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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Any help much appreciated!

62 replies

SamanthaH92 · 06/04/2018 14:29

We have an 8 year old staffy. I am at my witts end and unsure what to do. He suffers with seperation anxiety. Not with me but my partner. Since having DD almost 2 years ago he has slowly got worse. Over the past 6 months its got out of control, if OH comes home and goes out again he will wee and poo in the kitchen. I'm sometimes up cleaning the left overs of poo of the kitchen floor in the early hours. I say left overs because he has started eating it!! I have been told to put pineapple in his food and he should stop that so going to try that. But he can be let out and walked and still do it in the house. He's also started chewing DDs toys even if we put them away, he will always have chewed something if we go out. He is on steriods and special food so cannot change his food. Can anyone offer any advice?

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SamanthaH92 · 06/04/2018 14:34

I'll just add we have only had one night this week we have not woken up to the kitchen floor covered in wee and poo x

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strayducks18 · 06/04/2018 14:40

Putting pineapple in his food to stop him eating poo is nonsense please don't do it.

You need to work on the issue of his separation anxiety if that is what is causing him to wee and poo in the house whilst alone. I would recommend seeing a good behaviourist, preferably one that doesn't recommend using aversive methods

SamanthaH92 · 06/04/2018 14:44

He will wee and poo even if we are in the house. It isn't just if we go out. If we are upstairs putting DD to bed he will either chew something or do his mess in the kitchen. Same if we are bathing her or even just nip upstairs for 5 minutes.
Thank you i will look in to that x

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strayducks18 · 06/04/2018 14:52

If it is severe seperation anxiety even being left alone in a room whilst you are still the house can trigger distress. It does sound like he is struggling with being alone at all so I would definately recommend some professional advice .

If you are on facebook this is a great group to post in for advice and behaviour support
[[https://www.facebook.com/groups/374160792599484/]]

SamanthaH92 · 06/04/2018 14:56

I did also think could he be worse now because i am pregnant again? Can he sense another baby is on the way? X

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SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 07:24

So yesterday i fed him at dinner time hoping that would stop the pooing during the night and took his drink away at 8pm to hopefully try stopping the weeing too BUT woken up this morning to yet again a kitchen full off mess. So that didn't work. He was let out at half 11 last night and then 7 when i got up. What would a behaviourist do? Money is very tight atm and I'm not sure we can afford one.

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Floralnomad · 07/04/2018 10:12

Please don’t take away his access to water ,it’s very cruel .

SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 10:33

So what shall i do? We are soon going to have health visiters in and out and midwifes with new baby to be here in next few months. He will easily go through two big bowls of water a night. I know the steriods make him hungry and thirsty but we cannot take him off them. X

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Floralnomad · 07/04/2018 11:28

Why is he on the steroids , could you see your vet about an alternative if there is one . Perhaps contain him in a play pen so any mess is contained , or use a pen as a fence to contain him in a smaller area .

SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 12:49

He will just howl if we do that and i don't want complaints from neighbourghs about it. He is on steriodd because he scratches constantly. Skin conditions and allergic to everything xx

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Floralnomad · 07/04/2018 14:34

If he’s extra thirsty due to the steroids it might be that the steroids have caused high blood sugar and then he will need to pee more , have you had him checked for steroid induced diabetes ?

SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 15:06

No we haven't had him checked for that. He has been on steriods for years and this is all mew xx

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mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork · 07/04/2018 15:38

How many walks does he get a day and how long for?

SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 15:44

A walk in the morning, only about 10 mins as OH has to get to work. Then a walk on a night for about 30 minutes depending on if he actually wants to go. Normally starts stopping and starting wanting to go home. Yes he probably needs walking more but unfortuently we don't have that time x

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Cobblersandhogwash · 07/04/2018 15:47

He definitely needs more exercise than that! He needs to be tired out.

You or your dh could get up earlier to walk him before work.

If I were a dog on minimal exercise, I'd be pretty hacked off.

Floralnomad · 07/04/2018 15:48

I would take him to the vets and get them to check him for diabetes , and in the meantime leave his water down he needs it .

SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 15:58

I cannot walk him so that is out the question. We don't have time for longer walks now on nights either. Thank you will take him to vets xx

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katmarie · 07/04/2018 16:31

Consider hiring a dog walker to get him out for proper exercise if you're not able to do it. Is the dog able to get outside as and when he needs? Could a dog flap be installed to give him access to go outside when he needs?

SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 16:36

He is let out every hour to hour and a half during the day as i am home. Last let out at 11pm let out normally at quarter to 6 in morning then walked. We cannot afford to pay someone to walk him. X

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SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 16:37

Sorry ment to add a dog flap is not an option x

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mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork · 07/04/2018 19:02

My ancient dog (now deceased) had loads of health problems and didn't want to walk so far as before, obviously, but still expected and got 3 walks a day - the shortest we ever did was probably 20 mins (with lots of rests)- on her better days we could go for about an hour on a walk. Your dog must be really bored and certainly sounds very stressed. Dogs need to meet other dogs, sniff smells and exercise properly (neither of my recent dogs have considered a visit to the garden an adequate substitute for a walk). The other thing that strikes me is that sometimes your OH comes home then goes out again (presumably without having walked dog inbetween) and dog immediately wees and poos. He sees your OH come home, then get ready to leave the house and HE GOES WITHOUT HIM. He was probably anticipating a walk for his toilet needs at least, which he was obviously more than ready to do and suddenly he has to hang on longer (but he cannot so immediately poos and wees in the house). I don't think any dog likes to mess indoors, not least because of the tension it causes with their owners. He is older now and probably can't hang on until the walk. He might have some digestive problems that he did not have up to two years ago. Does he poo outside, when you let him out as you do during the day, or only in the house? My previous dog would not even wee in my garden and I'm just wondering if he doesn't poo in yours (you have only mentioned all the mess in the house and not having to clean up your garden, so I wondered). Just trying to help work out what is happening with him. Chewing things is probably boredom/stress. Eating his own poo is most likely to be due to medical problems (or, apparently shortage of vitamin B). All the drinking may indicate a kidney problem so glad you are taking him to the vets.

missbattenburg · 07/04/2018 19:08

The first thing any behaviourist worth their salt is going to do is check you've seen a vet to rule out medical issues, so that's where you should start.

The next thing they will do is ask you about the dog's life to get an idea of their general wellbeing - this issue aside. This is going to lead back to the walk question, I'm afraid. The good news is that whilst dogs need some physical exercise they are often much more in need of mental stimulation. This does not have to be a walk. Depending on how much interaction you have with the dog now, you may want to change how he spends his days. Expecting a dog to hang around in the house not really doing anything for hours at a time is not fair. As you are at home all day then several short sessions: training, playing, hide and seek with treats etc can really help.

The poop-eating is most likely linked to the anxiety at being left but dogs sometimes do this because they are on a low quality food. Some kibbles (especially) come out almost the same as they went in which leaves the dog nutritionally deficient (dogs sometimes try to gain extra nutrients from poo) and their poop tasting a lot like kibble. It's worth reviewing what you feed the dog to make sure it is as high quality as you can afford. allaboutdogfood.co.uk is great for independent reviews of many of the foods you can buy in the UK so can help you check yours and select a new one, if necessary.

Anxiety when your oh leaves needs to be tackled. It could well be that the changes of you being pregnant has upset the dog to trigger this new behaviour (you smell different, behave different, etc). To desensitize him to your oh leaving the room then he needs to go out/come in often and for very short periods of time.

e.g. He puts his shoes on and leaves the room. You give the dog a treat. Your OH comes back in. Repeat, repeat, repeat. What you are looking for is the dog to come to you as soon as your OH leaves, looking for his treat and not worrying. Then start to stretch how long your OH is out the room for - build the time up slowly.

If the dog cannot even cope with him putting his shoes on without panicking then you need to start smaller - e.g. your oh reaches for his shoes, treat, then lets the shoes go.

In the meantime, I might be tempted NOT to ask the dog to spend the night alone. If he were mine, I would move him into the bedroom to see if that helped. If it did, I would keep him there until he could be left alone again in the day and then work on SLOWLY moving him back out the bedroom to his normal sleeping place.

For clarity: do not add pineapple, do not with hold water, do not withhold food. Unless there is a medical reason the dogs cannot hold pee/poop then none of these is going to help because the cause is behavioural.

missbattenburg · 07/04/2018 19:09

He sees your OH come home, then get ready to leave the house and HE GOES WITHOUT HIM

This also resonates with me as a possibility.

SamanthaH92 · 07/04/2018 19:41

He is walked before oh goes out. Yes he does wee and poo in the back yard. He will not stay out in the back yard unless the sun is shining or warm. He is very very very food orientated. If he thinks we are having food or eating anything he will not go out side. If its raining he doesn't want to go out. I will not allow him in our bedroom or anywhere upstairs. He did used to sleep in our room but that stopped before my DD was born and i do not want to go back to him been in our room. X

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fuzzyfozzy · 07/04/2018 19:50

Have you heard of thunder shirts? At my vets you can try them and return if no improvement.
I raw feed my dogs, to cut down on allergies and if they were to poo inside their poos are hard.
Mine had a phase of weeing inside for no other reason than they wanted to. I started the principle that they have to sit or lie down before they got anything, couldn't walk through a door first. They're attitude really improved. Nilf, it's called.

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