At wits end... I feel terrible .. weeing issues

[littledoggiedribbler]

I feel terrible because I am so exhausted and want to rehome my puppy.

However, I will NOT be doing this as I took on the responsibility when I decided to get a puppy and knew there would be hard work but let me give some back story.

We have one son (nearly 6) and when we agreed to get a puppy we didn't think we could have another child (another long story). So did a lot of research and set on a Norwich terrier, we got him when he was 13 weeks old and did everything by the book. However, he really struggled with weeing accidents in the house (I made a separate post about this a few weeks back). We didn't scold him, we just cleaned it up, took him out regularly, praised him sooo much and did happy dance, treats when he went outside... basically everything you are told to do.

He's now 9 months and still having accidents in the house, perhaps a wee every other day. Which is a problem in itself but what seemed to have gotten worse is the submissive an uncontrollable dribble/excited wees. Something he does every time he greets someone, even me. The other day my parents came over and he was so excited he just dribbled everywhere... I'm so exhausted by it.

I try the calm, don't approach him, ignore him.. wait for him to calm down and then let him come to you. But he STILL dribbles.

Not long after getting him I found out I was pregnant. I'm now due very soon and finding things VERY hard with the constant dribbling and cleaning up wee. He's also barking at everything (something we are also working on) so I feel my time is 100% taken up by dog admin and dealing with the dog. But I also have a son I need to give attention to and I'm very heavily pregnant. My husband works very long hours so I am responsible for all household admin etc. I'm not currently working.

He won't be going anywhere, we are seeing a dog trainer for barking on the lead but he doesn't specialise in weeing inside issues and the submissive weeing is something he can't seem to control...

I really am trying my best but I'm so exhausted and in tears most days by this. He was castrated at 6 months on advice by the vets but now I wish we ignored them as I'm sure it's gotten worse since the castration.

Any help would be so so gratefully received.

Many thanks!

Have you taken him to the vet about the weeing?

Stress weeing is very common and it can go on for a long time. Just make sure you put him out for a wee before any visitors come and don't ever let him greet visitors at the door. When they come put him in a separate room then let him out and ask your guests to ignore him ie no eye contact/interaction. Once he is ignoring them then they can calmly invite puppy for a cuddle.
Early castration is never recommended nowadays, it can trap them in adolescence and make anxiety worse as they never grow out of the 2nd fear stage.

In the short term either a proper outside kennel not one of those little wooden things or a specific fenced off area in the house so the mess is contained.

Excitement weeing is really common in young dogs. Obviously a vet check is a good idea but most of the time it's behavioural.

The only thing you can do is make sure greeting is in an easy to clean area. My pup did it until fairly recently so greetings were on a hard floor! She's fine now.

Toilet training can be very quick or can take ages. I've had it both ways and used the same approach. Just stick at it. Out frequently and praise and then be vigilant. Males can start to mark at his age so this may also be coming into play. The same rules apply.

My last dog was incontinent from 5 so I do have quite a bit of experience! You need to use an enzymatic cleaner. Nothing fancy - bio washing powder made into a paste will do.

I know it feels horrible but really a bit of dog wee won't hurt anyone. It will come. Just keep at it.

Try these.

@impromptusundayluncheon OP please don't use these! Stops dogs being able to clean themselves and can cause infections if left on.
A bit of dog wee isn't the end of the world. Many breeds are prone to stress weeing and most dogs do grow out of it. Using these pads could also massively interfere with toilet training.

Ignoring them when you come in just leads to frustration. Terriers have poor frustration tolerance anyway (I know I have one!) so I just greet as quickly as I can to stop that anticipation and frustration building which can absolutely make weeing far worse.

Not planning on using the nappies don't worry! Haha

We do the keeping it calm thing but he'll still do it. I mean he's still having the odd wee accident inside and I just don't know where I'm going wrong. It's like he doesn't get it. He also never shows me a signal at the back door when he needs a wee.. he does do this with poos though.

Should I invest in one of those bells?

I have heard this. How do I deal with people coming in the house then? Do I let him be in the same room as them but on a lead? I just don't know what to do as hell run up to them and even if they ignore him he'll probably pee a bit.

Can you put him in the garden before answering the door and then get people to greet him outside . WRT the wee accidents try and catch him mid wee scoop him up and dash to the garden saying ‘outside’ in an animated fashion - that’s what I did with my patterdale x when he seemed to not get it and it worked really well .

I have a french bulldog that is 3 and my friend has a dare I say it xl bully who is 2 and our dogs still mess in the house no matter what we do! It is stressful and cleaning the mess up and the smell

You need to go back to basics with it , it’s never too late .

My dog was about 18m before the excited weeing stopped. It’s just an age thing. Greet the dog in an area that’s easy to clean, he will grow out of it.

