My dog, the homebody

[Goawayangryman]

It's the school holidays and we are away again with the hound, 9 month old golden retriever female.

This dog is absolutely weird about toileting (wee) anywhere else apart from her own garden. She will only ever willingly go there, or in a stream or lake. This would be merely a quirk if we didn't occasionally have to stay away from home. We are at my parents now, where we have been at least 5 or 6 times. Every single time we have come she has peed consistently in the house. I take her out hourly. Nope. Last time we were here she also pooed. Cream carpets 😁. And yes, enzymatic cleaners used every time. I watch her like a hawk but occasionally I do need a wee myself or turn my head away or something....

She has never, not once, pooed inside at home..we have had her since she was 8 weeks old. She has been totally dry in our house since around 16 weeks.

Previously when we came here she waited 12 hours to go for a wee. I now bring a fresh wee-smelling towel (yes really) which will get her to go after a long journey. Is it really a case of having to re train them in every single place you go to?! No-one else I know has this issue with the ultra shy urinating dog ....

[ThisisMax]

Not a popular mumsnet opinion but here we go- if she was crate trained you could police her better as she could not toilet where she wants. Holding on is not great but I bet with a book or podcast for you and her on a lead in the garden she will go. Once she does you have a scent which will help. Is she drinking enough?

[Goawayangryman]

She absolutely hates the crate in the daytime but happily sleeps in it all night long. Tried podcast. This dog has stamina.

Possibly she isn't drinking enough....

[Goawayangryman]

Scenting we have tried. I've soaked up the wee on to a towel and planted it in the garden.

[fairylightsandwaxmelts]

We've never had this issue but could you teach her to wee in command?

So when she goes for a wee at home, add a command while she's going and give her tons and tons of praise as well as a super high value treat. Repeat several times.

Then you can take her into the garden, give the command and she should wee or at least try to wee. Repeat a few times again until she "gets it".

Then when she's next out on a walk, give her the command to go. Hopefully she'll make the connection and follow the command to wee where she's standing.

I train my dog walking dogs like this and it's always worked

[Bunnybingesoneggs]

2 of my ddogs never 'went' anywhere but our back yard until well over a year old! Odd creatures!!

[Goawayangryman]

It's quite reassuring that she may grow out of it.... As it's quite difficult to manage.

She has a cue word at home and does it reliably. High value treats hold no interest for her. I could have roast duck in my hand and meh if she does not want to do it she will not. She is not biddable at all. Very un-golden!

[Goawayangryman]

Food alternatives also hold no interest: praise, a favourite toy, game of tug. No ta.

[ImplementingTheDennisSystem]

I've (accidentally) trained my dog to go for a wee on command.
I say, in a certain consistent tone, "Go for a wee, go for a wee, go for a wee". Her knees buckle when I say the words!
Training aside, 9 months is very young and dogs can still be pretty annoying and have their quirks until they are 2 years old and upward.
I wouldn't stress it - especially with a golden retriever, they're such solid dogs.

[devildeepbluesea]

I have the opposite problem. My gorgeous little rescue only toilets on walks. So late night wees involve me taking him round the block every. single. night. Door to the garden is open as much as possible and constantly in the summer. Nope. He’ll wait til we’re off the territory thanks.

[fairylightsandwaxmelts]

@Goawayangryman

It's quite reassuring that she may grow out of it.... As it's quite difficult to manage.

She has a cue word at home and does it reliably. High value treats hold no interest for her. I could have roast duck in my hand and meh if she does not want to do it she will not. She is not biddable at all. Very un-golden!

What happens when you use the cue word elsewhere?

So use it and then literally stand there and wait for her to go, even if it takes an hour or more?

[Goawayangryman]

Okay point taken. Maybe I should just chill out in that case. She is a good dog in most other respects. My parents are elderly and quite uptight which doesn't help.

[Goawayangryman]

I mean if by I use her wee word and stand there she will just... Not go. We could be there for an hour or more. And then probably no wee. She can hold on for a very very long time. Like 12 hours.

[fairylightsandwaxmelts]

Does she show signs of needing to go like sniffing or circling before she goes in the house?

I would have her on a lead in your parents house permanently and whisk her straight outside the moment she shows any signs of needing a wee - as well as after meals, drink, play and sleep - treat her like she's a puppy basically.

If she can't be supervised then she needs to go outside or in a room with tiled floors to minimise damage IMO.

[PollyRoulllson]

This is not a general toilet training issue or the dog now knowing what is being asked of her. It is an anxiety situation and no amount of telling her or cajouling her to wee will make any difference. In fact standing near her and just saying her wee word over and over again will probably increase the stress and then less weeing will take place.

