NEW EVERYTHING...House, Doggie Door, Dog Attacks = Potty issues

[Salfies13]

Hello!

So, my almost 8 year old morkie (male) moved in with my fiance (newly engaged!!) a couple weeks ago. We fenced in the whole property, and put in a doggie door. He learned how to use the doggie door pretty quickly. Things were going pretty good with his potty habits.

We have him setup to be able to roam the finished basement all day, which is pretty big. He goes up the basement steps straight into the doggie door to go outside.

Recently, we have been noticing that he's been peeing in the basement, and sometimes pooping. Mostly pee, though. My fiance is not used to having a dog, so he's getting upset with the peeing. I tried spraying a marking spray on the areas where he had peed, but I guess that didn't work.

Last Friday, we had an incident where my fiance came home early from work to find Teddie hiding in the basement. When the fiance went to unlock the door to go find him, 2 huge dogs from the neighbor behind the street brushed past him. They had jumped over our fence, and probably terrorized poor Teddie! Luckily, he was unharmed.

I think that he is scared to go out to use the bathroom when I'm not home/outside with him. Are there any things we can do to make him feel more comfortable with peeing outside? He used to use a pee pad, so this whole outside peeing thing is new for him.

I'd sincerely appreciate any ideas and suggestions that you have. I really don't want to hear negative comments about my decision to use a doggie door and fenced in backyard. So, please keep those to yourself...this is what I have to do given my schedule.

THANKS!

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by Salfies13

Hello!

So, my almost 8 year old morkie (male) moved in with my fiance (newly engaged!!) a couple weeks ago. We fenced in the whole property, and put in a doggie door. He learned how to use the doggie door pretty quickly. Things were going pretty good with his potty habits.

We have him setup to be able to roam the finished basement all day, which is pretty big. He goes up the basement steps straight into the doggie door to go outside.

Recently, we have been noticing that he's been peeing in the basement, and sometimes pooping. Mostly pee, though. My fiance is not used to having a dog, so he's getting upset with the peeing. I tried spraying a marking spray on the areas where he had peed, but I guess that didn't work.

Last Friday, we had an incident where my fiance came home early from work to find Teddie hiding in the basement. When the fiance went to unlock the door to go find him, 2 huge dogs from the neighbor behind the street brushed past him. They had jumped over our fence, and probably terrorized poor Teddie! Luckily, he was unharmed.

I think that he is scared to go out to use the bathroom when I'm not home/outside with him. Are there any things we can do to make him feel more comfortable with peeing outside? He used to use a pee pad, so this whole outside peeing thing is new for him.

I'd sincerely appreciate any ideas and suggestions that you have. I really don't want to hear negative comments about my decision to use a doggie door and fenced in backyard. So, please keep those to yourself...this is what I have to do given my schedule.

THANKS!

Congratulations on your new baby boy....hopefully, he has been terrorized enough for HIM to realize the danger of going outside, even in a fenced in yard, because your main concern is apparently your work schedule.

Again, congratulations on your precious little baby, hopefully he has been terrorized enough to have enough sense to never go outside unsupervised again.....that way, he will be safe from dangers his momma/daddy are unbelievably, completely aware of but not concerned about. Peeing in a basement is their big concern.

Consider a cat....they will use a litterbox and not mess up your basement floor.

[matese]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

Congratulations on your new baby boy....hopefully, he has been terrorized enough for HIM to realize the danger of going outside, even in a fenced in yard, because your main concern is apparently your work schedule.

Again, congratulations on your precious little baby, hopefully he has been terrorized enough to have enough sense to never go outside unsupervised again.....that way, he will be safe from dangers his momma/daddy are unbelievably, completely aware of but not concerned about. Peeing in a basement is their big concern.

Consider a cat....they will use a litterbox and not mess up your basement floor.

[SirTeddykins]

Put his pee pad in a cat litter box so he can continue to use a pee pad in the basement without having to go outside. Also, this will spare the basement floor since the pad is in the box and it is the box which would need to be cleaned.

Your post comes across extremely uninformed so I hope you will consider this advice from someone who has had great success pee pad training in a cat litter box. If your dog lifts his leg, make sure you get a box with tall sides and remove the top if the box comes with one and it bothers your dog.

STOP USING THAT DOGGIE DOOR! I get that you have to work, most of us do, but your dog shouldn't have to die because you're busy, you know?

[Yorkiemom1]

I used to use large Clorox bottles, with a pee pad wrapped around them, and sitting on a pee pad, and my males that were old enough to mark, used this set up very successfully....then I found this adorable little fire hydrants that stand about 20 inches high....I set them on a pee pad and they now use those. Put this pup in a large x-pen that will keep him from going all over the basement....you can put 2 together and it will make a huge play area for him when you are not home...food, water, and bed, along with toys to play with would be more humane than allowing this baby to come and go as he pleases, especially when you are at work.

[Salfies13]

I'm only going to say this once, because it needs to be said.

