He wees and nips. help

[mrbumps]

Hi,

first time posting.

We have a lovely puppy. Harvey is 4 months old and was rescued along with his brothers and sisters at only a few weeks old. We have had him now since he was 8 weeks old and he has come on leaps and bounds.

He is a cross breed, we think with a collie but we have no way of knowing for sure. He follows commands to a good level but we can't seem to break the peeing problem or the nipping one.

He does seem to know where he should go to potty but it seems sometimes he just can't be bothered. He rarely wees when on a lead and has been know on several occasions to come in from being outside to wee on the kitchen floor the moment he steps in.

An example the other day he had been out for a good long walk. We got back in, he ran up the stairs and peed on my little girls bed. He knew he had done wrong as he then scarpered outside. We use the positive re-enforcement techniques and the occasional 'No, Bad dogs' to boot as just the positives seemed to do nothing.

He rarely poos in the house now, and when he does I feel this is an honest accident but where do we go with the peeing?

The other problem is the nipping. Again it is less but he does still do it. We just ignore him when he does it but when he has a 'moment' lets call it, there is little stopping him. He is a gentle and friendly puppy so I don't think it is anything more than playing or trying for attention but he needs to stop it. But how.

I fall at your feet for help and guidance.

Steve

[aquarian215]

The peeing problem...... when he does pee in the house, what do you clean it up with? If you just use regular cleaners, he will still smell it and think it is ok to go back to the spot and pee, so you need to use the special pet products to clean up the mess, also try keeping his lead on in the house and have him follow you around, that way you can better catch him in the act and correct him, if you try to correct him after the fact (even seconds after) it won't do any good, so keep him close and look for clues that he is going to go (sniffing an area alot is what my dog did), and take him out as soon as you see these signs, use a cue like "go potty" AS he is doing his business, and treat him when he does it outside, praise him like crazy.


The nipping, well my dog does the same so I can't help you much with that, but if he is mixed with collie then he has the instinct to herd things, does he do it when there is a lot of motion? Kids running around, nipping at ankles? If he is biting on hands I hear if you say ow, high pitched, or yelp like another dog, he will stop, but I don't know, didn't work with mine, also was he resucued with his mom? I hear puppies taken away from mom too early will have a problem with nipping because in the litter the mom will put a stop to the biting, or something. But anyway I hope this is helpful. Good luck.

[mrbumps]

Well peeing we do use a regular cleaner so I will get some of the product you suggested and see if that helps. Thanks for the tips.

Nipping, we can try as you suggest. He was separated from his mum at only a few weeks old and we had wondered if this was part of his problem. I guess its just a case of keep trying.

Thanks for the help, any more advice would be received with open arms. Any thing we can try.

[Ritz459]

I own a Collie/Aussie mix and let me tell you...never again! Naw, I'm just kidding...she's a sweet heart and I wouldn't trade her for the world. Although I blame all of her "not relished" character traits on the Aussie in her. LOL

When Chloe was younger (around 3-4 months) she had this stage were if she felt like peeing, she'd just squat right there on the floor and go. No amount of catching her in the act and praising her when we went outside mattered (although it did help). The thing that helped the most was taking her outside almost constantly and praising her when she somehow signaled me that she had to go outside (and then of course taking her outside. She now knows that whenever I say, "Let's go outside," that she is to run like a maniac towards the door LOL).
She would pee about every thirty minutes, so I would take her outside every thirty minutes. It was a pain in the rear, but it prevented accidents.
We haven't had an accident in a month ( ) and she holds it for around two hours now, so I'm hoping she finally has the concept.

And until your pup is housetrained, I wouldn't let him have unsupervised time in the house. If you can't watch him, put him in his crate. If you can be in the room with him but you can't keep and "eye" on him, tether him to you so you'll HAVE to pay attention to him. Take him outside every 45mins and after every time he is done eating, sleeping, or running around the house like a mad dog.

Oh, and a tip on the "going on a walk and never going to the bathroom thing". For some reason Sadie, our old foster Lab pup, would sometimes get so destracted when we would take her outside that she wouldn't finnish going to the bathroom. She'd pee but she wouldn't poop, she'd poop but she wouldn't pee, we'd walk her and I'd know she had to go but she wouldn't....to prevent any accidents from happening inside, I'd bring her back inside, un-leash her, call her to me, leash her again, and then take her back outside. She probably thought I was nuts, but it got her mind back on track and she would go the bathroom.