She will probably grow out of it as her confidence develops.

I do understand how hard this is for you OP put hopefully it will pass.

The more the pressure is off her the better so regular trips out to wee but maybe on a long line and you not really taking any notice of her or being too close to her (this does depend on the dog some like owners close) Also offer her places to wee that are secluded so maybe walk behind bushes etc.

If she does wee I would not make a big fuss like you do with a puppy just a quiet good girl maybe not even that. If she wees indoors again no outward reaction at all.

If she is not drinking also due to anxiety I would add a little bit of flavour to her water , a bit of stock for example.

[PigeonMail]

So we have the opposite our ddog will quite happily pee on our carpet when it’s raining outside or perhaps despite going out for the 9,999,573 time she decides the carpet will do! (Clean carpets regularly etc & use sprays!)
But we go elsewhere she wouldn’t dream of doing it on other peoples carpets whines gets upset if we don’t spot she’s asking to go out.
Sorry doesn’t help your issue but it makes me chuckle they have these quirks

Could you take her for a 5 min walk every hour? To encourage her to go or do training/ loose lead waking round the garden until she goes? Faffy but long term might resolve the issue?

[Goawayangryman]

Thank you all. She's now gone outside more than in, yay :)

Yes, definitely an anxiety issue I think. I do wonder what on earth happened to her to make her so pee-sensitive. Bah. Matters not helped by the unfenced garden and large unsuitable pond (!) but I did rig up the long line yesterday so she couldn't get to road/pond and then ignored her for a bit.

[Goawayangryman]

Did I mention the approximately 250 tulips and other poisonous bulbs in said unfenced garden ?! So relaxing ....

[FairyLightPups]

We had this a bit and we just reverted right back to toilet training techniques - we treated the situation as if she wasn't toilet trained.

We would immediately say 'no pee inside, pee outside', take her out straight away, and stay out there saying 'pee outside' until she got the gist. Every single time until she got it. Luckily it worked fairly quickly!

[RedHelenB]

I think she will grow out of it. As a puppy mine would only poo in the garden but as he got older he did it on walks and we made a big fuss of him.. Now he only uses the garden if he's absolutely desperate

[Goawayangryman]

Hope she will grow out of it. She is brilliant in most other respects, can't complain, I luffs her. I also have a son who won't pee in public and is quite odd about non-domestic loos. Longer journeys and days out take some planning....

[Goawayangryman]

I wanted to update this thread for anyone who may be experiencing similar problems with dogs with anxieties around peeing. She is now 10 months old, has had her first season, and we are currently on holiday and she has weed freely all over the place (as long as off lead, won't do it on). I never thought I'd be so happy to see a dog squat in full view of people on a beach 😂

[PollyRoulllson]

Fantastic enjoy your holiday and the public weeing

[Goawayangryman]

Thanks, @PollyRoulllson I really appreciated your advice on our earlier holiday.

Am now thinking about potentially spaying her. Convenience-wise for me, spaying is the obvious choice but given she is such a sensitive thing I'm a little wary of interfering with her hormones. She is very submissive. What would others do in this situation? Medically, it seems a bit six of one and half a dozen of the other with this breed (golden).

[PollyRoulllson]

With bitches the benefits of spaying usually outweighs not spaying. Healthwise and for behaviour. After a season progesterone levels are very high in bitches for 65 days. This can depending, on the bitchcause more anxiety and stress, separation anxiety and resource guarding issues and is not a great hormone to have swilling around. Some dogs find it easier to deal with than others but is still impacts on behaviour in a negative way. Progesterone can increase hunger and thirst and make soe dogs be a little bit hangry.

For an anxious bitch they usually feel much better with less progesterone so spaying is a good idea.

Old wives tales about their coat and putting on weight. Very easy to keep an eye on their weight and often easier to keep weight level than when bitches are having seasons and sometimes less exercise for a month. There is no evidence that spaying changes a dogs coat but ancedotally some people say it does (never seen it myself)

Healthwise it is beneficial to wait for Golden retrievers to over 1 year but less than 2 years of age.This is based on the recent study Medium Size Protective Hard Camera Case with Foam - IP67 Rated Dustproof Outdoor Protection for GoPro HERO2 HERO3, DSLR, SLR, Lenses and Accessories Age by breed for spaying The study looks at cancer UTI, joint disorders and UTI.

The dogs get the fun feel good hormone testosterone and the bitches get the stressy progesterone hormone!

Personally I would spay her from the information you have given and that is mainly from a behavioural point of view. However healthwise the benefits also outway the negatives.