Hi,
I have a beagle mix and everything in his little world was fine, until my roommate decided to adopt a cat from the humane society. Now my dog is defecating in my roommate's bedroom on the floor or urinating on his bedroom door. The cat sleeps in his room with him. How do I get my dog to stop doing this? He has been doing this for about 2 1/2 weeks now.

A little background on my dog which may help:
He is a 5 year old beagle mix I got from the humane society, he has been neutered.
He has separation anxiety, when I'm gone he howls and cries. I got a citronella collar that seems to have solved the problem. He is totally fine with the new cat, he will sit on the couch right next to the cat and doesn't care at all.

Any help would be appreciated as I am getting sick of cleaning up poop and so is my roommate.

NiK0laI

labman

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position

A crate would be a big help too. Other dogs may
not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with. Still your house and dog
will be much safer with the dog in a crate when you are away. The dog may be
happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. They are harder for
dogs to open too. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with
something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, make take some work.
Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. If you have been able to trust it with any bedding, put that in the crate.
Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding
time for more than one dog.


The crate may help the separation anxiety too.

NiK0laI

Thanks for the input. I have told my roommate that the dog sees him as an equal and not the dominate because he the dog has no reason to submit to him. I told him that he need to take the dog for a walk occasionally and and perform some activities where he can establish dominance. The dog never listens to him, I'm not really sure how much experience he has with dogs.
I am no expert on dogs by any means, but the dog has absolutely no problem listening to me or either of my parents. I honestly think I need to send my roommate to training and not the dog.

I actually tried the crate before I got him the citronella collar, he was actually worse at howling and crying when I left. He didn't have a problem going into it when I was around though, he seems to like the smaller spaces.

I am going to pickup a baby gate and try that out. There is a small hallway to my roommate's room and I will block that off, I'm thinking that will help, however he may still pee on it.

Thanks,
NiK0laI