Poorly dog? any vets here?

[stshapbl]

Hi, I'm n old poster but not posted for years!

I got a dog today and he has mostly slept, not had a wee (got him at 12 midday and its nearly midnight (he has done two poos), doesn't want to go for a walk and reluctant to go outside too (though I don't think he is keen on rain from what the previous owner said).

What concerns me most though is that he seems to be breathing very fast, especially as he hasn't exercised so no apparent reason for it. He pants a lot and even when not panting his breathing seems very rapid.

Should I be worried?
been trying to get hold of previous owner to see if this is normal but no reply.
He's a poodle cross corgi and hes about a year and a half, fully vaccinated and neutered. Thanks

Not a vet but could it just be down to the stress of moving. Think they can pant a lot when anxious and stressed.

It'll likely be stress - mine breathes fast and pants. We rescued her about 11 months ago and she's settled down.

Give him time - he'll probably do all sorts of things that leave you baffled, but with space and time he'll be fine.

Good luck!

I remember being concerned about my first dog breathing rapidly and panting when we first brought him home. I think it's probably stress.

My rescue dog hardly drank at first. I was really worried his pee was orangy. It passed once he got comfortable, then it was normal healthy straw like wees.

thanks for replies, his breathing isn't so fast now, that first night he finally did a wee at 12.20 am, all over my bed and pillows! followed by poo on living room floor around 10 am. still weeing and pooing in the house, will not go outside at all, apart from once when he needed a poo while out walking. and he reckons he can't get dowsnatirs by himself. I have steps going out of my house and he is relucatant to go for a walk as we have these steps, I have to carry him down when we go for a walk and carry him downstairs when he follows me up! Can't cope with the wee and poo anymore, I keep taking him onto the garden and waiting out there wih him to praise him for toileting in the right place but nothing happens

Oh dear can you go back to basics like he is a puppy with the toileting? Maybe start to work on crate training so he isn't peeing on your bed although that might take some time given his age. Also confine to one room where accidents are easy to clear up until you establish toileting outside?

Will he walk down steps if you offer high value treats as a reward?

Awww, poor thing. Don't give up on him yet. He is exhibiting signs of stress and fear (new situation/ insecurity/ uncertainty). The panting is a sure sign. Lots of love, patience, time and positive reinforcement to build his trust in you! Don't shout at him re pooing and weeing indoors, even if tempted...it will worsen the issue. Did he bring any toys from his previous home etc?

It could be that despite his age he's not been toilet trained. Did the previous own say anything about whether the dog is house trained? If they did and you believe them, the bowel/ bladder issues may also be due to the stress of a new situation. If you don't know the previous owner they may have claimed he is house trained when he isn't... He may be, to all intents and purposes, a puppy and require training from scratch. Establish a routine (morning walk...even if short, out in the back after meals, and an afternoon or evening walk. Most dogs will begin to accede to routine and begin to embrace it as it makes them feel less anxious (they know what to expect and this promotes a sense of security).
Did the previous owner worm him before handing him over, or have you wormed him? Dogs can poo everywhere after they've been wormed...especially if their system is not used to it.
Anyhow, lots of positive reinforcement, praise and treats, both to induce and reward even the smallest achievements.
As BiteyShark said, try to confine to one easy to clean room until house trained. Don't let him on your bed for the moment, but let him sleep in your room or just outside your door so he doesn't get frightened.
If he is basically still a puppy this is a very good book:
www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Puppy-Take-Britains-Number/dp/060061722X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503424716&sr=8-1&keywords=the+perfect+puppy&tag=mumsnetforum-21

I know it must be frustrating and worrying now but the best advice I can give is to try to go at his pace as much as possible. He sounds terrified (he may actually be scared of stairs if they are new to him, for example).

keep us posted.

