# Sneak Peeing



## HerdingStdPoodle (Oct 17, 2012)

*Tethering*

Hi Saphire;

I have not dealt with this problem---because I have had excellent results in tethering my puppies. Plans for Puppy: Tethering | Dogster.

This technique takes a little planning and lots of consistency---but has big payoffs! Just be careful that you don't trip or get tangled in the leash.... HerdingStdPoodle


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

have you had her checked for a uti?


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## Saphire (Nov 15, 2013)

Thank you

Uti may be worth checking out although she left me a brown present in the dining room earlier today along with the pee and it looked fine (other than not being outside), no stomach issues. If it was just pee I would think medical but it is definately not. We let her out whenever she asks and encourage her to go out every two hours. 

The tether is interesting but impossible. She is pretty big about 40lbs and tend to pull on a leash and we have two flights of steps in our house that I go up and down about 30x per day. Also I am clumsy and tend to trip over my own pant leg! Plus she NEVER pees in front of me. She ALWAYS goes off to a different room. Thank you for the suggestion


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

possibly you may have to go back to full-time crating except for potty breaks until she learns she is only allowed out as long as she takes her bathroom breaks in the right place. it's not as cruel as it sounds if it helps her to live as a trusted family member.


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## Saphire (Nov 15, 2013)

I agree. One thing she has a tendency to bark when crated if she is not tired. 

I just get so jealous when people post how their 5 month old SPoo has not had an accident in months. I just wonder what we did wrong! It is the sneak thing that bothers me and makes it so difficult to fix


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

If she is able to get off by herself to go in the house she's been given too much freedom too soon. You either need to get her in a smaller area and start back with the crate or you need to do the tether method and bite the bullet. You said she never goes in front of you and she only goes when she sneaks off. This is exactly the reason to tether. The way to prevent this is to prevent her from sneaking off and always keep her in front of you. If you need to go upstairs and you can't take her with you, then she needs to go back in the crate until you are able to keep her with you.




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## Saphire (Nov 15, 2013)

I know I just do not think I can tether, really too afraid of falling. Crating sure

We used to confine her with a baby gate until she started climbing it (like a cat) now does not even slow her down

Maybe I am anthropamorphizing but it does feel like she thinks it is ok if she does not get caught. I really think it is suspicious that the room she spends most of her time in, and it is a large room, she never pees in (did as a baby but stopped about 3 months ago.) Also, never in front of us, like she knows better


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

i think dogs do learn you don't approve in the house and they respect that. but maybe in some cases they don't realize it applies even if you are not present. so that's what you have to retrain - that freedom of the whole house means taking bathroom breaks outside. in this case, the crating may actually be better at sending that message than tethering. (i'm just hypothesizing here.) i'm sure by sticking with the program, your dog will get there. poodles are smart.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I have found that rooms that you and the dog rarely use together tend not to be recognised as den, and are therefore part of "outside the den". Perhaps spending more time together in the places she chooses, along with close supervision, may help. An additional dog proof gate on the stairs down to the cellar may help to remind people to keep it closed, too. It is always wise to check for a UTI, and I certainly don't think she is getting at you in any way - she is still young and learning, and she has found comfortable places to relieve herself, and is using them.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

fjm that is an interesting interpretation of the sneaking off to pee. Lily sneaked a couple of pees in the basement on rainy days in that 8 to 14 month age range.

I wouldn't read too much into where Korra is doing the naughties since she seems to be doing it different places. I would go back to square one on confining her when she isn't being directly supervised. Also get her to potty on command so that you know she is empty before you bring her back inside.


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## Saphire (Nov 15, 2013)

Thank you.

Yesterday she did have an accident in the family room so maybe it is just random.

One question, how long after she does it can I reprimand her? Our house has lots of small rooms so I do not always find it immediately. 20 min? An hour? I always assumed that if I did not catch her I could not yell. However, by smell she still knows it is hers


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Saphire said:


> One question, how long after she does it can I reprimand her? Our house has lots of small rooms so I do not always find it immediately. 20 min? An hour? I always assumed that if I did not catch her I could not yell. However, by smell she still knows it is hers


Reprimanding her after the fact will accomplish nothing. If you "catch her in the act," interrupt her and take her outside to finish doing her business, then praise her for that. You have the control here,_ take it;_ confine her, or watch her, take her out on schedule to eliminate, train her to "tell you" when she needs to go outside to potty. This is doable! You don't need to punish her _at all_. I know what you're going through is frustrating, but you can get it sorted out. Lots of info already posted on the forum to help with housetraining. You can do a topic search, and I'm sure others will be by soon to offer more guidance. Hang in there! :clover:
Dog Training: House training a puppy or rescue dog - YouTube


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

HerdingStdPoodle said:


> Hi Saphire;
> 
> I have not dealt with this problem---because I have had excellent results in tethering my puppies. Plans for Puppy: Tethering | Dogster.
> 
> This technique takes a little planning and lots of consistency---but has big payoffs! Just be careful that you don't trip or get tangled in the leash.... HerdingStdPoodle


I couldn't agree more! I took this advice, maybe it was from HerdingStdPoodle, and it worked PERFECTLY after several weeks. Yes, tripping over the leash was a pain, but he is now VERY reliable in the house.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Shamrockmommy said:


> *I couldn't agree more!* I took this advice, maybe it was from HerdingStdPoodle, and it worked PERFECTLY after several weeks. Yes, tripping over the leash was a pain, but he is now VERY reliable in the house.


Ditto! Tethering is an _ideal_ way to "watch her"! :thumb:


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

I totally agree with gracious Chagall's Mom. Show pup what you want and reinforce the good; I would take punishment including reprimands out of the picture entirely.
Jean Donaldson talks about this exact issue in her book Culture Clash, and explains how we owners inadvertently lead to it occurring. I recommend you get her book asap--I can't begin to do justice to her writing. She is easy to understand and not full of jargon, yet a tremendously knowledgeable resource .
Also a vet visit to check for UTI and maybe consider what food she's on and if perhaps it's causing some gastric distress leading to urgency.


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## GeriDe (Mar 2, 2014)

I struggled with potty training then I went to old fashioned Pavlov's classical conditioning. I set my phone alarm for every 2 hours - to the sound of barking - as soon as it barked, we went outside. If Khaos didn't pee or poo in 5 minutes we came in and I made it bark 15 minutes later and went out again. AFter a week a success with that - I stretched it to every 2.5 then 3 and he's up to about 4.5 hours now.

Also, I didn't tether him to me in the apartment. I gated the rooms he could not go into and he was always in the room with me. When I changed to another room, it was gated so he couldn't wander. 

It's been nearly 2 months and he had one accident after a surgical proceedure (groggy I'd say) and 2 one night when he was ill and a couple days ago while we were playing and he suddenly stopped midstream and ran to the door.

He is crated for 4 hours when I work, I come home at lunch, make the phone bark, we go out and we play for about 30 minutes and he goes back in his crate for the final 4.5 of my work day.

He is not crated at night and he has started to wake me now and then if he needs out.

Everyone has different levels of success - it's hard though. Best to you. I, by no means am an expert. I'm a novice, I'm not a breeder, a trainer, a rescuer - just a woman with a puppy - it's hard.


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