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Age doesn't matter. How much do you love your dog? If you really care for him you will make time for him. When I was 19, I lived for my dog and I still spent a lot of time with my friends. So your excuse doesn't sit well with me. Its actually a very poor excuse. If you don't have time for your dog, find him a new home.
I think you need to have a family meeting about him. Find out exactly what his schedule and living conditions are like and how people are treating him. I am not talking about a confrontation, but information gathering.
I know you have had him for six years and you love him. However, if he isn't getting his emotional and mental (even physical) needs met now, what do you think his next six, eight, ten, years will be like? What happens if/when you are in school and have homework on top of your job? What happens if you move out and have a place of your own? What happens if you get married and have children?
Do you think his mental, emotional and physical needs are being fully met? Are you willing to change your priorities to make sure he has all of his needs provided for?
Please be honest with yourself about how much you do and what he needs. Do you really think food and a bit of petting until you fall asleep are enough?
It may seem that we are being hard on you. In many ways, we are. You as a human have choices and can make your own decisions. Your pup can't. He relies on you and everyone else in the family/household to make the best ones for him.
Are you making the best decisions you can for him?
There are 3 of us that live in the house.. so you'd think I'd know what conditions he's living in.
If I moved out I'd take him with me.
He has a whole room to himself and the backyard which he can go out to whenever he feels like it..
Walking has never been an issue for him, he's never been a hypo dog and loves to sleep even when we did take him for walks he would get tired and wouldn't want to run he'd walk very slowly.
The issue is why is he all of the sudden peeing... is it because of the new furniture.
And fyi I did buy him new toys yesterday which he doesn't even look at and I took him for a walk and he threw up afterwards.
There are 3 of us that live in the house.. so you'd think I'd know what conditions he's living in.
If I moved out I'd take him with me.
He has a whole room to himself and the backyard which he can go out to whenever he feels like it..
Walking has never been an issue for him, he's never been a hypo dog and loves to sleep even when we did take him for walks he would get tired and wouldn't want to run he'd walk very slowly.
The issue is why is he all of the sudden peeing... is it because of the new furniture.
And fyi I did buy him new toys yesterday which he doesn't even look at and I took him for a walk and he threw up afterwards.
He has a whole room to himself and the backyard which he can go out to whenever he feels like it.
I'm going to put my two cents in here even though I'm a cat person.
Dogs are pack animals. They need other dogs as friends to play with, and they need owners to give them work to do and a reason for existing.
All the nice accommodations in the world aren't going to make a dog happy. Dogs are content with a den in a rock pile or between bales of straw. What will make a dog happy is purposeful interactions with their owners.
A friend lived next door to an older couple who had a beautiful husky. The dog was on a 20' swiveling chain that was connected to a study oak tree in the back yard. A dog house and a water bowl with fresh water were nearby. No one ever interacted with the dog except to put food and fresh water out twice a day. The dog was out in that yard alone during all four seasons, and the grass under the tree was completely gone because of his constant pacing.
That very lonely dog was the first thing I thought of when I read this thread.
Your dog sounds depressed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Renae_Cots
Have you taken him to a vet yet to rule out anything medical? That really should be your first step. Please, have him checked by a vet asap.
I have to add, and this is going to sound harsh, I feel bad for your dog. He went from a loved pet, walked every day, played with, to being locked in the laundry room for most of the day, never walked, and largely ignored, or scolded. When you did take him for a walk yesterday did you have fun, or did you just do it out of a sense of duty, or because you felt guilt?
Dogs are very perceptive. He likely knows that he's not that loved right now. He's left alone most of the day, he's getting yelled at, he likely sleeps a lot because there's nothing else to do, or he's ill.
Dogs don't care about fancy toys, fancy beds, fancy bowls, and fancy dog doors, what they care about is their pack. They are pack animals. They need their pack mates in order to be fulfilled, they need to go for walks, they need to be able to smell different smells, see something other then the same four walls of the laundry room, or the yard. If he's alone all day, nothing to do, no one to do it with, then he's not a happy dog, he's just existing, and sadly he doesn't even seem to be existing for your pleasure. It sounds more like he's become a burden to the whole family. :(
Are we sharing a brain today WG? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Wondergirl
We were typing at the same time. :)
No he is not a burden and we do pay attention to him. Yes some things have changed as they do in everyone's life and he may not get as much attention as he use to but he's not ignored.
No I did not take him just because of guilt, he seemed as if he enjoyed the walk but he threw up afterwards, and I'm not sure why that happen...
I bought him more toys because I was told he needed things to keep himself occupied during the day and I also leave a radio on now in he's room which I've heard helps. But he did have another peeing accident this morning when I was home before I left.
He use to be left in the house until he started to pee everywhere which is why he is now locked in the laundry
My dog is not treated like that at all.
i bought him more toys because i was told he needed things to keep himself occupied during the day
Toys for dogs, just like toys for children, need to be played with when owners/parents supervise. Neither a dog nor a child instinctively knows how to play. They have to be taught. And most dog and cat toys are interactive.
