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What products, if any, can you recommend for a dog that is urine marking in the house.
A little background which I think is important.. My grandson adopted 2 dogs a couple of years ago from Tall Tails Rescue about a year apart. They were both very shy with strangers (almost fearful) but have come around somewhat. Back in May my grandson had to move back home and lives in the lower level of the house. Leo and Diesel have adapted well thanks to my daughter who has gotten them into a routine. However, Diesel is urine marking in the house. Right now there is only one recliner downstairs because Diesel chewed the sofa down to the frame. He has also chewed blankets and an area of her wood molding.
I guess I should mention that he is a hound dog (not sure if pure bred) and he is neutered. He has been checked by a vet and there does not appear be anything wrong with him physically. Not sure if this is important but both dogs are by themselves for a good part of the day. My granddaughter lets them out at lunch time before going to college.
Diesel obviously has a behavior problem and probably needs professional help which they cannot afford at this time.
In the interim do you have any suggestions?
Are any of the otc products effective (either plug-ins, supplements, etc.)?
Thank you
I adopted a beautiful cat with a stunning personality, she is loving and relaxed. She is 1 year 7 months old and they have been struggling to get her adopted. We brought her home And she was immediately so happy, eating and playing. We have two chihuahuas, one is a very timid, nervous baby but so so sweet. When we opened our bedroom door, she ran out to say hello and the cat just pounced on her, making deep scratch marks and only letting go when my husband yelled “NO!” In a panic. I am feeling such guilt at bringing a new pet into the house, that hurt my baby. I absolutely adore the new cat, but my heart is broken for my baby girl. She is now absolutely terrified of any sound, we are keeping them separated and the cat is happy as can be, but I am feeling so nervous about how to resolve this issue. Giving the cat back is just not an option for us, we already fell in love with her. What can we do in this situation?
Did you do any sort of shutdown when you brought the cat home? By that, I mean keep her in a room to herself for a couple of weeks, to give her time to acclimate to the household, then allow her to meet your chi in a very closely supervised situation. Furthermore, had she been tested with dogs?
Hi! We actually have separated them, the meeting was accidental (our chihuahua ran out of the room once the door was opened). Currently we are keeping them in separate rooms and switching them every so often so they can get used to each other’s scent. She was adopted from a cat shelter so no experience with dogs thus far…
That may very well have been due to shock. I would reevaluate in a couple of weeks.
My dog is 1 year old and he is trained to go on his pee pad (my boyfriend and I live in an apartment). We’ve recently got another dog a few months ago and we have already expected our older dog to be territorial and mark in places around the apartment. That has stopped for a while then all of a sudden he is peeing in places he knows are bad. For example, he peed on our couch while my boyfriend was sleeping on it! I’ve already taken him to the vet and he is fine heath wise. We’ve been keeping a better eye on him to make sure he doesn’t pee where he’s not suppose to and so we can also reward him for when he does go in the right spot. It’s been good for a couple of days. Then today when I came home from work, I took him into the bathroom with me (where we keep his pad) and I waited for him to use the bathroom. I even tried to tell him to “go potty”. Nothing happened for about 10 minutes so I opened the door and we headed to the living room….I see him peeing on our comforter that’s hanging off the couch with his ears down and that “oh no I’m in trouble” look on his face. I don’t know what to do because I feel he knows better than this.
Is everyone neutered?
And no I vehemently argue that they “know better”. They may know you are not happy but they do not know spite or anger. I don’t recommend training on pee pads because it gets too confusing for pets. As I think is the case for your dogs. How are they supposed to understand “pee in the house, BUT only right in this little spot on this little thing?” How confusing must that be?
You could also try a belly band while you figure out how to manage the bathroom issues.
Dr. Magnifico (and anyone else), a friend has a difficult situation he’s trying to rectify with his cat.
He has a male cat who was treated for a UTI very recently – 2 weeks ago, to be exact. In the past two days, the cat has taken to urinating on a specific spot on the carpet on the same floor as the litterboxes (they have 3 boxes for 2 cats). He is not actively AVOIDING the boxes, he’s just preferring the carpet for urine. He isn’t marking, either – he’s emptying his full bladder in this one particular spot. I’ve suggested cleaning the heck out of the spot with an industrial shampooer with Nature’s Miracle added to the mix, to get the urine out of the pad. What other suggestions can I give him? I have zero experience with a cat with a UTI, and I’m at a loss at the moment.
Just to update, friend rented a Rug Doctor and thoroughly cleaned the spot. Once it’s dry, he’s going to do another round of cleaning on the spot.
I’m wondering if he out the box there, would the cat use it? I know it’s not a permanent solution, but it may help short term. Then perhaps move the box back little by little, IF the cat starts using it again. Just a thought….
Hello,
Here’s my gold standard recommendation. Serial urinalyses (three to be exact) to look for any evidence of a urinary issue. This might include a culture and sensitivity. I also like an X-ray and ultrasound. Point being work out a medical issue to the ninth degree!! At the same time start to address behavior issues. I have a few blogs on “inappropriate urination”. I think (hope) that I have added all my secrets and tips to them. If things get bad (like to the point of considering giving up use the drugs!!!). Try fluoxetine.
Sarah – Thanks! I suggested the box move. Even if it’s just plopping ONE box in that spot, it can’t hurt, right? I don’t think they’ve furnished the basement yet, so it’s a great idea. 🙂
Dr. M – THANK YOU! I’ll recommend another urinalysis. My gut feeling is it’s not quite gone, especially when this started a day or so ago, and he was seen by their vet 2 weeks ago. I’ll recommend another visit today. I’ll also dig through the blog. 🙂
Update! He will cover the spot with plastic and put a litterbox on top of it, and he’s trying to get his cat in today to get a urine sample captured today or tomorrow. He also washed the spot again before returning the Rug Doctor this afternoon.
Thanks a ton, ladies! I’ll keep updating as things progress.
are they declawed? some cats dont like the feel of the litter. have several types of litter boxes high, low, covered, open, etc. to encourage proper elimination
This is my 6 1/2 month old blue heeler. I’m worried he might have something wrong with his, i could be over reacting but if i dont check i’ll feel pretty guilty. Not the best pictures but basically his right eye (our left) has a few differences than the other. You can always see his sclera in that one eye. The bottom eye lid seems droop ever so slightly lower, when he looks up at you it drifts a little bit to the wrong direction almost like a lazy eye but not severe. It also appears to be a little further set back than the other eye and when u pull his eye lid down he has a curved black mark coming off the colored part of his eye and redness. I took many other pictures but just realized you can only upload one?
Not sure if this also has something to do with it but he is very itchy all the time. No fleas at all no hot spots. Was started on prednisone which worked on 2 pills a day but as soon as he was down to 1 a day hes back to itchy all over and rubbing his eyes.
He also had an overbite which maybe is affecting the face where his eye is? Not sure.
Everytime i tried adding a picture it said error
http://imgur.com/a/zvb9i
http://imgur.com/a/fS1w3
http://imgur.com/a/WExSM
thank you krista here are the links
My jack Russell has just bitten my 3 year old daughter. She was going to cuddle her when she snapped. She only slightly marked her but was very aggressive. I don’t know how to react to this? Could do with some advice
Without actually seeing the incident, we cannot say what exactly occurred. Did you and your daughter miss body language indicating your dog didn’t want to be cuddled? Does your dog feel unwell?
Has she ever growled at the child, and if so, have those growls been met with respect or with punishment?
You need need NEED a behaviorist IN your home assessing the situation appropriately. Until then, keep the child on a short leash around the dog.
We have had our female Shitz Tuz Mandie for 3 years, she was a rescue dog from a nasty place. She came to us scared of people, it took us a full year to gain her trust, and she can still be skiddish around others. The 1st yr we had her we noticed what looked to be a bug bite, a few days later we had a home visit from a local vet who checked her out, gave her shots etc. We pointed out the bite which had by that time turned into what looked like a boil, which had popped earlier that day. The vet said it was due to fleas, and gave her drops, which we keep current. Ever since that bite she has been chewing herself raw on that spot. We couldn’t find anything there, no bumps or marks that would cause it to bother her. We did notice that her skin in that spot discolored a little. We thought it could be from her licking and chewing. A few months went by and she continued to chew, we switched her shampoo to low sud/oatmeal soap, and switched up her diet to Nutro dry food, no chicken or corn. and that hasn’t helped. Its gotten to the point where she doesn’t want to play, and she sleeps more, may be because she sit up at night after we are sleeping chewing. Her skin is now bright pink all over and her chewing has now moved to any spot she can reach. Any ideas on what is causing this? And, what I should do. Our vet’s here are extremely high dollar vet’s and we just can’t afford a $1,000 vet bill. Please help I feel so bad for this little girl.
