Bella and transition

[aweitzm1]

Hi All,


Sorry I have not posted in a while I have been very busy with work and then working with Bella this past week. She is transitioning wonderful. Thumper and her get along real well. I have gotten her to start eating kibble and wet food. No more human food.


She has checked out physically with the vet and insurance kicks in next month. She goes for a dental cleaning on March 11 and will do a CBC Blood Work and Urinalysis.


Three issues I am having and hope you all have some ideas or can keep me from worrying too much


1. Bella does not pee consistently. It seems she will only pee when she wants to and will wait hours upon hours to go. For instance she has not peed at all today. Not even squatted to try. She just hold it which I know is no good. I can take her for an hour walk and she will not go. Some days she will go twice outside or on the pee pad other days not at all.


There is no blood in the urine that I can see and when I press on her tummy there is on obvious pain. I am trying to wait to take her to the vet but I don't know if I should get her in sooner? She is not lethargic and her normal energetic self.


I think she gets very startled and likes privacy to go but since I live in the city with lots of noise she may not be use to it. This is my biggest concern at the moment


2. She had a little diarrhea today and one soft stool.


3. Other issue is she likes to rub up against anything and everything. I think she likes the feel of it. Sometimes she will fall because she leans so far over she can't catch her grip. Thumper gets annoyed when she does it to him. What are some techniques I can use to train her to stop.


Thanks... will post pictures soon

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by aweitzm1

Hi All,


Sorry I have not posted in a while I have been very busy with work and then working with Bella this past week. She is transitioning wonderful. Thumper and her get along real well. I have gotten her to start eating kibble and wet food. No more human food.


She has checked out physically with the vet and insurance kicks in next month. She goes for a dental cleaning on March 11 and will do a CBC Blood Work and Urinalysis.


Three issues I am having and hope you all have some ideas or can keep me from worrying too much


1. Bella does not pee consistently. It seems she will only pee when she wants to and will wait hours upon hours to go. For instance she has not peed at all today. Not even squatted to try. She just hold it which I know is no good. I can take her for an hour walk and she will not go. Some days she will go twice outside or on the pee pad other days not at all.


There is no blood in the urine that I can see and when I press on her tummy there is on obvious pain. I am trying to wait to take her to the vet but I don't know if I should get her in sooner? She is not lethargic and her normal energetic self.


I think she gets very startled and likes privacy to go but since I live in the city with lots of noise she may not be use to it. This is my biggest concern at the moment


2. She had a little diarrhea today and one soft stool.


3. Other issue is she likes to rub up against anything and everything. I think she likes the feel of it. Sometimes she will fall because she leans so far over she can't catch her grip. Thumper gets annoyed when she does it to him. What are some techniques I can use to train her to stop.


Thanks... will post pictures soon

Some dogs can hold it longer then others but there also could be an issue. Does she strain to go and is it a sold stream when she does? You can picked canned pumpkin into her food to help with diarrhea or even constipation just a spoon full and make sure is pure canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling. She could be rubbing up against things to put her scent on them and I'm not sure how you would train to stop that.

[aweitzm1]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Some dogs can hold it longer then others but there also could be an issue. Does she strain to go and is it a sold stream when she does? You can picked canned pumpkin into her food to help with diarrhea or even constipation just a spoon full and make sure is pure canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling. She could be rubbing up against things to put her scent on them and I'm not sure how you would train to stop that.

I don't believe she is straining. She squats and just goes. Sometimes it is a lot meaning she will pee for longer than 10 seconds or other times she squats pees and done in 10 seconds. Not as much as before. Depends if she went that day.


She doesn't look like she is in pain. For instance last night after walking the block 3 times she finally went to the bathroom. I praised her and she was excited and happy no longer sniffing the ground and we went home. Took almost 30 minutes to go to the bathroom. That was her second time that day to go so she did not pee a lot that I could tell but it was dark out.


Last time she held it this long she peed a lot. It went all over the Petco floor because that was where we were. LOL. She waited after our 2.5 mile walk to finally let go when I wasn't paying attention to her in line.

[matese]

Congratulations on your new baby girl. I am so happy you got the puppy of your choice, and happy to know Thumper likes her.

[Britster]

I've known some dogs like this who just.... barely go. There's one dog I walk who only goes pee 50% of the time during the mid-day break. I would keep an eye but it could be like you said -- new environment, busier/louder city, etc. I would say as long as she's going twice a day, she's probably okay.

So happy for you and Thumper!

