Hi new here and question

[Jennyms319]

Originally Posted by TR8

pretty sure shes got an overactive bladder.
She doesnt hide from me anymore I guess thats step 1 lol
Still pees quite a bit though, she even squats down. Thats why I had thought she was doing it on purpose, if shes laying on the couch or in bed i can look at her and if she begins to raise a leg I know I HAVE TO LOOK AWAY immediately or there will be a mess!
I had dismissed the over active bladder idea before because of the way she seems to anticipate it I thought maybe she was doing it all on purpose because she hadnt been taught to control herself before, and thats why i started scolding her for it which in turn made her scared of me instead of excited. And really helped nothing if not made it worse.
But, at least she will stick around me now and not pee out of fear as much as before. As I said before though, i never physically hurt the dog so I dont think it will be too hard to fix the timidness as she really has no reason to fear other than loud noises lol

Well now that is isn't so scared of you you could try keeping her on a leash next to you. I would keep treats in my pocket and reward like crazy take her out often and make sure you reward when she pottys where she is supose to. I would think tht if she is lifting her leg that is marking and I have always heard that marking has nothing to do with having a full bladder. Someone else may know more about this. Are you cleaning the areas that she is marking with more than a detergent? I would clean with soap and water and then with vinagear this is what i did with my silky. Some household cleaners will make them go back to the spots.

Good luck and thanks for the update. Just remember to ignore the accidents and clean very good. REward Reward Reward

[margaritaville]

Originally Posted by TR8

pretty sure shes got an overactive bladder.
She doesnt hide from me anymore I guess thats step 1 lol
Still pees quite a bit though, she even squats down. Thats why I had thought she was doing it on purpose, if shes laying on the couch or in bed i can look at her and if she begins to raise a leg I know I HAVE TO LOOK AWAY immediately or there will be a mess!

If it is overactive bladder she NEEDS to see the vet. I believe you said she had not been spayed-that may also be the problem-a possible uterine infection or a bladder infection.
As for when she is laying on the couch or bed and she begins to raise her leg-are you sure she doesn't want her belly scratched. When we approach our female she raises her leg and we ask her, Do you want your belly scratched?
But all in all I think a trip to the vet is in order for this little girl.
ps we would love to see pictures!

[gracielove]

The dog is afraid! Get down on the floor and see what the world looks like from down there! NO, it has never been trained right but it is not the dogs fault it is the owners fault! Scaring the dog more is only making the matter worse. It needs positive reinforcement. I doubt that this will happen with the mind set that has been demonstrated here. If you cannot relate to the little dog's fear and distress you are the last one to try to deal with the problem. Your girlfriend should do the dog a favor and find a new home for it or a new boyfriend.

[LunasMomma]

Sounds like you and the fiancee need to hire a professional trainer to come to your home and work with you on these issues. Training with consistency, patience, and love can go a long way toward making a bad situation turn around.

[Bitsy]

Originally Posted by gracielove

The dog is afraid! Get down on the floor and see what the world looks like from down there! NO, it has never been trained right but it is not the dogs fault it is the owners fault! Scaring the dog more is only making the matter worse. It needs positive reinforcement. I doubt that this will happen with the mind set that has been demonstrated here. If you cannot relate to the little dog's fear and distress you are the last one to try to deal with the problem. Your girlfriend should do the dog a favor and find a new home for it or a new boyfriend.

I felt the same way at first...wasn't even sure if this was a real situation. However...it sounds like he IS trying to empathize with the dog instead of yelling at it. Hopefully, for the dogs sake, he has taken all of this advice to heart and is truly trying to be a better pet owner.

