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weeing dog - do you think it is possible to cure this?

27 replies

steppemum · 18/11/2017 17:57

we have a foster dog, he is adorable, only been with us for 3 days, but we are seriously in love.
He is a springer spaniel, gentle, adorable, affectionate, bright and lively. He is 18 months old, and full of energy.
He was owned by a lovely family where he was very well trained, so he is trained and looking to you for instruction and eager to please.

He is just so LOVELY. Well, we want to keep him, he is without doubt the dog that would fit our family perfectly. We have been fostering for a few months and every other dog has been a dog we are looking after on the way to someone else. This dog is different.

BUT, of course there is a but. They have been forced to rehome him because he wees everywhere.
He is fully housetrained, and on a normal day, he is fine, but as soon as he is startled, over excited or nervous, he just wees. It is never a dribble, but a full on flood, every time. He seems to drink a lot and wee a lot anyway. Even when going outside to do a normal wee, if he has a full bladder, he will start weeing as soon as he hits the back door step and run across the garden while in full flow and then stop and cock his leg, and do a full wee.
so, as an example:
On the evening he arrived, weed all over the kitchen floor twice (to be expected) went out into garden and weed, then 1 hour later, kids in bed and dh sitting on lounge floor with dog next to him. I left the room and came back in, for some reason this startled him, he jumped up as I came in and then dropped into submissive dog position and then weed all over the lounge.

The next morning I came down, before I could get across the kitchen and open the back door he had done 4 huge wees on the floor, then got past me into the dining room and ran round weeing, then went outside and weed again!

Ok, so that was him in a new setting, so we expected lots of nervous wees. Since then he has only had one more wee in doors, but we are taking him out to wee every 1.5 hours, and managing new people etc very carefully.

so, with him just weeing every time he is nervous, we couldn't adopt him. The people who would have him when we are on holiday (eg my Mum) would NOT want a weeing dog! We couldn't take him anywhere, so sunday lunch at my borthers? He would wee everywhere. etc etc.

Does anyone know if this is a cureable condition? It is definitely nerves, he is the sort of dog that always seems to be on alert, even when you think he is asleep, as soon as someone leaves/enters the room he is immediately alert.

I have no idea if this has been investigated by a vet. the house he was in was busy with people and dogs, so possibly he would settle more and be calmer in a quieter, one dog household. He is also young and may grow up. He was originally a puppy rescue and was abused, so that explains why he is easily scared.

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BiteyShark · 18/11/2017 18:11

My cocker has always done excitement pees from a puppy which has got better as he got older but he still does the odd one but only a bit so clearly not as drastic as what you describe. Personally I would discuss this with a vet first before making a decision in case there is a medical reason.

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CornflakeHomunculus · 18/11/2017 18:12

I'd be inclined to have him checked out by a vet just in case there's something physical going on. Although it's a very common behaviour it's worth checking as if there is a medical issue then training alone won't help.

How old is he? It's a particularly common issue in young dogs and quite often they'll just outgrow it. If he doesn't though it's still something you should be able to deal with and it sounds like you're doing everything right so far with reducing excitement/stress when you know he's likely to do it and taking him out frequently.

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 18:15

He's 18 months Cornflake.
I'd have to ask the rescue if we can get him checked out byt he vet, as he is a foster dog.

But I also need to ask them first if that has already been done.

If it is medical, any odea about what it could be or, more to the point, if it is treatable?

I met a friend while out walking and she said she had heard of dogs being put on mild tranquilizers for this sort of thing, but that sounds pretty drastic?

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BiteyShark · 18/11/2017 18:19

It's unlikely a vet will treat something that doesn't need treating so whilst I have no vetinary knowledge it doesn't sound that drastic to me if it helps keep him dry and in a loving home.

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missbattenburg · 18/11/2017 18:21

I had a mixed breed that did this for the first 2 or 3 years of his life but did grow out of it during that time without us doing anything special. Never did it as an older dog.

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 18:35

I should add that apart from the kitchen, we have carpets!

So he is sleeping in the kitchen and he is Not Happy.

But then he would still be sleeping downstairs, and I think he slept on the bed in his previous house Sad

poor man, he just wants cuddles.
IF we could make him more reliable, and IF we adopted him, he would probably start if downstairs and, once he has made friends with the cat, end up on ds bed!

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washingmachinefastwash · 18/11/2017 18:45

Has he been neutered?

My dog did excitement wees until he was neutered.

It does sound like stress incontinence, which is fairly normal, especially as the breed you’ve mentioned can take longer to mature.

I think a trip to the vet could be a good idea to rule out anything serious, however, it should be something he grows out of.

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Justcallmecaptainobvious · 18/11/2017 18:47

Our lab did a lot of excited/nervous weeing, it's slowed right down and at 2 years old the only time she does it is at the vets (they are very nice about it Smile).

I think getting the vet to check it out is a good plan, but also just give him time to settle with you a bit and see whether it reduces. If you see an improvement I'd guess that he should keep improving. Might also be worth a chat with a good trainer, we did lots of self-control with ours which helped keep excitement levels under control.

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Frouby · 18/11/2017 18:59

My whippet bitch pees when stressed. Usually food orientated because she has food issues. So after eating if we leave our plates on the side instead of scraping them immediately into the bin she wees because she is wanting the food and is stessing because she can't get to it.

Things that help is obviously reducing the stress so scraping the plates and putting them in the sink.