[aweitzm1]

So frustrated tonight. I walked Bella for an hour by herself with no luck. I came home praised Thumper for being good and gave him a treat thinking this may help her go potty and she sees what happens when she is good. Well I went to use the bathroom myself not 2 minutes later she decided to show me who is boss and pee all over my bed.

I really think she did it out of spite. I never had training issues with Thumper and Boomer so this is all new to me.

I did yell and tell her no. I was just tired, worried and overwhelmed. I just bought some doggy diapers I am now going to put on her for when she roams the house. I just hope I cleaned it up enough with the eliminator that she will not do it again.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by aweitzm1

So frustrated tonight. I walked Bella for an hour by herself with no luck. I came home praised Thumper for being good and gave him a treat thinking this may help her go potty and she sees what happens when she is good. Well I went to use the bathroom myself not 2 minutes later she decided to show me who is boss and pee all over my bed.

I really think she did it out of spite. I never had training issues with Thumper and Boomer so this is all new to me.

I did yell and tell her no. I was just tired, worried and overwhelmed. I just bought some doggy diapers I am now going to put on her for when she roams the house. I just hope I cleaned it up enough with the eliminator that she will not do it again.

I doubt it was out of spite. How long have you had her? Everything is brand spankin' new to her. She came from rescue right? So you don't know much of her background? Maybe she used to be scolding for peeing and is now scared to go at all? Maybe she waited until you left the room because she is scared of going in front of humans for fear of some sort of punishment? Or maybe she never went on leash before. My dads dog Buddy hates going poop on leash because he's used to going out in the yard freely and privately. So when we go camping and he's on leash, he will take *forever* to poop and sometimes hold it all day.

Have you tried walking her WITH Thumper so that she can smell his pee and see him going outside too? Do you have a dog park near by or a fenced in area so she could try to go off leash?

I really think it's just going to take more time. You often need weeks or months before a personality will come out with a new rescue in your house. Diapers won't really solve anything unless a dog has an incontinence problem or something and it's necessary.

[aweitzm1]

Originally Posted by Britster

I doubt it was out of spite. How long have you had her? Everything is brand spankin' new to her. She came from rescue right? So you don't know much of her background? Maybe she used to be scolding for peeing and is now scared to go at all? Maybe she waited until you left the room because she is scared of going in front of humans for fear of some sort of punishment? Or maybe she never went on leash before. My dads dog Buddy hates going poop on leash because he's used to going out in the yard freely and privately. So when we go camping and he's on leash, he will take *forever* to poop and sometimes hold it all day.

Have you tried walking her WITH Thumper so that she can smell his pee and see him going outside too? Do you have a dog park near by or a fenced in area so she could try to go off leash?

I really think it's just going to take more time. You often need weeks or months before a personality will come out with a new rescue in your house. Diapers won't really solve anything unless a dog has an incontinence problem or something and it's necessary.

You are right on so many levels. I don't know much of her history since she is a rescue. I gave her lots of hugs and kisses after I calmed down and said I was sorry to her. I do think she is very private and does not like to be watched when doing her business. I spoke to the Vet and he thinks this is all behavioral issues and not something medical. I tend to agree with him.

I have walked her with Thumper and my dog walker walks them together each day. However, Thumper does not want to wait on her to go potty. He usually likes to do his business and return home. She doesn't seem to care that he will pee and poop even if I praise him. She will go on her own time.

The diapers are only a temporary solution to use when I can't confine her to my kitchen area. I live in a studio apartment and she likes to roam. I am hoping once she becomes fully potty trained they will no longer be needed. Its just to help prevent future mistakes and at night time so she doesn't potty on my bed.

[JennaPenny]

I am by no means an expert; I just wanted to let you know that Chewie is one of those dogs that has never peed OR pooped-except for a handful of times- on a walk. she can hold it for hours, too. She will sometimes go right away, other times wait for a long time and then go to the pee pad. She still has issues, but not nearly as many. The issue that is consistent is RIGHT when waking up. Even with pads out. The thing that's always been strange is it's not a lot, just a little, and always upstairs where hubby doesn't see her. She'll then go straight to the pad and pee a ton about 30 minutes later. She also easily gets startled, and there has been at least twice where she's startled going potty and hasn't gone- usually poopie- for at least 4 hours, sometimes longer. This is when it's obvious she needs to go.

I think you're very correct about startling and privacy. Chewie is one of those dogs.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by aweitzm1

So frustrated tonight. I walked Bella for an hour by herself with no luck. I came home praised Thumper for being good and gave him a treat thinking this may help her go potty and she sees what happens when she is good. Well I went to use the bathroom myself not 2 minutes later she decided to show me who is boss and pee all over my bed.

