Being Spiteful

[Nicole]

Hello again :) We are now encountering a new issue we've not had before...our 3 month old doodle pup is peeing all over the house when she gets mad. For example, my husband told her "no bite", she didn't stop so he said "no bite" and tapped her on the nose with 1 finger...she still bit him again so he put her down off the couch...she walked about 10 steps and peed right in front of him. Tonight I went to wal-mart without her...she cried/barked for about 30 seconds and walked into the middle of the room and peed. Our vet says this is out of spite...any suggestions? She is the most strong-willed (and smartest) pup I have ever had...my husband says perhaps we would have been better off with a dumb dog lol :P We went from 0-1 accident a day the first few weeks we had her to 4-5 "accidents" a day this last week or two. ARG!

[Holly Doodle]

Dogs are not capable of spite. They are creatures of conditioning, if they do something and get attention, they learn to do that thing more frequently. At 3 months she should still be in her kennel or a confined area to to help her become potty trained. When our pup was that age we were taking her out on leash almost every hour to prevent accidents, and giving a lot of praise each time she went potty outside. If she didn't go when we took her out we would immediately return her to her kennel and try again in 20-30 minutes. Dogs hate to go to the bathroom where they sleep, so this is where a small kennel comes in handy. I would recommend searching on DK for some discussions on potty training, or maybe pick up a book to help learn more about good techniques. On another note, It sounds like you are giving your pup too much freedom at a very young age. Allowing her on the couch may be telling her that she is equal to you, instead of letting her know that you are the so called "pack leader." Too much freedom when they first come home can cause behavior problems so maybe limit her to one room for now using a baby gate. Preferably a room with hard floors :). She is still VERY young and it will get better! Good Luck!

[Kyoko]

Yes, I agree.... Also the biting will fade. I thought it was going to last forever, too. But it didn't.
I think she is just being a typical puppy.... :-)
Your puppy is soooo cute!!! Makes me think of when Charlie was a little puppy....Good luck!!

[Adina P]

When accidents suddenly increase...my first thought is UTI. But I think spite in a puppy requires brains that dogs just don't have. First they have to know with certainty that peeing in the house is something you dislike (not just not allowed) and personally you find offensive and would be upset about. Second...well...okay there's no second but the first takes care of it. Dogs are just not that conniving.

I would say it doesn't really matter why, if it is behavioral vs. a UTI. If she has no infection than she needs less freedom in the house until, once again, she proves herself worthy of the freedom. Take her out more often, crate her when you're not in the same room with her, go back to the basics.

[Nicole]

Going back to the basics is what we will have to try...we started out taking her out every 15 minutes to 1/2 hour... Many of the other suggestions we are already doing (keeping her gated in one room, taking her out every hour or so...but many times she will pee 3 or 4 times in an hour...but she sleeps all night without going at all. Yes, I must remember she is very young... but part of my frustration is that she did SO WELL the first few weeks...literally the 2nd night we had her at 7 weeks old she went to the door on her own to go out...no more than one accident a day... and now she's in the same circumstances (confined to one room...she does not have free reign of the house) and it really does seem to coincide with being told "no" or like last night when I left and my husband was there when she barked/cried twice then walked a few steps away from the door and peed (she gets to go for a ride every evening and I did not take her with me last night). She had just been outside about 15 minutes before that. We definitely give her treats and praise when she goes outside...we don't crate her during the day but confine her to the kitchen because she is crated at night and I can't come home several days at lunch to let her out...so she is in the kitchen with her bed, food, water, and we put down a puppy pad which she uses faithfully. The puppy pad was also in its usual place when she did not go to the door but rather just peed on the floor. We are temporarily banning her from the couch and are signed up for obedience classes starting after her shots are finished...but she already knows sit, down, sit up, off, and here...and I use those before feeding, when she seems to be getting unruly, etc. Pretty soon she will be able to go out using the doggy door our other doodle used so maybe then these issues will end :)

[Nicole]

Hmmm.....interesting observations... I don't think her biting is that she needs to go out....especially since she started going to the door the second day we had her...she was doing fantastic for a couple of weeks...went a whole weekend with no accidents going to the door on her own without us actually timing and taking her out...but she HAS been much more playful in longer spells...whereas before we were always watchful when she woke up, when she was playing, after eating, etc. ... now that she is staying awake more and playing more perhaps we will have to try timing trips outside......