Dog being a bitch

[Tinabn]

Help! Our 11yo-ish border collie is not allowed on the furniture but sneaks onto the sofa when she can. She also goes onto DS2 bed and the spare room bed if she can. Last year, during a vicious thunder storm, she weed on the spare room bed, now she wees on both beds when we go out, during the night, whenever. She never goes on our bed or DS1s bed. Both DSs live elsewhere, she wakes me up if she needs a wee during the night and she opens closed doors. How can I stop her?

Yabu to not post in the Doghouse topic. You'll get loads of good advice there.

AIBU shouldn't be a Kitchen Drawer of Crap for dumping in.

Here endeth the lesson.

Could you try stairgates across doors you don’t want her to access?
Has she had a vet check recently as change in behaviour can be linked to illness or getting old. She could be missing your DSes too.
I can’t advise about going on the sofa as I have a timeshare arrangement with our dog. She can go on there as long as she gets off with no fuss or growling when a human wants to sit on it. Her (your dog) joints may be aching - our dog prefers a bit of padding to lie on, even if that’s just a cushion on the floor.

She's not doing it on purpose, so YABU to call her names.

She probably got traumatised by the thunderstorm and that's how the weeing started.

See the vet, check her out for urinary infections, see if she needs ABs. If that doesn't help try a dog behaviourist or just close the doors. She can push a door open but surely she cannot open a closed door?

She's not that old, she can have many happy years ahead.

I've had dogs that could open doors that had lever type handles. I soon resolved that by replacing the handles with round door knobs.

However, I also had one dog that could manage to open those (he could have been a burglar, if only he'd had an opposable thumb). A metal gate, like a baby gate but taller, solved that. It was about £25 in Argos.

We have stairgates, and locks on all the upstairs doors so the dogs can't open them when we are out.
Our collie is the same and will jump on the sofa given a chance. I think she's also going a bit deaf, but it's hard to know what she can't hear and what she actively ignores!

I'm impressed, and scared by your dogs, LakieLady.

And must say I'm also relieved mine are nothing like this, because if they could work out how to open the fridge or a cupboard then things will get very messy indeed.

You sound pleasant. Your dog is being a dog, not a “bitch”.

You sound pleasant. Your dog is being a dog, not a “bitch”.

Well technically she is a bitch, not a dog...

I'll get my coat.

The answer is easy. Don't allow her upstairs! Put bolts on the doors and a stairgate at the bottom of the stairs

She is a bitch! Thanks for the replies, we are going to design a stick and grove devise to go under the handles so she can’t open them, it will give her something to do for five minutes!

She is literally a bitch! My dog gets called a bitch too and I adore her but sometimes she's a total arsehole. Don't be so precious.
OP stair gates are your friend.

We turned our handles upside down so they’d push up to open, much harder for a dog to do.

But agree you should probably get her checked at the vets as changes in behaviour usually happen for a reason.

It sounds as if your dog is showing signs of canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) aka dementia

Seeking out beds and urinating whilst you’re out are signs of anxiety
Inappropriate toileting can occur when stressed/confused
Both are indicators of CCD

Behaviour is how animals communicate to us - your dog’s behaviour indicates confusion and distress - stairgates won’t fix that
She needs to be examined by a vet - medication such as Selgian can help but it’s also worth ruling out a UTI

A bit of empathy wouldn’t hurt either. Your OP reads like you think she's Doing this to spite you when the reality is much more likely that she’s an older dog with medical issues

You seem to believe that she's somehow behaving like this to annoy you, rather than actually being in distress because of the way you look after her.

I was also coming to suggest CCD and a medical check. She is likely confused rather than doing this to spite you.

Tinabn
First thing to do is have the vet check her for physical problems including a UTI and low estrogen incontinence.
Next make sure she has her own bed and a toilet schedule.
Then look at anything that could trigger stress while you are out. For example, if the initial problem was a thunderstorm, it could be that people banging the letterbox sets her off.

But you need to see the vet first.

Thanks again, we will go to the vets in the New Year. I don’t think it is an infection as she only does it on the two beds, which could also rule out dementia. she likes to be comfortable so, if she thinks she can get away with it she goes on the bed and snuggles down making a nest of the covers and duvets, she slinks out of the room if she hears us nearby! She has a bed by the bedroom and one in the kitchen and a routine for going out for a wee at night and wakes Us up if she needs to go out, is worried or a mouse dares to tiptoe outside the front door. She isn’t spoilt but she is indulged a bit. She is about 11 or 12, she’s a rescue and we spent a lot of time with different behaviourists helping her with some issues early on. Stairs, pah, she laughs at stair gates, drystone walls and hedges!

Yep YABU..

Your dog is being a dog - she doesn't know she isnt allowed on the sofas, she knows not to get up there when you are present.

She gets on the sofas because they are comfier, they are secure, they are probably in a good position within the room (against a wall, facing a door etc) to make her feel more secure, and they smell like your arses. Win win for dogs, particularly dogs that feel a bit anxious or insecure..

Your dog clearly feels anxious insecure, she wants you, she wants access to you, but failing that a bed that smells of someone nearer to you than downstairs is better than nothing.

Instead of trying to find more ways to prevent her from getting to you, try understanding her needs and making her feel less anxious.

I'm impressed, and scared by your dogs

Justifiably so, Chardonnay! I've spoken to other Lakeland terrier owners, and door-opening skills seem to be a speciality of the breed.

The friend who looked after Houdini dog was quite convinced he could walk through walls. The first night he stayed at hers, he was in the utility room with her dogs.

Less than an hour later, he'd managed to remove a board that was hanging on hooks (to stop her dogs from scratching the paintwork) open the utility room door, open the kitchen door, jump or clamber over a baby gate, go upstairs, open her bedroom door and join her and her DH in bed.

All the doors had round door knobs, and 2 of them opened inwards.

We also went out for the evening and came back to find all 4 dogs sitting in her front garden when we got back. I'm convinced that someone tried to get in via the garden, ran off when the dogs came out of the dog flap, and left the side gate open. DFriend thinks that Houdini dog taught them to form a canine pyramid so he could undo the bolt at the top of the gate and let them all out.

He was the cleverest dog I've ever known.

That's Lakeland Terriers off my list for next time I'm looking for a dog.

Try a beagle. I swear they all come with a set of lock picks.