Calling all dog experts out there, I have a few questions about my rescue lab...

[DrNortherner]

Brought him home on Sat, all in all he is FAB dog, loving, amazing temprament etc etc.

He was in kennels for about 6 weeks but was toilet trained before this. The first 2 days here we had no accidents, but now he is weeing and pooing inside Despite just coming in from a long walk.....any tips on what to do here are much appreciated. Funnily enough, when I go out and leave him we have no accidents, it's always whe we are home

Also, he is following me around everywhere. Is this normal or will he settle down once he feels more secure? He can be nodding off in his bed, I get up to go to another room and he follows me. Everytime I go upstairs he follows me. He is never in a room alone.

He refuses to sleep alone. At bed time he barks/howls till we relent and let him sleep on the rug by our bed.

If anyone has any advice or words of wisdom on the above it would be much appreciated!

Also, what is the best way to clean dog wee from carpets?

bless him, how old is he?

You need to put him outside as soon as he has done his buisness on your floor, im sure he will soon get used to the idea of doing it outside, im still having trouble with my staffy, she wont go out in the wet/cold weather so will do it in the conservatory.

As for the following around, i think that normal for a rescue dog or a puppy, he will settle down in time.

If you want him to sleep on his own you must not give in, we trained our dog to do this by using a large dog cage (also useful for toilet traing as a dog won't sh*t in its own bed).

Not sure about getting rid of the smell of dog wee, we got rid of our carpet and replaced it with laminate flooring .

Thanks Marne, he is 9 months old.

We tried a crate, but he howled and barked the house down so we gave up - will we live to regret that?

When I got my rescue dog they said to take her into the garden straight away and stay outside till she has a wee - then praise her like mad. Maybe try spendingtime in the garden with yours till he does something and praise him?

Biological washing powder in hot water is good for dog wee.

He sounds like he may be getting a bit of seperation anxiety if he's following you around so much. How is he when you're out the house - does he bark/howl then? Can you hide outside your front door and listen? DAP diffusers are good to help settle dogs in.

www.amazon.co.uk/Dog-Listener-Jan-Fennell/dp/0006532365/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227807467&sr =8-1

This book is really good for stuff like this.

I had a lab and he used to follow us around all the time until he was about 16 and his arthritis got too bad. Drove my dad bonkers.

biological washing powder gets rid of the smell of dog wee.

We crated our lab as well....had 3 nights of pure hell of wining and barking....then peace. You mustn't give in!

Following around I suspect is due to being a rescue...or perhaps he thinks you may be getting some food ....my lab always follows me to the kitchen / fridge / freezer!

labs do like being right next to you. apparently, if you work at a desk, a female lab will come and lie in the room with you and a male will lie right at your feet. I always recommend this book - it's ace.

re weeing - I'm not sure about house training at this age, but with ours we just made sure he was outside as much as possible so that when he did wee we could praise and reward him. (reward with food. labs adore food. if you hadn;t noticed )

re night time - dogs learn and have good memories. unfortunately you've taught him that if he howls at night he gets to sleep in your room. if you don;t want him in your room then you'll have to dig your heels in and teach him that if he howls at night nothing happens. it'll be horrible but if you really want him to sleep downstairs there's no way round it. imo. the howling probably won;t last long. tell yourself that he's not howling because he's distressed. he's howling because he thinks it will get him something.

re crates - tbh I'm not convinced they're necessary if you've got a dog proof space. we have a child's stair gate over our kitchen door. the kitchen is his crate and it works fine.

it sounds like fairly typical rescue dog behaviour to be honest, rescue dogs can be nervous and stressed, they also try very very hard at first to please their owner because they are worried that they might not be wanted so bear in mind that his true character might not show for a few weeks until he has settled in and begins to feel more secure

I'm not an expert but I do have a rescue lab..

1. mine followed me around constantly for the first 3 weeks, then she would sleep in the living room if I was in it, and finally she potters about and will ignore me for large chunks of the day...(she was 7 months when we got her, she is now 12 months)
   2)Mine was weeing and pooing inside, every time we left her alone for even a minute - turned out to be anxiety rather than a lack of house training (our dog trainer pointed this out), we gave her lots of trips outside to keep her bladder as empty as possible but in the end it was time that worked best. She was only messing inside occasionally after 1 month and then for a while she only wee'd if she woke up in the morning and we weren't already downstairs....she hasn't wee'd inside for a few weeks now
   
   We bought a bissell carpet cleaner!

