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Originally Posted by jaxson Our pup J. Crew had surgery on his hip Oct 20 2005. He did not use his leg much at all for the first month. With the lack of use there was quite a bit of atrophy, causing his leg to be about half as muscular as the other. So it has been over three months and he is using it much more. He will now trot using all four legs but still does limp about half the time. The muscle tone is coming back and I am sure once it becomes full strength it will be fine. I would like everyone to know who may have to have this type of surgery to do it as soon as you can so there is as little "pre-surgery" atrophy of the leg as possible. I think if we would have done this sooner before he was loosing muscle tone due to lack of use the recovery time may have been shorter.
I would also like to as the forum a housebreaking question:
We have a dog door for J Crew that is out on a "deck room" which he is confined to during the day. So he can go out side when he wants and come back into his room when he wants. He will never have an accident in his room and will go out his door regularly to go pee and poop. I have noticed he does however like to be taken on walks to poop.
Anyway, my question is why is he still having accidents in the house when we are home and he has access to the entire house? He just turned one year old. If we see him acting like he needs to go then we say "go out your door" and he will go to his door go out and do his business. When he does have an accident his is very ashamed and covers his face and lays down.
I just don't understand if he knows he is doing something wrong by going in the house why wouldn't he just go to his door to go out??!!
This is driving me crazy, any insight would be appreciated.
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I'm glad your little guy is doing well. I think I can answer part of your housetraining question. First of all, I've read it in several good books and been told by our trainer that dogs don't feel "ashamed" If he is covering his face and laying down it is in anticipation of your reaction. He is not feeling guilty. He needs more reinforcement about how to please you. Dogs just want to make us happy. He also may associate the deck room as his "den" but not the rest of the house. Others may have advice for you about how to fix this, but my *best* recommendation is to contact a trainer who is certifed in animal behavior. They know how dogs think and can help you communicate with them. In the mean time, get your hands on a copy of "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell. Hope this helps.
P.S. My best guess is that since he has a doggie door, he does not have that constant reinforcement about pottying outside. For example, my Loki rings his bell, goes outside in the front yard on his leash, and then gets a treat. He's a year old, but it's still necessary. He is totally housetrained, but it's taken that consistency to get there. When J Crew goes outside when you are home, does he get a treat? Obviously he has mastered it when he is confined to his space, all you need to do is extend that training. :-)