Poor dog.
We got our one at just over 8 weeks. She was too tiny and cold to let in the garden. A friend suggested using training pads near doors and I keep one in her crate where she sleeps at night. It worked for us and hope it does for you. Praise when she used it and ignored when she had an accident.
It could just take a little while settling in which will pass soon.

tried him in a crate and he just cried loudly. he is 17 months old, owner said he was house trained! house is very open plan so ahrd to keep him confined in one room. carpet all upstairs so don't want to confine him in an upstairs room but stairs lead straight into living room which is connected to kitchen,, o doors at all downstairs other than the external ones, I suppose I could get a stair gate fitted but um rubbish at DIY and these walls are rubbish , its a very old and awkward house!

You need to train him to use a crate, a few minutes at a time without shutting the door, feed him in there. Make it somewhere he wants to be.

Where did he come from? Has he seen and used stairs before? If not you'll need to train him to use those, too.

Try and find out what his daily routine has been in his previous home and see if you can go by that as regards exercise and times for 'emptying'.

Also take him to a vet, ask for a health check and see if he's microchipped. If not, he will need to be and if he is you'll need to transfer him to your details.

he is microchipped and I have transferred the details to my name, he came from a farm so isn't used to all the traffic noises outside, maybe he is too scared outside to actually use the toilet?

ok, a little update.

I contacted the owner and asked her if there was any set routine she followed and have been trying to do the same sort of routine here. So I let him out first thing and he does a wee, , then again after he has eaten etc (At first, I was waiting for ages and kept going in or out but he now drinks loads so is weeing more frequently). sometimes he will even go out by himself if I have left the door open and I am already in the kitchen. Also if I see him wandering round, I take him ut in case he is looking for somewhere to toilet.

However, I still have accidents ( or rather he does!). He goes out for a wee as soon as I wake up. then I try and keep him out there until he has done a poo. usually involves me staying out there as he will follow me everywhere. However, he still doesn't poo so I go up to have a shower and come down to find poo on the floor. every flipping day! Sometimes he walks in from outside and immediately does a poo!

So she said he was housetrained but to me, housetrained means they let you know when they need to go! Is there any way I can get him to tell me ,by barking or at least waiting by the back door?! All my other dogs have either stood by the door or barked by the back door.

On the plus side, his personality is starting to show now! He is lovely but sick of poo on the floor!

Try to be patient. The poor thing had just left everything he knows and he doesn't know how to communicate with you. He may be letting you know in the way he had learned to but you don't know it. Mine would give me a hard stare. Took me ages to realise that was a toilet request! Spend a lot of good quality tone with him. Not exciting, just being near and being positive. He's been through a lot of stress.

Thanks. Maybe I will discover his way eventually!

You can buy dog toilet training bells. You hang them up near the door and every time you take him out you ring the bell. Supposedly they then learn to ring when they want to go out. My stupid hound never learned but I know others have found it worked. My dog is 3yo and never asks to go out, but she is house trained.....I just let her out frequently.

I did the training bells. Every time I opened the door I banged them. When he was with me I nudged his nose to bang them and then opened the door. It only took a couple of days for him to work out banging the bells meant I came and opened the door.

I have those, SoPass. They're called Poochie Bells. Our not-so-bright dog uses them when he needs to go out. In summer we leave the back door open all the time for him but in winter he dingles his bells!

He sounds incredibly stressed and is clearly not housetrained.

FWIW people who rehome their dogs lie to you 99% of the time :(

Forget everything the previous 'owner' has said and start from scratch as if he was a puppy. It's entirely possible he didn't even live in a house before. As with a puppy you have to watch him like a hawk but also take him out at regular intervals. When he does toilet outside you get very excited and give loads of praise ( inside and you clean up with no comment )
At 17 months, even if he was housetrained he may not know to ask to go out, but he would be capable of holding it for an hour until you took him. He will need to get used to which door you use to go to the garden, it's all new and strange.

Does he walk on the lead? Taking him out for a few quick walks can reassure him that he comes back to the same house each time, and may also encourage him to toilet outside.

You can get a pressure fit stairgate that is easy to put up in a couple of minutes if you want to stop him from going upstairs for now.