[TR8]

update for you all. Shes still scared of me until I get to her level and kind of coax her over to me. Its pretty tiring trying to do the same thing everyday, it dosnt seem to be a problem if im staying home. only if I leave and come back will she pee on my stuff. I do my best to keep my voice in a higher tone, however its nearly impossible to do it every time.
And yeah im sure when she lifts her leg on the couch, bed or my clothes when I approach she does not want me to scratch her belly. she looks scared.
If I notice this behavior as I approach I HAVE TO immediately look away and re approach down to her level or there will surely be a spot on whatever she is laying on.
It seems to be a problem only with me the dog has. My fiance can pretty well do anything talk any way at all and the dog will still be happy. I have to walk on egg shells to keep it happy.
Walks do help also though but the last few days have been very cold and windy and I cant get the young one to go out on walks in the wind with me. But that will change soon im sure it seems better today already

[TR8]

Also another reason for the fear I have been thinking about is. When I was first around her I NEVER watched where i was walking I would trip on her daily because she had a habit of following behind me and darting for some reason between my legs!
She could possibly think that every time I accidently bumped into her or tripped on her that I was being agressive?
that being said I dont believe any of these times were very forcefull and certainly not on purpose. But it has happened quite a few times in the past, but I do suppose I wouldnt need to trip very hard on a dog so small for it to think I was trying to hurt it.

This has not happened in months that I have tripped over her, I just feel it could have been a contributing factor and part of the reason progress will continue to be a little slow

[gidget529]

You might want to try a Victoria Stillwell trick for approaching a fearful dog. For some reason, a dog w fear issues can get freaked out when you walk towards them looking at them. She suggests walking backwards towards the dog and then turning around to face it when you are right up to it. She gets very good results w this method. Eventually, they get used to you approaching them and not hurting them, and you can ease into walking over to them facing them.

Good luck w this. I do believe dogs do respond eventually.

[TR8]

thank you that may be an easier approach. It seems that once the initial approach happens, and I can approach her and be gentle. She feels not threatened.
For example, I came back from the gym and taking my step daughter swimming. Upon coming home the dog peed on my housecoat as I entered my room. I was at this moment Ill admit frusterated and just said get she hid from me until I cleaned up and re approached her in a kind way. She has been following me since and right now even is sitting in my lap.

So she remains fearful at first but seems to have some trust liking for me now. Which feels better than scaring "scaring the piss" out of a dog literally 40 times smaller than me lol I dont really want to feel like a bully to a 6 pound dog

[Jennyms319]

I'm sorry it looks like you are really trying to mend this realtionship between you both. Maybe you could practice with her by comming in and out of your front door and giving her a really good treat each time. Do this over and over again. Also I can't remember without going back to the begining of this thread but have you tried crating. Maybe keep her crated in the living room so when you get home she will feel protected and then give her a treat before you open the door and if she does not pee give her a treat. But don't give her a treat if she pees. Also she may not pee on her own bedding if she were in her crate.

[Jennyms319]

Without making this too long I will breifly tell you about a situation with our rescue dog. When we brought our rescue dog home She did fine for the first 2 weeks but one weekend my son had compnay over and they were very loud and did alot of slamming doors. From that moment on Coral was scared of Seth and would be very aggresive toward only him. It wasn't until a year later that she would let him pick her up. But even then he never could he walk up to her . She would come and sit by him and he could pet her. Sometimes it takes a really long time to fix problem.

[TR8]

this dog barks at company especially men although quite often at women as well. She always lets me pick her up though. and Never barks at me. I get a growl if shes trying to hide a treat occasionally but never a bite and never a bark.
We did used to have parties occasionally and when people were over, being loud. she would go nuts for the first while. later she would calm down though.

I have not tried keeping her in her crate as it is pretty small. And I want her to have constant access to fresh water and a bowl of food.
I have sectioned her off to certain parts of the house though. We have no carpet, so the floor peeing isnt too too bad. I try to keep her in the kitchen when im gone with her food and her crate. We did the kitchen in ceramic tile and a bit of pee on that is no big deal.
Its just she sleeps in bed with us and when I wake up in the morning I often forget to do that and leave her to sleep on the bed, upon returning I have to be extremely careful to avoid having to wash my bedding daily

At least there is some progress and she seems happy except for when I initially approach her upon returning home.

My main concern was I guess that it was making me feel terrible that I scared her so much. I didn't want to make such a small animal so scared and miserable. I have made progress in that, but I cant help but get frustrated at times with her.

But thanks for everyone who took the time to take me seriously
The advice seems to be working slowly but surely
Thanks again for the suggestons