# My poodle pees on my stuff even after I take him out!



## MaxxMozart84 (Oct 27, 2012)

Ok, so I have a doggie I adopted from Craigslist who initially had hardly any training at 1 1/2 anyway. I have been working with him to give him a consistent and loving home so as to help with any insecurities he has and get him on a good potty schedule. 
I've had him for a little over 6 months now and he still will have weeks where he will pee (and I mean really pee) on the couch or on my bed or rug or anything fabric.  
I have tried confinement to my kitchen when he's gone, I've attempted crating him (he cries loudly for hours and my downstairs neighbors complain) for my short work shifts, I have tried keeping doors closed off when I am home to keep him from sneaking off to pee.....and once in a whole I forget and as quick as he can! He gets in my room and pee on my sheets. It is beyond frustrating and I don't know what to do. 

I swear I have tried every method of potty training that I have read and none of it works! Or It will work for a while when Mozart feels like doing things my way  
So please! Suggestions from someone with older dogs that have potty issues? 

Ps, He also has food aggression issue with my other poodle sometimes. Normally they get along good but sometimes Mozart stares Maxx down like a jerk and then attacks him. 
It's not that often but it's still always upsetting.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Belly band would be my first idea - he's had 18+ months of peeing indoors and it is now an established habit, so you face a difficult time teaching him new ways, especially if you can neither crate him nor be with him all day every day. Keeping a band and pad on him in the house will at least enable you to manage it while you work on it.

Food aggression - if it is just occasionally, and he is only warning off your other dog and not humans, I would simply increase the space between them when they are fed. Most dogs will protect food from another dog, If he shows signs of guarding food or other resources from you or other people, I'd start lots of hand feeding, and games of swapsies - let him take something low value, then offer him a really good treat in exchange; then give him the first object back as well. It impresses dogs enormously!


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

Belly band for sure. You may never break him of this behavior but at least the belly band will save your clothes, rugs and furniture. 


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## MaxxMozart84 (Oct 27, 2012)

Thank you for those ideas  
My step mother did offer to let me have a belly band that she used to use for her foster dogs, but I haven't gone that route yet. Sounds as if you both swear by it so I will DEFINITELY give it a try! 
Anything! Lol 


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## MaryLynn (Sep 8, 2012)

I feel for you, I really do. I went through something like this when I fostered a female boston terrier. She would do this exact behavior whenever I would leave (and back then I'd never be gone much longer than 1-2 hours at a time if she couldn't go with me). I did really like her, but I can tell you I am guilty of being more than just happy for HER when her forever home came up. I did manage to train her so that it became very rare, but she just ended up needing a home with a person home 24 hours a day. 

At first I made sure I walked her every 2 hours (she was a year old, it was like having a little puppy again), and I started doing crate games with her. Perhaps look into some crate games, and see if you can get him to form a positive association with the crate? Once we could get her in the crate calmly it became a haven for her, and she loved it. She would spend a lot of her "me" time in there, and she would also put away her toys in there. 

I find dogs associate where is safe and unsafe to pee based off of texture/surface type. We had to keep anything that resembled fabric, and paper off of the floor at all times or if a loud noise or something scared her she would relieve herself on it. This didn't stop her from occasionally hoping onto the bed and peeing on it, however an X-pen around my bed DID do the trick! 

I am unfamiliar with belly bands, but that seems like a great fail safe, but I would try to do some crate games and just see how it goes!


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

Sometimes male dogs mark no matter what. The belly bands saved my sanity and my furniture and rugs. 


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Assuming he is neutered....I would keep him on a leash with me when I am home, at ALL times. He needs to be confined when you are gone. Maybe work more on the crating when you are there so he will be quiet when you are gone.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Yes, if he isn't neutered get it done asap! It might help with the marking and it also might help with the food aggression. Since he has a long history of getting away with these behaviors you are facing a long journey to manage them to your satisfaction. The belly band is a very good idea, as is more confinement and supervision. 

What do you know about why he ended up on Craigslist? It sounds like there were issues in his original home that you might want to understand. Knowing more about those could help you further in deciding how to proceed. That is, can you work through these issues yourself or do you need outside help. If you eventually decide you need outside help I would suggest getting a certified behaviorist rather than a trainer. A behaviorist will be able to evaluate the underlying causes of these behaviors more deeply.