I really think she did it out of spite. I never had training issues with Thumper and Boomer so this is all new to me.

I did yell and tell her no. I was just tired, worried and overwhelmed. I just bought some doggy diapers I am now going to put on her for when she roams the house. I just hope I cleaned it up enough with the eliminator that she will not do it again.

Dogs aren't vengeful or spiteful...those are human qualities.

If you gave Thumper a treat in front of her hoping she would learn something she should've done earlier...dogs don't learn/train/think in this way either. Some kiddos are notoriously tough to train.

As for the rubbing against things, it sounds to me like she is trying to itch herself. Does her skin look okay? Does she chew/lick her paws or anything...?

[matese]

Have you contacted the foster mom about the peeing, how many times a day did she pee when Bella was with her.

When I lived in NY I lived in an apartment, my girls were walked at 7:30AM before I left for work, 4:30PM when I returned from work, at 10:30PM I only took them curb side for their last pee of the night. So they peed 3 times a day.

Like Britster asked, how long do you have her, and I agree, this is a new way of living for her, new sounds she may not have ever heard before, leash walking may be something new to her. When you walk her do you tell her what she's supposed to be doing, like pee pee or poo poo. If my girls were taking to long because they had to smell every inch of every step they took I would call each one by name (I had 3 girls that I walked together) Kia, make a pee-pee, Kajon make a pee pee or poo poo what ever I was waiting for them to do lol, they would usually make on command lol.

I would not give her free roam of your home until she was 100% potty trained. I know how frustrating and worrisome this has to be on you, but please do not be upset, angry, frustrated, these lil monkeys will sense all this negativity coming from you, may cause them fear making potty time worse. Patience is a MUST with these rescues, there is no know history that comes with them. You must now train her YOUR WAY, she must now learn a new way of living and this will take time. I know you know all of the above, I am just reinforcing what you already know.
This is not your first rodeo with rescues.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by aweitzm1

So frustrated tonight. I walked Bella for an hour by herself with no luck. I came home praised Thumper for being good and gave him a treat thinking this may help her go potty and she sees what happens when she is good. Well I went to use the bathroom myself not 2 minutes later she decided to show me who is boss and pee all over my bed.

I really think she did it out of spite. I never had training issues with Thumper and Boomer so this is all new to me.

I did yell and tell her no. I was just tired, worried and overwhelmed. I just bought some doggy diapers I am now going to put on her for when she roams the house. I just hope I cleaned it up enough with the eliminator that she will not do it again.

Dogs don't work like that with out of spite. Diapers are a really bad idea, it teaches them nothing. You also have to clean them very well after they go in the diaper or they will get urine scald and rashes which could lead to infections. Your best bet would be a play pen that keeps her in a certain area when you can't watch her. Yelling at her after the fact will just confuse her. Are you giving her a treat when she goes in the right place? Giving him a treat just for being good in front of her isn't going to do anything unless he is getting it because he went potty or did say a trick it's just kinda mean to be like oh here is a treat for you but not you.

[rjwalt]

How old is she? The whole walk/relieving themselves thing is a learned behavior. Is it possible she is used to pee pads? Many small dogs are raised using them instead of walks and they just use them at their leisure. Also, do you have a fenced in yard or a portable puppy corral? You may just have to put her out and back away to let her do her business from a slight distance.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by aweitzm1

You are right on so many levels. I don't know much of her history since she is a rescue. I gave her lots of hugs and kisses after I calmed down and said I was sorry to her. I do think she is very private and does not like to be watched when doing her business. I spoke to the Vet and he thinks this is all behavioral issues and not something medical. I tend to agree with him.

I have walked her with Thumper and my dog walker walks them together each day. However, Thumper does not want to wait on her to go potty. He usually likes to do his business and return home. She doesn't seem to care that he will pee and poop even if I praise him. She will go on her own time.

The diapers are only a temporary solution to use when I can't confine her to my kitchen area. I live in a studio apartment and she likes to roam. I am hoping once she becomes fully potty trained they will no longer be needed. Its just to help prevent future mistakes and at night time so she doesn't potty on my bed.

You are looking at big problems if you use diapers. If you don't want her to go on the bed then crate her or put her in a play pen at night.

[Wylie's Mom]

I agree w/ Taylor...I would not go down the diaper road unless you absolutely must.

I have a potty trng guide I can email you (can't post it, it's a pdf file)...if you want it, PM me your email and I'll get it right to you !