So, many things have changed for him.Quote:
No he is not a burden and we do pay attention to him. Yes some things have changed as they do in everyone's life and he may not get as much attention as he use to but he's not ignored.
No I did not take him just because of guilt, he seemed as if he enjoyed the walk but he threw up afterwards, and I'm not sure why that happen...
I bought him more toys because I was told he needed things to keep himself occupied during the day and I also leave a radio on now in he's room which I've heard helps. But he did have another peeing accident this morning when I was home before I left.
He use to be left in the house until he started to pee everywhere which is why he is now locked in the laundry
He used to have free reign of the house, now he's locked in the laundry. He used to get daily walks, now he doesn't. There used to be someone home with him, now everyone works.
There are so many changes that have been going on in his life, peeing is a way to let you all know that he's not happy with all those changes.
As for the walk. How far did you go? How fast? Remember, he hasn't been for a walk in 2 years. You will have to start slow with him, let him get used to daily walks again. Possibly the excitement of being out of the house after so long, the pace, and the length, led him to vomit. Continue the walks, just start of small, slow, and let him get used to it again, then increase the walks.
I still recommend that you get a health check done to rule out a urinary tract infection or other medical issues. That's a must.
But, even if there is a medical issue, things have to change for this dog. I don't doubt that you love him, otherwise you wouldn't be coming here for advice. You do have to put yourself in his paws. He needs to be around all of you. He needs to have walks. He needs to know that he's a member of the pack. Toys are okay, but time with you is the best gift you can give him, and it's free.
Yes, he is sitting with people just watching TV, is he walking with people, is he sitting in the kitchen watching when they cook.
I feel sorry for a dog that is all alone in "his room" that is like what you do with a child to punish them, send them to their room)
Being in the room isn't the main problem. Dogs don't mind being in their "den" when the rest of the pack is away. But to go from having the run of the house to being put in the laundry room all day, that is a punishment. I'm also very sure that the mother (who's angry about the peeing), makes sure he knows that it's a punishment for the peeing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck
A den/room/crate shouldn't be a time out place, a place a dog is forced to go because he's bad. It should be a safe haven, a place where the dog can be while the pack isn't around. It's best to start crate or room training when the dog is a puppy, but you can crate train an older dog. The thing is, putting the dog in the room and just expecting him to accept it, isn't the way to go about it.
This poor dogs last few years have been one change after the other. It's just adding up and there's no way for him to tell his people that he's not happy, other then peeing in the house. That gets their attention, and negative attention is better then no attention at all. :(
No I have no choice nor does anyone else in the family to go to school and work.. as I said he can't be trusted to be left in the house alone because he pees. So he gets locked up, he doesn't get yelled at to stay in the room, the laundry is like a "kennel" for him that's he's little place with he's beds, toys, food, water etc.
When we are home he is with us in the house...
My little dog Sugar was part of the family, I considered her in any change to the household. When I lost her, it has hard, I still have her chase ball on the shelf in memory of her and that was 10 years ago.
This is the issue with Pets, if I can preach a moment, people give or have a lower standard for them and at times seem to consider them disposable
It was a 15min walk that I took him on because as you said he needs to get use to going for walks again, he was allowed off the lead because he knows the route and he is very obidient (stopping on corners of the road and waiting etc)
I will have to check out the peeing problem because as I said this only started to happen when we got new furniture. Everything else (walking, no one being home because of work/school) has been happening for quite a few years now. And I would have thought if he was depressed over that then it would have happen along time ago.
Sorry but you guys arnt getting it. We don't punish him by locking him away from everyone. When he gets in trouble (and we've done this ever since he was a puppy) he would be sent to he's "bed" which is located in the kitchen. He doesn't get locked away for hours and hours when everyone's home just because he is in trouble he doesn't even get smacked but he is a smart dog.
Some of you are making it sound like he is ignored and left alone all day every day.. I've said he gets let out as soon as we're home we pat him, talk to him, he gets "dinner" as a special treat once or twice a week.
The only thing that has changed which changed a while ago is the frequent walks and now the new beds and you can't blame my mother for her being angry at him leaving pee stains on the carpet and on the side of our beds.
Ok I've never once said that I hated my dog and I want to get rid of him.. Please read carfully what I am saying.
I am writing on here to get help for the peeing problems.
Not because I think my dog is a waste of space and I abuse him everyday and then one day "dispose" of him
Then I'm going to go back to my original comment -- the smell and look of the new furniture may be at least part of the problem. I know cats HATE change, and I'm guessing dogs do too. Also, he's anointing your beds and welcoming them into the family by peeing on them (so they smell right).
A dog's sense of smell is incredibly more powerful than a humans. That's why they are such good rescue dogs after earthquakes and drug-sniffer dogs at airports.
And again, please rule out urinary problems.
How do I stop it if its not a urinary problem?
And thank you for answering my problem.. :)
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