away, but I didn't leave her like I have when she's pooped inside. The dogs are left every morning while I feed and ride my horses. It's been like that for 6 months. So I doubt it would be me leaving that is the issue. I'm not trying to make excuses but have considered a lot of things before posting. She is quite attached to me and unlike the puppy prefers to be by my side instead of fawning over new people. The vet said she's probably quite unsure given the number of homes she's had in her short life but once she let her guard down she'd bond strongly to me, which she seems to have done. Puppy isn't centre of attention, puppy hasn't been taken away and cocker left at home. Edited December 29, 2015 by karen15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Just had a thought. I'm unwell at the moment. Getting weekly injections, third of which was 23rd Dec. Is it possible she can smell or otherwise notice that? If so it might explain why she is worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) .... Edited December 29, 2015 by karen15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Could very well be Karen - something has changed in her world whether you or I can see it and she is responding in one of the few ways she knows how. As I said, hopefully someone with behavioural skills will come on and give you some useful advice. I'm just commenting on what I see from your story from an outsiders perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Background. I rehomed a 3yo female, desexed, cocker spaniel in July. I got her to be a companion for a male westie puppy I brought home in August. Both get along really well. We have a dog door which is open all day so the dogs can get in and out at will. They are walked daily for at least 40mins, preceded by a visit to puppy park to run and sniff. In the week before Christmas the cocker weed on the couch. I wasn't happy but didn't make a big deal of it. Christmas day and every day since she has pooed inside. 25th -27th we were away, the poo was before we left, and she was fine visiting, all toileting done outside. Since we've been back, every morning I go out for an hr and a half and come back to poo inside. She was banished outside yesterday, but has pooed inside again today. What would start this happening and what can I do to get her back on track? Puppy is fine. He has had accidents but they are when he can't get outside. uncontrolled peeing can be one of the downsides of spayed female dogs...these accidents are prone to happen for spayed female dogs. It is likely that the one accident on the couch wasn't the first, and the urine scent spread over the house might have also 'encouraged' her in the meanwhile to poo inside. A continuous rigorous cleaning regime might help to keep the encouraging urine scent minimal (not likely that you can stop her from uncontrolled urinating all the time) and with a stricter toilet training (more times on walks) might help with the poo issue. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah82 Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I wouldn't imagine eye issues were to blame, you'd be seeing a lot more obvious signs before toileting inside. Our 8 year old cocker is blind from PRA and with no doggie door he manages just fine (unless we leave them inside for too long). For whatever reason your girl is toileting inside, you may never know why but start focusing on getting her out of the habit asap before it gets too ingrained. Leave the dogs outside when you aren't home and take them out regularly when you are with lots of rewards and praise when they go in the right spot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundyburger Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 My dog started toileting inside in July, he's six and fully house trained. He even pooped in our bed and was not lasting all night without a poo break, all strange for him. We put it down to stress as the vet said he was fine, even though it smelt a bit weird then a few weeks later he had surgery for cyst things, and the pooping began again immediately and he was quite sick unlike the first time. Turned out he had a nasty stomach bug, that was over 5 months ago and no more pooping inside despite major upheavals like moving house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 We have success. I spent all day yesterday praising her for going outside to the toilet and no poop inside today :) Will see if it lasts, but looking up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 We have success. I spent all day yesterday praising her for going outside to the toilet and no poop inside today :) Will see if it lasts, but looking up. That's great .. more time spent on a refresher course will hopefully help :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayhay Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I was going to say the same thing, just a refresher course on toileting could be all that is required. Sometimes our terrier has the odd accident in the house, but this lead to him thinking it was ok to pee on the floor, so he would just go there, mid pee, I picked him up and positioned him on the lawn. All good now :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I have an adult cocker that has phases of toileting inside, moreso when it is raining as she refuses to get her feet wet. During those times I make sure I take her out regularly to toilet to minimise the issue. She has always done it, no amount of training has helped. She is now 10 and has always been anxious and vocal. The positive is that she has stopped peeing on me! She used to do it when I picked her up due to excitement. Hopefully your reinforcement will hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 You can also try using a word.. "quick" , or 'wees" etc EVERY time she toilets outside . Use the word, and give much praise ... in a while - she will toilet for you when she hears the word .. this is SUCH a good thing !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlaznHotAussies Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 You can also try using a word.. "quick" , or 'wees" etc EVERY time she toilets outside . Use the word, and give much praise ... in a while - she will toilet for you when she hears the word .. this is SUCH a good thing !! This was a lifesaver when we drove across Australia with 7-month old Tundra!! Nothing worse than traipsing around in the dark when you just want to go to bed after driving all day with a dog that doesn't know it's wees time :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen15 Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 They have a toilet command, but that doesn't help when I'm not here :) I don't want them locked outside as it is too hot and I'm still slimming the cocker down as she was exceedingly fat when I got her, so she really feels the heat. They have the fan on all day and inside is significantly cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now