My dog is driving me nuts!! HELP!!

[Nakia]

We adopted a 2 year old Chihuahua in May. She is a very very sweet girl, most of the time. She hates other dogs, and she bites our border collie's nose every time he comes near her, and he is my precious boy. She hates strangers. She does like cats. She also tolerates my kids. She has growled at my 4 year old a few times, but never snapped or anything. She has had several poop accidents in the house since we've had her, but they were always right by the door in the morning. I think we just didn't know she needed to go out, and she couldn't hold it.

 

Up until a several weeks ago, she had NEVER had a pee pee accident. Now, she is peeing on everything she sees. She has peed on the couch, the quilt my great grandmother made me when I was a baby, and clean laundry (if I can't fold it right away, I either leave it on my bed or in my bedroom floor). It's not because we don't take her out because we do. And she mostly lets us know she needs to go out. But sometimes she just decides she needs to take a leak and does it right on something. I am right now having to wash two loads of laundry over again because she peed on them this morning. :glare::glare::glare:

 

We can't crate her at night because she howls and barks and whines and pees and poops all over the whole crate, and it creates a huge mess. We put her in the bathroom while we are gone with a pee pad because that's what she was trained on. She does pretty good while are gone. But she has scratched the wall down to the sheetrock in there, and my husband is very unhappy about that. If we put her in there at night she will bark and whine and howl, and then I'm sure she will make a giant mess, and that will be something else for me to clean up first thing in the morning. We have tried putting her food and water up several hours before bedtime, and taking her out right before I go to bed (which is usually between 12-1am). My husband gets up at 5 and takes her out. The kids and I are up at 7:30-8, and we take her out. I feel like there is no reason she can't hold it for 3-4 hours.

 

She is becoming a real pain in the butt. She seems to act out more if we are gone for a while during the day. We aren't ever gone long, but I do have to run errands. We have only gotten rid of one dog ever, and that was because he was biting me and our kids. I am seriously thinking of taking her back to the rescue we got her from. I know they would take her back. But it makes me feel awful. If you know me at all from the board, you know I am an animal lover. I just don't know what to do with her. We've never had this many problems with a dog and potty accidents, not even with the puppies we've had. And with all I'm going through, I don't know how much more I can handle. I worry my stress is adding to her naughty behavior. I think she needs some kind of little grandmother type person who can give her their full attention and not so much stress (other dogs and little kids).

 

So, I guess I'm asking for advice about what to do about her peeing everywhere and also your recommendations about whether to keep her or not. I am heartbroken. I don't know what to do.

[SonshineLearner]

Hey There ;)

My first thought is that you are having her in a crate that's too big. It should be big enough for her to turn around in and also to stand in.... If it's too big, it doesn't have her remember not to soil her own space.

Also, have you tried tomato staking her? You take your leash, not more than... well it's 6 feet for a big dog... so 4-6 feet for a small dog. Put the leash on your belt and literally take her with you all day, unless you put her in her crate.

Start feeding her in her crate. Small dogs usually get fed 2x a day. Put both feedings in her crate (one at a time) Put them down, put her in, let her eat. Then remove food. (if left overs)

I have a whole article about creating the perfect dog :) Hornblower sent it to me.... I'll try to paste it in the box below this... But... this should start you out :)

If you do training, look for someone who is qualified... someone besides you know... large petstores ;)

 

HTH :)

[SonshineLearner]

Become the Mama dog :)

 

 

http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Writing/LTD.html

[Carrie12345]

I agree with the crate probably being too big!

 

While I don't necessarily believe that every dog has to be crated at night (though mine are), I think it sounds like yours needs to get used to it. She's obviously having trouble controlling herself (in more ways than one), so someone has to do it for her.

 

Doesn't mean it'll be easy! It's taken us more than a week to get our 5yo dogs adjusted to daylight savings time, lol. But they adjust!

[Catwoman]

Have you taken her to the vet to see if there's a medical issue? I would rule that out before doing anything else.

 

Cat

[Spryte]

Have you taken her to the vet to see if there's a medical issue? I would rule that out before doing anything else.

 

 

That was my first thought as well. She could have a UTI.

 

We rescued a 4 year old chihuahua, when my husband was dying for a cat. Our little cat-dog was quite the change from our usual big dogs. :) She lived to a ripe old age, we just lost her not too long ago... She did require some tomato staking at the outset, to get past the potty issues. And even when she was older, she required us to watch her carefully as she simply did not seem to communicate her need to go outside well. It was an adjustment.

 

You know though... if she is not the right pup for your family, I don't think you need to beat yourself up about it. The rescue organization would help to find her another home, right? It could be that she needs less stress (kids, other dogs) to relax. It may be her temperament.

 

Our little one got along well with our 100 lb pup, and did well with older kids. But little kids terrified her - she just did not know what they'd do next, and chihuahuas are so tiny and fragile, I think they scare easily.

 

Hoping you find the right solution for your family and for your pup...

[Nakia]

Have you taken her to the vet to see if there's a medical issue? I would rule that out before doing anything else.

 

Cat

 

There aren't any medical issues. I just talked to the rescue organization's chairperson, who happens to work for my vet, and we think it might be stress. The stress of living with two other big dogs, cats, and the kids might be too much for her. I have tried the tomato staking. The crate is tiny. I just don't know what to do. :crying: