Expert: Sandra Case, MEd, CPDT - 10/14/2008

Question
Greetings.

I am certainly desperate because my little pinscher of 2 years has some behaviour that we are not able to correct.

First of all, he is always quite nervous. When we go to the street for having a walk with him, we can not put him the leash inside the house because he then urinates of excitament. We have to bring him down to the street and wait him for urinating on a tree or something. Then we can put him the leash.

For this reasen we call an ethologist that explained us some advices, because he is very warm with us (so much, on excess) and so, but we were unable to solve this problem. We tried with castration, but the problem was not solved and, to make things worse, has became more aggressive with people that he don't knows...

We have made our mind about these problems... but a very annoying problem that we can not solve is that the urinates and defecates inside home when we don't see him. With us near him, he does not urinates/defecates inside home, but when he is alone (sometimes, very frequently) he does. As well, sometimes when we are in home but we can not see him because we are in another room, he does the same. Note that almost always is around the same place.

We have recently moved to another house and we had the hope for this behauviour to disappear with the change, but he has return to the same habit.

We are quite desperate. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks a lot in advance.

Answer
The excitement/submissive urination problem may be related to, but isn't the same thing as the housetraining issue you have. They are two separate problems. You can, of course, take him right outside to get his leash on rather than all the way to the street. It's a little safer and if he urinates a bit on the grass, no big deal. If you make an issue of it, it becomes more likely to happen, because he will be more stressed in those situations.

For the in the house problem, the only advice I have is strict supervision, and management when you cannot supervise. A dog who is urinating and deficating all over the house has no business being loose in the house unsupervised. If he's not being left alone for long periods, you might want to crate train him - or get an xpen with a lid (Min Pins are wonderful jumpers) and dog bed. and if you need to, get an easily cleanable square of vinyl flooring to go underneath it. You might also include a litter box, so he has an "approved" place to go if you are away. If you are unable to supervise, this is where he should be. This is also where he should eat (most dogs don't like to eliminate where they sleep and eat). Use baby gates and shut doors to limit him to the parts of the house where you can keep an eye on him, and get him outside as soon as he starts sniffing. Most dogs don't see far parts of the house (like bedrooms or hidden areas behind furniture as part of their "den" so it seems like a good place to use for elimination. You might even tether him to you (leash hooked around your waist or to a belt-loop) to make sure he's not out of your sight. You can't stop behavior you don't see.

This is a common problem with little dogs, because they are small and fast, and don't leave big puddles, it may not be noticed right away. Clean his favorite "spots" with a good enzymatic cleaner - really let it soak in and sit for a while.

The nervousness, and to a degree the submissive urination, can be helped by good, positive training, and daily training sessions. Be a good leader. Set clear rules and routines. Don't go overboard with unearned petting and attention. Dogs who know what the rules are, and what to expect are less generally anxious, and so they are less likely to go over the top in situations which worry them.

Sandy Case MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com