2. Our lab had been used to sleeping in a bed snuggled up to a human. I was not prepared to have that happen so was prepared to be tough from the start. We put her on a dog bed (sprayed with DAP) in a dog-proof room and gave her lots of cuddles - she had a blanket which she brought with her from her old home and that was in her bed.. when she was relaxed in her bed we would say 'night' and go upstairs...then she would bark and scratch the door for most of the night..most of the time we ignored her, a couple of times I popped downstairs in a lull and gave her a cuddle, and on one occasion I went down when she was full on barking and told her off! (probably not recommended in dog books)..this was most effective and she stopped barking at night after that. Took a few really bad nights (felt like non-stop barking/crying) and a few weeks of episodic barking before she settled..now she sleeps on one of her dog beds in the house wherever she fancies.
   We also borrowed a huge puppy gate/pen from a friend and put it across the bottom of the stairs, and to our surprise 3 days later when dh took it away (he got fed up with it) she had already learnt that she was not to go upstairs!
   Good luck (especially with the sleep thing).

I feel the need to make clear that I'm no expert either! and though I have a lab, and read really quite a lot before he arrived, my epxerience is only that - and mine isn't a rescue.

one thing I do feel fairly sure of is that he'll make such a good pet and contribute so much to your home. sometimes I stare at A and am so overwhelmed with love I amaze even myself. dogs are fantastic

Thanks guys.

Makes me feel sad to think he just wants us to love him and not give him away. Bless him!!

I am worried about the neighbours if we do the night time barking thing because we live in a Terraced property.....

Hatwoman is a guru.

Don't let her tell you otherwise

We are detached but I went round to neighbours and explained the barking to them..luckily 1 side are dog lovers who had been through similar with their dog and other side are elderly and couldn't hear her.
How unhappy are you with her slepping in your room?

or even sleeping!

I have always had rescue dogs so I will tell you what i think. I would definately not make him sleep alone, why would you. Really am puzzled by those who do not let their dogs sleep even in a dog bed on their bedroom floor..dogs are pack animals and it is highly un natural for them to sleep alone. Why do you think they cry when locked away?

I mean I have always let mine have run of the house, so if he feels happy by your bed what the prob. Mine sleep on or even in the bed so if he will stay by your bed happily and you get a nights sleep with him settled and not barking, perfect.

As for the weeing, it will come in time. Solution of Daz etc in warm water sprayed on the accident and put out every hour.

poor dog sounds lost, and just needs some love and guidance.

pet dogs do loads of stuff that's "unatural", and which doesn;t make them unhappy. some people just don;t like having a dog in their bedroom. I guess from the OP that northerner is one of them. if northerner wants the dog to settle downstairs then the advice to ignore is the quickest and easiest way (for everyone, inc the dog) to achieve that. if she wants him in the bedroom then that's fine too. (but it should be for good - it would be unfair to have him there and then banish him to the kitchen at a later stage)

does he wee and poo when he is on his walk? i only ask because my friends puppy who i sometimes walk ,was always getting back from a really good long walk ,would wander into the house and wee and poo. we worked out that she was so excited about being out she forgot to wee ,so when i took her home ,i put her straight in the garden and she was left there for 5 minutes ,she would always do a massive wee and a poo and then she was let back in .now she is older she has calmed down a bit and now does all her wees and poos out on the walk

Not had a rescue, but do have two labs. How about putting a bit pile of newspaper down near the back door and try and get him to use that as a start, you have to whip them outside at every opportunity too, and lots of praise for doing it in the right place. Never forget that labs LOVE food, so use treats too if you like. With our puppies this summer we did the newspaper thing, then moved it outside, and then to under the tree (harder in the winter I know). Sleeping wise - do not give in, once he's in your room he'll expect that every night. Make sure he knows where his bed is, that he sleeps there during the day and ignore the howling and barking - don't even go downstairs to tell him to stop. It might help to leave a radio on, and maybe give him a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel for comfort. I've never used a crate, but loads of people think they are effective, and then the dog knows that it's his space and will feel safe there. One of my puppies went to a friend and she used a crate, draped it with a towel so it was nice and dark and cosy, and put the puppy in it for short times during the day (after meals when it was sleepy mostly) and every night. She's now 6 months (puppy, not friend!) and is happy and secure and goes to bed every night without a whimper. Another thing, try and get other members of the family to feed, walk and handle the dog, so he doesn't become too fixated on you, it makes it easier if you have to go away. It will take time, if he's had a rough first 9 months then it will probably take a few months for him to feel secure and loved. Good luck.