Help!! Make it Stop!

[Lilys_mommy]

I'm just not sure what to do or if I'm doing something wrong!
here are my situations with Emma:

- She cowers around my boyfriend but only at times. She will be fine playing with him but coming up to him while he standing or sitting she is crouching with her tale down between her legs. We aren't sure what started this but it's not an all the time thing....she does it every so often. There have been no loud noises or anything that I could think of that would have scared her during those instances. Any Ideas?

- When the boyfriend takes her out to potty she won't come out of her crate. He normally reaches in and pulls her out to carry her downstairs and then she either pees all over her crate, the floor, on him or sometimes all three. He's not aggressive when he comes up to her or even when he pulls her out. Sometimes she will follow him downstairs after much coaxing with treats and then she pees right in front of the doggy door instead of going through it to pee!!!

- Last night she was crying around 3am (which hasn't happened for months) and he woke up to let her out. She wouldn't come out for him so he started to walk to the door hoping she would follow him and instead she ran out of her crate, jumped on the bed/me and proceeded to pee all over me, the bed, then when she jumped down, all over the floor as well.

What is going on!?!?
I understand that she may regress in potty training around this time but she wasn't doing anything like this before!

Any suggestions?

Today I made boyfriend feed her so I'm not always the one getting her food for her...hoping that that might help!

[rottielover]

Try going to OB class, let him be the one who trains her, feeds her.

[bigdoglover]

hhhmmm.....has he been around her since you got her?

[rmci]

It sounds like submissive urination (or excitement urination) to me, not a problem with potty training. In puppies it's usually an ultimate show of respect, excitement or it can be insecurity/ fear. When your dog urinates this way, ignore it. Hard to do, I know, but any praise or scolding will only make the situation worse.

Most puppies outgrow this phase. Make sure your boyfriend doesn't tower over her, he should get down to her level. Fast gestures can also "startle" an insecure dog.

[mrsgrubby]

Is your boyfriend loud, gruff, or rough with her? Beagles tend to be really happy,friendly dogs. But I've noticed with mine that she is also very sensitive and if someone is loud,gruff, or rough she remembers it and stays away from them.

Have you and your boyfriend had a loud fight or even any fight in the house that she might have seen or heard, or even just sensed your feelings change towards him during the fight, and now she is leary of him?

Has he ever spanked her or scolded her?

I think I would try two things.....

First, instead of him dragging or grabbing her out of her crate, I would try having him reach in, feed her a small treat, and clip a leash on her and then gently lead her out and to the door. Feeding her tiny treats on the way. Something easily swallowed so she doesnt' have to stop and chew.

Second, have him feed her and play with her every day, while being quite. And also have her earn a few treats from him by sitting, or doing whatever commands she knows.

[D.Schäferhund]

jup that grabing thing out of the crate kinda alarmed me a little, in addition to mrsgrubbys advice, i would work on that at different times! when you actually don' t have to go in the crate get out of the crate...

[Lilys_mommy]

well i didn't mean grab in a grab and yank out kinda way vs. a reach in a pick her up/out.

she always walks out for me... she and i don't have issues when it comes to potty time...unless it was last night when she peed on me and the bed!

He has been around since i got her...so he's be present as much as i have but i am the one that feeds/walks her and she sees me at lunch time every day (i come home at lunch to let her out and play with her).

We will try the advice and see how things go. I think he's upset and frustrated that she seems to not like him...or at least be as friendly with him as she is with me.

thanks for the help!

[Sugardog]

Has he ever disciplined her by spanking her or swatting her nose or rump?

I've noticed that alot of dogs tend to take a better liking to women than men. I think that this is for a few reasons....One is that men have a deeper voice that can be interpreted as a growl. Women on the other hand, our higher pitched voice is more preferred by dogs because it resembles puppy play barks. So try having your boyfriend kind of "baby talk" to her.


Men also tend to be more naturally dominant than women in general concerning body language and posture and dogs will pick that kind of stuff up. While it may not bother or phase some dogs, overly submissive dogs may not be able to handle it. So when your boyfriend is calling her or playing with her, have him get down to her level on the floor. Have him avoid towering over her.

Right now, your probably going to want to look into all positive reinforcement training and training classes. If you can find a class that does clicker training take up that opportunity and attend it. The Power of Positive Training by Pat Miller is a great and informative book about positive reinforcement as well.