2 year old weeing in the house

[Cash_Dolly]

I recently (3 months ago) rehomed a 2 year old whippet bitch as a companion to my 4 year old (castrated) dog.

The woman who I got her from said she had an issue with her weeing in the house but after vet checks etc it was put down to her attempting to dominate another bitch in the pack (both unneutered)

On this presumption I had hoped it would stop when she came to stay with me. There were a few accidents initially while she got used to her new home (I have a dog flap) which was to be expected.

However the issue has continued. She knows how to use the dog flap and when the dogs are in the house on their own there are never any accidents, she goes in and out quite happily. I always give her lots of praise when I see her using the dog flap and when she toilets on our walks. It is just the odd occasion where we are in the house but I am in a different room. I thought maybe it was just timing that she needs out for example when I am in the shower but even if I leave the porch door open (where she can get out through the dog flap) I still sometimes come back into the room and find a small puddle. I plan to get her neutered as soon as possible (will be after the year now, she had a litter of pups before I got her)

She knows not to do it as she is always very timid and shy after she has done it. I have just been leading her outside as soon as I notice but this may be a pointless exercise as I am not actually catching her as she goes to do it. Short of going back to basic puppy toilet training I don't know what else to do. The poor little thing has had some disruption to her life (she was neglected by poachers before the lady I got her off rescued her) so she has been moved about a lot. I am hoping maybe if she starts to feel more secure with us it will improve but she is showing no other signs of upset. She eats well, is playful, sleeps all night, made herself right at home in the house

Any advice would be much appreciated

Jen

 

[gypsysmum]

I would go right back to puppy training. Give her a valuable reward when she wees in the garden. To do that you will have to be there every time for a while. When you cannot watch her then I would crate her or confine her, in some way, to her bed. This would be especially when you leave the room. This will prevent her from repeating the behaviour which is vital.

Some dogs toilet, when their owner leaves the room, because they are worried. This may be because she has been punished by people for toileting in the past or another worry that she has. Weeing is a relief and some dogs wee just to feel relieved over some sort of worry.

Hopefully, after re training, she will want the treat so much that she will hold on until you are around to give it to her. When that happens you can gradually fade out the treats to just the odd one every now and then.

Another tip is to clean the area with a 10% solution of biological detergent, rinse, dry and agitate a spirit like surgical spirit or white vinegar into the area. This removes all trace of the scent and helps stop over marking.