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Subject: Potty all the time????

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kimladd

Newbie

kimladd

Newbie

05/28/2008 3:52 PM
Sorry, I cant get the body of the post to open to let you all in on the potty issue???????

kimladd

Newbie

05/28/2008 5:36 PM
Three yrs ago we took our then 5yr old daughter to a rescue shelter to look at the dogs for adoption.......Well.... she SPOTTED this shy (Yes I said shy) little dog with a sad sweet face and poked her little finger into the crate to touch the puppy with his back to us. The speckled little puppy immediately began to lick her little finger and it was love at first sight for the two little girls! Dottie was going to her forever home at last! We now call her "Potty Dotty" She has a pee-pee issue we cant seem to correct. She also does not act like most rat terriers. She LOVES people and is a 'bit' curious but she is by no means High energy. When we first got her I would have to tell everyone "Dont Touch Her" Even though she is standing on two legs waiting very anxiously to be touched. She has never grown out of this Submissive/Excited type of piddling and although we see much less of it I still wonder if there is anything we can do to help her control it. There were many days I wondered WHAT had happened to her before we brought her home with us!!

gwacie

Rat-A-Tat-Tat

05/28/2008 5:43 PM
What confidence building have you done with her? Things like training (obedience), especially in classes with other dogs, socialization (like going to the pet store), problem solving (putting a treat in a place that's a little scary, like near the vacuum), things like this that I am summarizing quickly are helpful in building confidence in dogs that are very insecure. Some dogs are like this naturally, some have had such a rough start that it takes extra efforts to help them overcome their fears. Babying a dog like this makes the fear and submissive peeing worse, but confidence building can really help. There are LOTS of posts on the forum about working with submissive pee-ers. The main key seems to be keeping all new things (coming home, leaving home, new people etc) LOW KEY. Ignore the dog just go about your routine. Also bending over the dog or touching her on her head is going to be more scary than if you squat down, turn sideways, don't look at her, and pet her under her chin (don't put the hand over the head). This can be conquered, but you probably have to change a few of the ways you are approaching her (which likely don't seem very scary to you or non sub peeing dogs!!).

gwacie (Bethany) http://www.myadams.net/dogs/

kimladd

Newbie

05/28/2008 6:01 PM
I have not taken her to any classes but she does have play dates and we do work with her quite a bit. She has come along way in the time we have had her. I have had a friend suggest obedience training. Would this be the same as confidence training? There are many things she still will not do, Like..... Will not go out for anyone but me, Runs from the vacuum, Hides when its time to go bye-bye, Eat from her dish and the list goes on BUT on the other side of the coin she is VERY loving to everyone and cant seen to get enough attention.

gwacie

Rat-A-Tat-Tat

05/28/2008 6:22 PM
Obedience training will definately build confidence. I assume you are the person who does the most feeding and care, correct? Is she fed at regular meal times or is her food available all the time? I am actually going through confidence building with the Peanut (in my avatar). He got here in February. He wasn't too bad with submissive urination - got over that for the most part in a month but very bad about running away and hiding, feeding was a challenge at first (too afraid to eat for 2 weeks, I had to toss food to him). I've already seen huge strides. One thing is, I never baby him, I treat him like I treat the rest of the crew (there are 4 total here right now). It helps having other dogs that are not afraid as he takes many of his cues from them. It takes time, patience, a gentle but firm approach. It's taking the Nutter longer to warm up to hubby because he doesn't work with him much. I have him doing the feeding and evening treats as that is helping him create a bond with the dog. If you want other household members to have a better interaction with her they each (individually) need to take the time to work with her.

gwacie (Bethany) http://www.myadams.net/dogs/

gwacie

Rat-A-Tat-Tat

05/28/2008 6:24 PM
Here is a good link: http://www.dogtraininghq.com/building-confidence.html

gwacie (Bethany) http://www.myadams.net/dogs/

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