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## MaxxMozart84 (Oct 27, 2012)

I have been using the belly band and it's working out well. I generally can't crate him because my shifts are 10 hours at a time so I confine him to the living room and kitchen which have hardwood floors. 
Also, he is Neutered. 

He was originally an owner surrender to a shelter in Indiana. He was 6 months old at that time. The people getting rid of him said they got him from there. Seemed to have good intentions at first (they gave me a lot of expensive food and toys, leashes, a brand new crate, and treats and a pricey bed) but told me they had no time for him. 
Clearly. He hadn't been groomed or vaccinated in god knows how long. (vet visit and groomers happened the day after I got him. Doc said he was mostly healthy just dirty and neglected). He was under weight a tad, he was dirty and apparently they kept him outside on a stake a lot. And in his crate.
Long story short-he's lived a life of neglect until he met me  
So I'm very happy to have my little guy and will do what I have to to make sure we are all happy living together  


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

So happy for you both. The belly bands are a life saver. My boys wear theirs most of the time inside. So much easier not to have to worry about them marking the furniture and/or each other. Lol.


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

I would hire a professional positive reinforcement based trainer. I can get you a referral if you'd like. 

It sounds like this little guy has some insecurities and some professional help may be in order.

Crying when left alone can be separation anxiety. If the dog is freaking out and carrying on every time you need to go out, not only does it suck for your neighbors but all the stress and those stress hormones can wreak havoc on his body and this stress can carry over into other parts of his life as well.

It sounds like the urination inside may be more than just a habit. It sounds like he's making a display for you, doing it in prominent areas where you can't fail to notice it. He may be trying to communicate with you via his chemical scent. Anxious dogs will sometimes do this and it's not so much that you have failed in potty training or that he doesn't understand concept. It can be that he's using it as a means of communication to let you know that he's anxious. This may take medication if he's this uncomfortable in just his home environment with nothing in particular going on.

The food aggression towards your other dog, I'd give them each separate dining areas. Set them up for success and don't give them a reason to feel that they need to protect their food from each other. Feed them in their crates, if you can. If your dog is already crying in there, it's likely that you need to recreate the crate as a positive experience for him anyways and feeding him his meals in there is a start.

If a dog is prone to encroaching on the other one's food, then I don't do anything about the resource guarding because the victim dog has a legit reason for protecting their food from the potential thief. If anything, I'll do something about the thief. 

But if that's not the case, and the other dog isn't ever trying to take away the other's food and is respecting his space, then I'd approach it just as you would for resource guarding against humans. The other dog coming near should mean that the dog gains, not loses. Each time the other dog comes near, toss a higher value treat than the meal to the guarder. The other dog's approach is no longer a threat of loss. 

Fearfuldogs.com is a good place to start.

Like I said before, I can get you a referral to a good trainer so you can work on behavioral modification to get your new guy in a comfortable place and you happier because the dog's behavior will have improved.

I would also discuss possible medications if behavior modification alone isn't sufficient enough or isn't working. The medication are supposed to be used WITH behavior modification, not alone. They're meant to enhance or to allow behavior mod to function.


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## MaxxMozart84 (Oct 27, 2012)

You know, I was reading up online and that sounds very likely to be at least half of the problem. 

I have them feeding in separate areas and Maxx never does anything to provoke Mozart's aggression. 
It's not very often that he even has the issue with that. It's occasional, but still indicates issues with insecurities. 
And I'm sure If I lived the live he's lived I might have some insecurity issues too! 

Your post has been very informative and I appreciate such insightful and experienced advice. Thank you. 




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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

I forgot to mention. The belly band can help to manage it but you might want to reserve it as a later training tool when his anxiety is sorted out.

It's a trick for very hard to house train dogs that if you put a diaper or belly band on them, and they have the opportunity to soil it and then get to feel the unpleasantness, it can discourage them from going potty in the house and you can phase it out. Going potty outside is much nicer by far. Of course, you wouldn't leave a soiled diaper on for more than up to a minute and you won't add any yelling or punishment to it.

So you can use one now or reserve it for later to help when he no longer feels to the need to communicate to you via chemical scent by urinating in the house.


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## Bunny (Jun 14, 2012)

I have absolutely no words of wisdom, but bless you for taking on this guy. I hope things improve for y'all.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

You know, just a thought but since it appears he has been shuffled around quite a bit and is now happy with you and his new home, could he be trying to mark and claim it as his? also since it sounds like house training was not part of his prior life, maybe you just need regular, consistent, positive training and redirecting? Just a thought.


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