Chester...meet Zoe. CHESTER! BAD DOG! (potty related) Here’s a little background info: We adopted Chester at a little over 5 months old from a local breeder. He has never been crate trained, but was kenneled at night (5pm to 5am) and was free to move about as he pleased for the rest of the day. For the two months we have had him, Chester was set up a kennel space similar to what he was accustomed to at the breeder, but we exercised more control over his movements outside his kennel during the day. He is walked regularly in the morning, afternoon, evening, and at night just prior to us going to bed. He is also fed at set intervals in the morning, afternoon, and at night. For two months, he was reliable in going potty outside, although accidents do/did happen. Overall, he could be counted upon to hold it for a good length of time (maximum 10 hrs.) We said our "No's" when appropriate, and praised heavily when doing his business outside. Enter Zoe. A 10 week old yorkie female. Chester now almost 7 months old. Ever since her arrival, Chester has been going potty (#1 and #2, #2 mostly) uncontrollably in his kennel space and even managed to get it on himself. His stool is very soft, mostly watery and diarrhea-like. There have been no big changes in his diet as we alternate between two flavors of Nutro puppy food. Although, we recently have had to add some brown rice to it to entice Chester to eat his food. He has become rather inactive and shies away from us. We can understand the time needed to adjust to a new dog. My wife and I take great care in showering him with more attention and love and praise to make sure that Chester knows that we still care for him and should not be threatened by the new pup. Although he has gotten better emotionally, we can see that Chester isn't fully adjusted yet, which we know takes time. However, his potty habits have progressively gotten worse since the introduction of Zoe. He went from holding it reliably overnight each night over a 2 month period to pottying 5 times (all #2's) in his kennel space overnight in a span of 3 days. In this case, some stools were soft, but still solid. Some stools were watery and diarrhea-like. Should we be concerned that his stools are so soft and that he goes so frequently all of sudden? Is this attributed to jealously of Zoe or something different that we need to address? Your help would be greatly appreciated. TIA! |
In addition to his inactivity, he seems to be depressed and does not want anything to do with Zoe. |
The soft poop especially watery might mean he is sick and maybe that is why he is acting the way he is. |
First off, how long have you had Zoe? For the most part it sounds like he's being territorily about HIS kennel, but at the same time it's concerning because dogs don't like to mess their dens. I would take him to the vet just to be safe. As for the emotional problems I wouldn't worry too much, he'll adjust. When we got our rat terrier a year ago our beagle was NOT happy, she pouted, sulked and even attacked baby Yuri a couple times. Dogs can be very jealous creatures. It'll work out in the end, though, mine are the best of friends now. Keep us updated. Deirdre |
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It may simply be emotional....he is terribly upset about his new baby sister. I'd say he's acting depressed....because he is depressed about the new addition. Be sure to give lots of attention to Chester, much more than you are showing Zoe. Chester will adjust but it will take some time. |
Sounds like he might be a bit stressed too about the new addition. The same thing happened to our older guy when we broought the little one home..it was the second night and he went all over his crate which he hadn't done in 2 years. He was so stressed out about her being here..constantly whinning..it was horrible. After about a week it stopped and he's been fine since... *knock on wood* Good Luck! |
rusty our lab was 7 years old when we got Tucker. He started peeing all over the house and it drove me crazy. He didn't like being knocked off his pedistill, and was not happy with the new addition. They have finally become best friends. You may just need to start over with the potty training, as though you just got him. Good luck. |
Thanks everyone for your responses so far!! We’ve had Zoe for 5 days now. Forgot to mention that we’re currently separating the two in separate ex pens since he attacked her several times. He has even began whining at night now even though he’s never done this. Zoe wines and cries every night since we’ve had her, which we know is normal. Could he now be pottying in his play pen because we’re telling Zoe in front of him ‘go potty’ in the house on her pee pads? Or is it out of jealousy or because ‘if she can do it so should I’ How can we decrease the depression? He has not wagged his tail for days and his ear droops and he doesn’t even want to look at us. Should we resume his regular activities of walking to the park everyday so that his life feels more normal? Should we start formal dog training to help us with housebreaking and perhaps increase his self esteem for himself? Also, what should we do if he attacks Zoe again? Last time he did this, we put him in a time out box and he just whined and pottied all over himself. Was it a bad idea to make him feel like he was in trouble because of the new pup? Should we put out pee pads in his den at the moment or will this encourage the pottying in the house? We do not want him to potty in the house since we know he can hold it (in the past) |
Bless his heart...When I brought Cheri into Chanels life - I made SURE I doubled the attention for Chanel because I didn't want her feeling replaced....Your little boy may be feeling really insecure and I would just try to train him as you were - but not put so much pressure on him. It can take them a few months to adjust to a new puppy - He sure does sound depressed....and YES do everything you normally did - he is feeling really stressed due to the changes... as far as 'fighting'....I know when Chanel was upset at first that we had another puppy - I would hold them BOTH together - just talk to them and kiss them ALOT - eventually Chanel realized Cheri wasn't a threat to her and they are best friends now. It sounds like you are really trying - but I would try to relax a little and just enjoy them - the training will come....but I would never punish him for being upset at the new puppy. I just want to hug him....:( |
Sorry...one more thing ...please take my post for what it was - I am NOT a trainer so when I said possibly relaxing a bit with the yorkies - remember - that came from someone who puts their emotional being first - AND training followed..... When I got my 2nd yorkie - my biggest concern was keeping my 1st girl from being sad or stressed. So that's why I said what I said. Hearing about his ears being down and him acting depressed sounded so sad... that IF I were you - I'd try to make things a bit more fun for him - and include the puppy if you can. There are NO BAD DOGS !! Some can take longer to train and have set backs - but they really can't help it. He sounds like his little nose is out of joint :( and I would shower attention on him to make him feel better - but as I said - this is only MY opinion. GOOD LUCK ! |
I too believe that the #2 is due to being very stressed over the new addition. I am not sure that x-pening them in the same room is a good idea. Since Chester was there first and has earned his position in the "pack", could you perhaps keep him x-pened in your bedroom and keep Zoe where you used to keep Chester? Sleeping with you is a privledge and may make Chester feel more secure. Also, I think you need to speak to a vet or a trainer on how to deal with the fighting issue. Dogs have to (must) establish a hierarchy in the "pack". Part of doing that is showing dominance and keeping the new "guy" in place. So breaking up a fight is not always a good thing. Of course you want to supervise the fighting so that no one gets seriously hurt. But fighting is almost a necessity and should not necessarily be curttailed. Chester's inability to establish his "pack" position may be causing part of the stress. I know there are right ways and wrong ways to go about allowing the dogs to fight and clearing the air. It also may take several times, before things calm down, so you do want to talk to a specialist (like your vet or a trainer) about it and make sure that you take the right approach. |
I forgot to say, that it's not always about paying special attention and making sure that chester gets plenty of love and affection. What you need to do is make sure that Chester feels secure in his "position" in the pack. Since he was there first, he should get priority in everything. You should feed him 1st, you should let him up on your lap 1st and even let him on your lap and Zoe on the side of your lap, you should let Chester out the door 1st and zoe last. Chester may value certain areas as his territory, more deeply, especially the room where is x-pen is, since he spends alot of time there. These are areas that you want to keep in mind when you let Zoe enter those areas or be in those areas. Chester is going to protect those areas more vehemently! And when he can't protect them, because he is locked up that is going to stress him out more. So keep in mind that, you need to be doing all that can be done to make Chester continue to be the "top" dog. |
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