My neighbour had an uncastrated dog that excitement weed a lot when he was young. He eventually grew out of it without her really doing anything though.

Just spend the evening crying again as he weed inside despite me being so vigilant. I obviously just cleaned it up and didn't scold him or anything but this is becoming relentless. I feel like such a failure. Maybe we try the bell thing at least then he can signal?

Both wee and poo or just wee?

Also forgot to say he goes 10 + hours happily in his crate at night and sleeps peacefully no accidents (I watch him on the camera around 6 to check and he'll still be asleep so I go down at 7) then he runs out and does a wee outside. So he can hold it....

Both, I literally have to race to the door to let her out before she goes. When I have to leave her in the house now I put the classical music on the radio and it seems to stop her doing it as much! She haa got better bt the way since being a puppy but still has her moments.

My old lab never got over excitement wees, but we just made sure she greeted everybody outside before they came in. It wasn't really a source of stress for us as a result. So either pop him in the back garden when people arrive and they greet him there or he goes out the front if you've got a safe area.

With in house weeing it really is just constant repetition, and cleaning with a smell removing cleaner in the meantime. You could trial puppy pads if you really felt he wasn't getting it but generally they just confuse the message.
Back to basics means:
•he goes outside IMMEDIATELY on waking up
•goes outside immediately after eating
•goes outside every hour for 10/15minutes or until he wees
•goes outside immediately after a play session
•This is the big one: when he does a wee outside or on a walk do the WORLD'S BIGGEST CELEBRATION with him and say a particular word (toilet, wee wee etc). Have an absolute party with him. If the neighbours aren't thinking you've lost the plot, you're not excited enough.
If he doesn't wee, he's eventually let back in quietly and without response.
•look for non obvious signals. My lurcher won't bark or cry at the door but she will circle our lounge twice and stand and look at you. It's very non obvious. Two goes and you miss it? She'll wee by the door because hey she tried to tell you, not her fault you're an idiot (or at least that's how I interpret her feelings!) Not ideal with a newborn but once you get the signal it's easier than thinking there is no signal at all.

Not read all the post. It strikes me that he’s not really learned that he’s not supposed to wee indoors. Do you use a spray for the odour? You need to go back to basics with him and treat him like he’s a new puppy. Use the crate to contain him, when you can’t watch him. Take him outside on the lead after food, a drink, a game or a sleep. Make it boring, don’t play with him outside. Wait a bit, if he goes great do all the praise. If he doesn’t go, come in but go out again ten minutes later. Rinse and repeat. Otherwise, watch him all the time and if he starts to wee pick him up and quickly go outside. He will get it in the end.

He will grow out of the excitement weeing but try and greet him outside.

Have you tried picking him up mid-wee and running outdoors with him?

Sometimes that's the only way to make dogs understand that they really shouldn't be peeing in the house.

Yes, ask visitors to greet outside or in an easy to clean area. I used to greet mine in our kitchen so I could just wipe up any drips. She has grown out of it now. Most do.

Quite honestly it's just consistency and time with toilet training. It's not really training - it's habit. I wouldn't use a bell as you end up being their butler. You are better just putting out every x hours.

The barking indicates that he is stressed which might be causing the wees too. Suggest you consult a behaviourist. If you can’t afford that then try the Absolute Dogs stop barking mini course. Castration can make stress much worse as they don’t have the testosterone to give them confidence.

things to reduce stress in the meantime: plenty of alone time to sleep (4 hours a day)
feed by licky mat/ slow feeder / scatter feeding
mat training for when visitors come so he has a job to focus on (the job being sitting on the mat rather than welcoming visitors)
a break from walks if he is barking on the lead

I have a young terrier too and from my very limited experience, I'm under the impression that those guys are extremely sensitive to their owner's emotional state. All dogs are, of course, but I remember my old dogs being more placid than my terrier.

It's possible your dog is picking up that you're pregnant and stressed. Not judging you at all, I would be too!
But maybe you can observe how you feel and react when guests are coming - are you running up to the door, are you tensing up anticipating that he'll dribble, are you getting animated when greeting your guests etc...?
Maybe you can then work with a friend or family member on desensitising him to people coming over by repeating the steps of someone ringind the door, going to the door, opening the door, greeting them etc...

For "regular" indoor wees and poos, I think you need to go back to the basics, as if he was a tiny pup. And agree with Newpeep, I wouldn't introduce the potty bell. I tried with my current dog, but quickly phased it out as he was just using it all the time for no reason other than "give me attention now". None of my dogs ever signalled when they needed the loo, it's on me to make sure that the dog has enough opportunities to go out, and it always worked well.

How about getting a dog flap?