This first responder to my post was completely out of line. This forum is a place to come for advice and share in the joy that yorkies give us! I'm saddened that a person would post something like this and that it would be allowed on this board. I am a proud mother of my boy and I have raised him since he was a puppy. It is completely rude, immature, and disrespectful for you to suggest that I get a cat. I come here with honesty, not judgement.

[matese]

Originally Posted by Salfies13

I'm only going to say this once, because it needs to be said.

This first responder to my post was completely out of line. This forum is a place to come for advice and share in the joy that yorkies give us! I'm saddened that a person would post something like this and that it would be allowed on this board. I am a proud mother of my boy and I have raised him since he was a puppy. It is completely rude, immature, and disrespectful for you to suggest that I get a cat. I come here with honesty, not judgement.

Your closing statement " I really don't want to hear negative comments about my decision to use a doggie door and fenced in backyard. So, please keep those to yourself...this is what I have to do given my schedule." you come here, tell us how your lil baby was terrorized due to this doggie door, ask how can you over come his fear of going outside to potty. And you really think you are not going to be told not to use the doggie door, are you for real. gezzzzz, common sense should tell you DO NOT LET THAT DOG USE THIS DOGGIE DOOR UNSUPERVISED. What would your reaction have been to come home to find this innocent little baby dead in your yard, ripped to shreds, body parts scattered all over your yard. How on earth do you leave in the morning to go to work and leave this little dog the ability to leave the safety of his house JUST to pee and poo just blows my mind. You now see how unsafe this is, yet you will continue to use this method, U.N.B.E.L.I.E.V.A.B.L.E. Yes YT is the best forum to seek advise, and have been given that advise, but, it's advise you do NOT want to hear, nor will you follow that advise, and we DO LOVE to share in the "joy" that our babies bring to us and all owner of this little awesome breed. What joy did you bring to YT? the "joy" your baby was not torn to shreds? This first reply was said in honesty, we are allowed to give our opinions notning out of line with that. You were offered advise on how to keep this baby indoors to potty by that same member and another member. IDK, 65% of us are home owners, at least 45% have full time jobs, how is it that we all manage to potty train our pups in a safe manner, no need for doggie doors, if you put some effort into proper training you wouldn't have to take the easy way, the lazy way by giving this dog the ability to wander around your back yard with no one home. Let me end here, cos it will only get worse.

[Salfies13]

Matese, you are completely missing the point, and you are just as rude as the other poster.

I stand my ground here. This is what I have to do with my dog. He loves the freedom, and the joy of my dog is a priority for me. Yes, an unfortunate incident happened, but thank god he HAD a doggie door to go back inside.

Things happen. You learn from your experiences. You don't know me or my dog. You don't know how the yard is configured. You don't know how many hours I am away from my home. To continue to be an internet bully on a Yorkie forum is laughable. I really hope all your pups are treated better than you treat people on the internet. Please stop trying to be a keyboard warrior, and please do not respond to anymore of my posts.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Salfies13

Matese, you are completely missing the point, and you are just as rude as the other poster.

I stand my ground here. This is what I have to do with my dog. He loves the freedom, and the joy of my dog is a priority for me. Yes, an unfortunate incident happened, but thank god he HAD a doggie door to go back inside.

Things happen. You learn from your experiences. You don't know me or my dog. You don't know how the yard is configured. You don't know how many hours I am away from my home. To continue to be an internet bully on a Yorkie forum is laughable. I really hope all your pups are treated better than you treat people on the internet. Please stop trying to be a keyboard warrior, and please do not respond to anymore of my posts.

Hi and welcome to YT - and, congrats on your recent engagement, that's so exciting!! I wish you and your fiance a lovely, wonderful life ahead!

I'm sorry you're upset with some of these answers but please, take a deep breath and please do try to understand where these folks are coming from...they are worried and concerned for you and your dog, and they most definitely do *not* want to see your little innocent dog end up being killed. Passionate responses do not equate to what I'd call "bullying" here, I just don't see it. I see concerned and very direct responses to putting your yorkie in what is a clearly dangerous position that could cost him his life.

If that's not cause for concern and passion on a dog forum, I'm not sure what is.

So, back to the matter at hand. You can't use the doggie door, period. It's dangerous, it's life threatening, it's simply NOT the right or safe or moral thing to do here, period.

Buy an Iris Pen at Walmart or Amazon and set it up somewhere in the house that works...he will be able to have a bed, toys, water, and pee pad in that pen....and that will have to work while you're away from home. Another option would be to fence him in a tiled bathroom or something, or the kitchen...?

Either way, the MOST important thing here is life safety *first* -- and a doggie door is simply unsafe...bc of other dogs, owls, hawks, eagles, etcetera.

[maxdog]

Ann, I love your response but…..

Sometimes I wish I could just keep my mouth shut but that is a trait that I have never been able to conquer. So here I go again about to piss some people off.