But if she has changed routine she wees as well. So after kennels for our holiday she pees. If she has been in season and hasn't been walked as much she pees. She had some dental work done the other week and was on bed rest for a few days so pee everywhere. Someone accidentally shutting her in the.kitchen and she pees.

Recognising what triggers it will certainly help. But if he is anxious and been abused a really rigid routine of food/walks/training etc will help him settle quicker as he won't be stressed about what is happening next.

Also don't underestimate what his diet will do. I feed mine James Welbeloved dried food. If she had wet food or table scraps or cheaper dried food she would be peeing everywhere. Particularly when we stopped all table scraps apart from left over, unprocessed meat so scraps from a roast (but not pork) only and the odd bit of veg we really noticed she was drinking and therefore peeing a lot less.

He sounds lovely, hope you can manage his quirks and give him a forever home.

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 19:37

yes he is neutered.

thanks for all your helpful comments.
He does drink A LOT, which doesn't help.
IF we took him on, I will certainly look at food. We don't do any human food/scraps at all except the pizza he stole earlier when ds left it on the side with foster dogs with different requirements and 3 kids, it was easier to impose a no human food rule, and buy dog specific treats than to chop and change with different dogs.

Food at the moment is supplied by the rescue.

dh has said since the beginning, no permanent dog, we can only do this because the rescue pays everything. If you could see him sitting on the floor now wiht the dog's head flopped across his lap....
Ironically, I have always been a cat person, and he is much more of a dog person.
This afternoon I mentioned adoption to him ad he asked me to do the figures wrt insurance and food. I have been just saying numbers to him, and he is kind of grunting, in a pleasantly surprised sort of way Grin

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ChoudeBruxelles · 18/11/2017 19:40

My springer does this. He’s got better but still wees when excited. He’s told to go for a wee in the morning and when we come home before he is stroked. And he has to wee before greeting visitors.

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greystarling · 18/11/2017 19:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

steppemum · 18/11/2017 19:42

dh has said, when we have a crated dog, they are in crate all night, and therefore have no water bowl.
He has suggested that we don't refill his water bowl at night, so full bowl wth dinner at 6 pm, and then don't refill it at bedtime. It woudl be almost empty by bedtime.

Is this Ok? I am nervous, as I thought they should always have free access to water, but he is right about crated dogs???

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 19:43

How old is your springer choude?

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 20:00

so, while I have you all here Grin

what do I need to look for in pet insurance? Totally new area for us.

and Frouby - what is it about that dried food that does the trick? Is it because it is grain free? dried?

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toboldlygo · 18/11/2017 20:03

Given that he is also drinking a lot I would want to do a vet workup to rule out things like diabetes insipidus or similar before focusing on behavioural modification.

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 20:12

diabetes had crossed my mind too.

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Wolfiefan · 18/11/2017 20:14

I would definitely vet check. And never limit access to water.

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 20:14

Oh just looked up diabetes insipidus, not same as diabetes.
That does sound really likely!

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Frouby · 18/11/2017 20:25

In the food I buy it has no added preservatives, e numbers, food colouring, etc. So it's as unprocessed as processed food can be. It's hypoallergenic etc. So I presume it's the same as us. If I eat something like a readymeal, even a naice one like an M and S one I drink more. But if I make the same meal from scratch it has less crap in it so I am not as thirsty from the added salt.

It works for us anyway. I would get the bag down and read the ingredients but am watching x factor 😁. But if you google best dog foods you should get some more information on dog food and what is good and what isn't.

I would say that the stuff I buy is more expensive by weight than something like bakers complete but she eats less of it so it's better value. And her skin goes to pot if we swap it to a cheaper alternative.

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Temporary2002 · 18/11/2017 20:30

Our dog did that, just the way you described, and it was diabetes. If it is not that, can you try belly bands? www.amazon.co.uk/Waterproof-Premium-Male-Dog-Belly/dp/B007V4E6GM?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 20:35

thanks frouby, that's very helpful.

the rescue food is good quality, the lady who runs it won't allow colourings or e numbers etc (she's not a fan of Bakers!)

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NoCureForLove · 18/11/2017 20:37

Or Cushings disease. Our dog has developed this - only obvious symptoms were drinking much more and copious weeing...

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Pippin8 · 18/11/2017 20:55

I’ve got a springer I rescued at 18 months, he sounds like the same dog to be honest. He was non stop weeing. Luckily I’ve got hard floors everywhere. It took 3-4 months for him to stop. We all just remained calm, never made a fuss, definitely never shouted at him, just made him go out to the toilet. He does still do it, very rarely, once a month if that. It’s only when he’s super excited, scared or meets someone new who makes a massive fuss of him. We found that exercise helped, if he’s tired he’s asleep & not weeing 😃

Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your dog, he’s been with you 3 days, it’ll take a good few weeks for him to settle.

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steppemum · 18/11/2017 21:06

Thanks Pippin,
you may be right and there is nothing wrong, but he was rehomed due to the weeing, from a house that is very familiar with dogs, and so this isn't a recent problem. He was rescued as a puppy, and then spent about a year with the family he was rehomed to. They couldn't keep him due to the weeing, so I was just wondering if there is any hope for a dog like this.
To be fair, there are particular reasons why the family couldn't have a dog who weed, whereas a family just looking for a pet may be able to cope with his excited wees.

Not sure that once a month on carpets is rare enough to be honest Sad

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