We just ignore him when he does it but when he has a 'moment' lets call it, there is little stopping him. He is a gentle and friendly puppy so I don't think it is anything more than playing or trying for attention but he needs to stop it. But how.

If Harvey's moment is anything like Chloe's moment, I sympathize. Does the nipping consist of running around like a maniac while nipping at you and nothing you do or say can get him to stop? If so, the maricle cure for Chloe was one simple thing: exercise. Once I started taking Chloe on a forty five minute walk (roughly 1 1/2 miles) when I got home from school, she has been a little angel (to the best of her abilities, anways ).
If he is just nipping in play, a good thing to do is to yell "Ouch!" and stop all play time for a moment. He learns that nipping at you stops play time, and that is the last thing he wants to do.

[anaconda]

Changing your cleaning products is a good idea. Finn kept on peeing in the same spot (on the carpet, where else) and changing the product helped. Not us, though; it stank something awful.

As to nipping, same as everyone else; yelp and sulk.

[mrbumps]

An update for you all.

Firstly thanks for all the advice. The nipping is getting less. Not sure he responds to the yelp but he hates being ignored. He has started to ask for fuss with his paws now which is so much better.

The messing we have almost sorted as well. Last week we only had a few accidents and only after he had been left on his own for a few hours. Unfortunately he has not been well over the weekend, just seemed a bit low and it kinda slipped but seems to be getting back on track now.

We are not sure how this has effected him but at the same time as trying the things suggested here we have changed a few more things. Firstly he is now all sorted with his injections so we have been able to take him out more and more. He still doesn't mess while out but his bladder control has improved and when he gets home he now goes into the garden to potty without a problem.

The other thing is his sleeping arrangements. Due to our working hours he is left alone for 4 hours twice in a day 3 days a week. We sort of got the feeling at night he was simply fed up of being shut up in the kitchen so he now sleeps under our bed. He does this very well and only wakes us if he needs the loo. Maybe once or twice a week. Since we started this we have had NO accidents anywhere but the kitchen (this is on the way to the garden) and even these are few and far between.

Once again thanks to everyone.

[Ritz459]

We are not sure how this has effected him but at the same time as trying the things suggested here we have changed a few more things. Firstly he is now all sorted with his injections so we have been able to take him out more and more. He still doesn't mess while out but his bladder control has improved and when he gets home he now goes into the garden to potty without a problem.

For a while, Chloe did this as well. She wouldn't go to the bathroom when she was outside of her yard, not matter how long she had been gone. Now she goes on the walks, which I'm not sure if I'm glad about, or not. LOL

I'm glad progress has been made and keep up the good work! Harvey's still a puppy so you can expect some lapses, but it sounds like you guys are on the right track.

[IceyBlueSibes]

Firstly, I'm glad you're making progress! You've been given some great advice!

One thing that comes to mind is his feeding schedule. Is he given meals during the day, or is he allowed to eat as he pleases?

At 4 months old, your puppy is still a baby, and I wouldn't even begin to rely on my puppy being fully housetrained just yet It takes time and patience. You're doing the right thing, though. Keep up the good work.

[mrbumps]

He does have a good schedule yes. He has his first meal with us when we are having breakfast, a snack (just some dry food) at lunch again with us and his main meal in the evening again with us (or the kids if we are eating later) Generally his meals are within half an hour of each other and he knows when its time to eat.

Not expecting miracles, just good to see progress, that was what was getting at us to start with, it just didn't seem to be working but then over night he seemed to get it (odd accident allowing)

Now we have another problem. Digging but I will start another threat for that.

Thanks all

Steve

[IceyBlueSibes]

Okay, just wanted to make sure. Some people make the mistake (to me atleast) of leaving food out all of the time for the puppy, so his body cannot eliminate at certain times. Having seperated feedings allows you to learn when he has to go out. Some dogs have to go right after they're finished eating, and some dogs may take a bit until then.

I just read through your other thread. You've recieved some great advice on that so far.