Re Housebreaking Your Mature Dog (2)

Re-housebreaking Your Mature Dog (2)

How does a dog owner determine if his dog is getting old? How can he know that the “accident” that just happened is the result of the aging process that the dog is going through?

These are difficult questions, since a dog five years of age can be considered old, while a six-year old dog may still be, to a certain extent, a puppy. No two dogs are exactly alike. One dog’s metabolism may be old at four years while another may not show signs of the aging process until eight or ten years old.

The first solution is to go to your vet. The reason is simple – the aging process is not the only medical reason why a perfectly well-housetrained dog may suddenly backslide and forget his toilet training. The reason for the unwanted activity must be discovered and properly dealt with though. Unwanted activity, when not properly corrected, can soon become a learned reaction.

Your dog’s vet can examine your pet and rule out such possibilities as nephritis, diabetes, or both. These two diseases can cause a dog the inability to hold urine. A urinary tract infection may be the cause, whether your dog is considered old or simply middle-aged. Your vet can check to make sure parasites or infections are not causing the incontinence.

Whether your dog is young, middle-aged, or old, a thorough medical examination by a vet is the first and most important aspect to consider when a dog that was perfectly housebroken suddenly forgets and has accidents. Only when all possible medical causes are ruled out should you start examining the possible psychological causes.

To have a better understanding of the many possible psychological causes, we must start with the simple and progress to the complex. If you own a male who quite suddenly forgets that he is housebroken, examine the possibility of a female in heat right next door. The compulsion to lift a leg in such cases is very overpowering and surpasses even the most rigid puppy training.

The problem here is, once the “mark” is left on the leg of the dining room chair, the scent remains long after the female dog next door completes her heat cycle. The scent instinctively draws the dog back to that same location for repeated leg raises.

The problem becomes worse if shag carpeting is involved. Wiping it up with water magnifies the problem because of the possibility of mildew. Mildew is notorious for attracting dogs. This type of accident (and it is considered an accident) is quite normal when a female dog is in heat nearby. Even the well-trained dog feels the compulsion to leave his marking. This lets the female dog know (or so the male dog thinks) that there is a perfectly capable and willing stud close by.

One of the best formulas for removing the urine scent from furniture, drapes, and carpeting is club soda. Removing it is a must if you are to return your dog to the status of the well-trained household pet that you know he is. Scolding and verbal reprimand at the time of the accident is perfectly in order as long as you have ruled out medical causes.

BONUS : Re-housebreaking Your Mature Dog (3)

There are some isolated cases where the cause of a breakdown in toilet habits in a mature dog starts as a psychological motivation, but results in a problem becoming medically motivated. An example of this would be the dog that suddenly forgets his housebreaking and urinates out of jealousy and spite.

A dog of this type could develop a psychosomatic urinary tract infection, therefore giving him a reason to eliminate at will anywhere in the house. Such a condition can be inspired by the arrival of another pet like a cat or a bird, a new baby, or any other attention-stealing tangible. Verbal punishment in such cases will only perpetuate the problem.

The dog is getting attention which is, after all, what he wanted in the first place. As long as he is getting this extra attention, whether it is shaming or admonishment, he will continue whatever action prompts his attention. Competition can cause a breakdown in toilet habits without the problem evolving into a psychosomatic urinary tract infection. The dog owner should understand that competition alone can be the cause of the problem. And when there is competition, the dog wets!

The competition can be real or imagined. In either case, a thorough examination into any recent changes in household routine would be in order. Something may be giving the dog a feeling that his position, or your affection for him is in jeopardy. Whether actual or simply imagined, it is very real to the dog. If competition is to blame, extra time spent with your dog, and maybe even exaggerated affection, will normally suffice in removing the motivator of his bad deeds.

Then there is the sort of dog who indulges in the type of wetting where he lifts his leg against everything; bedding, curtains, furniture, etc. and finds it necessary to try and own or control his environment by wetting on it. This is the type of dog who is self-oriented, selfish, narcissistic animal that he wets on everything to make it more his own territory. This is a dog that needs a master in all the purest and literal sense of the word.

That type of dog suddenly realizes that he is the leader of the pack, although he really doesn’t want to be. This dog is insecure and wants, in fact needs, strong and confident leadership. These actions usually materialize as a result of soft, permissive, easy-going dog owners who spoil and baby their dog. The ratio of love and discipline are tipped only in the direction of love.

Love in this instance is not a healthy love, both for the dog owner and his dog. It’s permissiveness by an owner who is afraid that discipline may cause the dog to not like the owner. In reality, mistaken kindness can be a bitter and unneeded cruelty. When these dogs are placed in the pound and put to sleep, there’s nobody to blame but their owners who thought so little of their pets that they failed to bring them up with the proper balance of love, discipline, and control.