Thank you
Lori G
Hi Krista, Thanks for your advice, we figured as much. I guess we all have to pitch in on this one and get our baby healthy again. And being so hot right now I’m sure isn’t making her feel any better either. I’ll give her a nice cool bath tonight and take her in first thing tomorrow.
Again thanks for responding so fast. We all need more vets like you!
First get all grain out of her diet, including treats. Go to a good pet store (not the grocery store, or big box) and ask to be shown to the grain-free dog food and start reading lables. Pick a grain free dog food that has real meat as the first 2 , or even better 3 ingredients. Real meat is easy to spot it says lamb, elk, bison, turkey, salmon meal or whitefish meal (meal is the entire animal ground up and dried). Do not buy any food with by products listed in the ingredients – this is and indication of inferior goods. The worst grains for dogs are: wheat, corn, corn gluten, rice, soy, oats. Many dogs do alright with buckwheat since it is not a grain.
Dogs may not be allergic to grain, but it impacts their ability to fight other allergens. Most dogs do much better when grain is removed from their diet.
Next, stop washing your dog (they only need a bath if they have rolled in something!) and just rinse her instead with a mix of 1/3 vinegar (cider vinegar is her coat is colored, white vinegar if her coat is mostly white) and 2/3 water. Work this into her coat and skin and allow her to shake and dry. Do not rinse it out. You can rinse her with this every day, and if you have her coat cut very short, you can do it 2 times per day. Just be sure she dries out between applications, you don’t want her staying damp since that will lead to other problems. The vinegar smell will disappear as she dries. I recommend you do keep her coat short for the time being – it will help you keep allergens out of her coat. Brush her daily. You can keep her tail hair long since that is one of the best features of this breed!
Keep a bowl of this mix beside the door (make it fresh every day) and rinse her paws in it when she comes in from outside – this will help reduce the amount of allergen she tracks into the house.
Cover every place she sleeps or naps with towels or sheets and toss those covers in the wash once a week. This helps remove the pollen and mold spores that may be making her itch. Wash her dog bed weekly too if she has one. Vacuum the house daily with a HEPA filter in the vacuum.
If she has any raw or ‘hot spots’ dab on witch hazel with aloe vera – you will find this in any pharmacy.
If your vet told you to use Benadryl, switch to Zyrtec instead – it seems to work better. Same dosage, and generic is fine.
I agree with Dr. Krista’s advice to get the help of a vet – but after 22 years of dealing with itchy terriers I know that I have to take these other steps along with what the vet recommends.
I think you need a vet as this dog has been suffering long enough. You have tried hard to treat it at home and unfortunately it hasn’t worked. The next step is a vet and preferably not the same vet that saw her the first time. It would be no wear near $1000. Probably less than $200 including the meds. You did a great thing by rescuing this dog and to continue being a great pet parent it takes sacrifice and some occasional money with a vet. Where I live a vet consultation is a mere $39. At that point they will tell you what needs to be done. You will be feel so much better once you help this poor dog.
Hi! I’ve recently adopted a kitten from a family member. The kitten previously belonged to a child, and has a round hairless mark on her front paw. The child has been known to recklessly play with lighters, and I’m unsure if I’m right to think that he (the child) had possibly burned the kitten, or if the kitten has some type of infection. Any help at all would be appreciated.
Is he marking or is he emptying his bladder? If the former, that’s a training issue. I would go back to square 1 with housebreaking – leash him to a person when he isn’t crated, and take him out every hour. When he cannot be supervised, he should be crated. Reward the desired behavior and correct any signals that he’s going to mark. With him leashed to a person, he can’t wander off to mark anywhere, and any unwanted behavior should be much easier to prevent.
If he’s emptying his bladder, that could be a urinary problem, and he should be checked out.
Regarding the other naughty behavior, I’ll bet he’s bored. He should be getting daily mental and physical work. Again, crate to prevent unwanted behaviors when unsupervised.
For either situation, clean all areas with enzyme cleaner. Nature’s Miracle has worked well for us.