Let me start with the OP. You come here and ask for advice but tell everyone if they don’t have happy things to say to you the please shut up. I know you did not use those words but the implication is there. Well it does not work that way. If you want advice then you better put your big boy pants on be prepared to listen to what comes your way. The VAST majority of people on this site, myself included, think that allowing a yorkie unsupervised access to a yard, fenced in or not, is careless and very dangerous to the yorkie. I did not think that way when I first started on this site but after reading the horror stories of people watching their little loved one die in their arms because it was attacked by a larger dog, hawk or some other wild animal I have done a 180. True your dog was able to get out of harm’s way because of the door but it would have not been in harm’s way if the door was not there. Yours is not the only yorkie that loves freedom. They ALL do. But it is our responsibility to make sure that we allow them that freedom in a SAFE environment. IMO, it is not a matter IF your dog might be harmed, it is a matter of WHEN your baby is hurt. You will not find a more caring, knowledgeable and experienced group of people that you have access to on this site and if everyone is telling you that you are doing something that could be dangerous to your dog you had better listen. Some folks are very polite about how they will give you their opinion while others will take a more direct approach.

Which leads to my 2nd rant. The response of go get a cat was, IMO, completely uncalled for. Tell this person they are being careless. Tell them their actions could lead to the death of their baby. I agree with you 100%. But to tell someone who loves their dog that they are not capable or do not deserve to have a dog (again not the words used but the implication is there) is just downright mean. I have so much respect for the people who have replied to this thread but when I see responses like that it makes me cringe. I understand (because I have done it many times myself) that things are said (or typed) in the heat of the moment. I was glad to see that the person who said to get a cat was then able to reply with good advice and a good suggestion on how to deal with the problem.

Kudos to the all the replies that give the OP advice on how to handle this. Hopefully she will be able to see that everyone on this site is passionate about not only the well being of their own but the well being of ALL yorkies. The compassion and giving that I have not only seen but experienced from all the people here is special.

[lilyorkiemilo]

Im sorry but I have to agree that the doggie door is a bad idea unless the pup is supervised which I know you said you cant do. This is the play pen that I bought for my newest pup and it comes in different sizes and I LOVE it!! Amazon I am able to leave the house knowing that I will not come home to a mess but most importantly I know that Armani is SAFE. My breeder used it also. I know you feel that some people may have given you a rude response but people have their own opinions and you just have to take the advice given and in the end make your own decision. Good luck and I hope you find a solution that keeps your pup safe and your floors clean lol

[Wylie's Mom]

This is the Iris Pen I used when Pfeiffer was a puppy: Amazon

[Salfies13]

Let's clear this up, because even others can see that this is completely unproductive.

The sarcastic, rude, condescending, name-calling is all internet bullying in my book. I'm not here to fight anyone, and neither should anyone else. We are losing sight of what this forum was built for. This is a place to offer and receive advice on the one thing we all have in common: our dogs. We are all on the same team here--we're Yorkie lovers. I don't understand how those lines got so blurred from my post.

I mentioned in my original post that I don't need responses regarding my decision to use a doggie door. This was said because this is my very real situation at the moment. This is what I have to do. I don't know how to say it any other way. This post isn't even really about the doggie door. It's about having a dog that is hesitant to go outside to pee. Criticizing and harassing me about not wanting dog pee in the house is irrelevant.

I'm sorry that I am not meeting your standards for being a pet owner. There are a lot of ways to describe what being a pet owner means. We are all not perfect. We live and we learn. I understand some of you have miles of experience over me - that is the general reason why I come to seek advice. I am sorry if my request to hold back any anti-doggie door comments made you think that I was only looking to entertain positive comments. What I wasn't looking for, but somehow found here, was a couple of people aggressively exerting an opinion with intimidation. I have not played into your same game, and I won't. I will not be part of something that fosters an environment where women are torn down with slander, especially on the internet.

Honestly, I really am disappointed in the YT community at the moment, and will not return. I am sorry to the other readers and the admins that have wasted their time reading and following this string. I really hope that others will not be as discouraged as I am, and I hope the general attitude of this forum moves forward with more positivity than I have experienced.

[Salfies13]

Thank you for the suggestions with the pen. I am most definitely going to purchase one. I appreciate the time and effort you and others have put into finding links for these products.

I hope you have a good day.

[ColesMommy01]

OP I get that you only wanted positive responses with resolutions including using the doggy door but unfortunately I just can't think of any. Your pup is scared to use his doggy door for whatever reason(could be the bigger dogs or something else outside).

Is leaving him in an expen out of the question? That way he could relieve himself in a designated area and not be able to get into mischief(if he ever does) while you're not home to supervise. The mess would be contained.

I'm not going to lecture you on using a doggy door, different strokes different folks, but I do want to tell you this: My previous neighbours had a husky mix, one day their dog dug under our shared fence and came into our yard. Anything could have happened if my dogs were out unsupervised especially with a husky's high prey drive and yorkies known for being territorial.

Also, unfortunately or fortunately,depending on how you look at it, this is an internet forum. You can't tell someone what they can or cannot post as long as it's within the rules/on topic whether or not we agree with what's being said.

I hope you're able to come up with a solution that works for all three of you. Woops! Wylie's Mom beat me to the punch!