Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 10/28/2006

Question
Hi, have read a few of the questions on here and hope i provide enough info for you as i can for you to help me, hope this is not to long winded for you.
I own a 3 year old Rottweiler called J. Ive had him from the age of 5 1/2 weeks. He is always kept in the kitchen and dinning room when im out but has the full run of downstairs when im home. He is crate trained also and is happy to be in his crate all night or for a couple of hours in the day if im home doing something and cannot keep my eye's on him, he has never eliminated in his crate.
The problem of him urinating in the house started when he was just over 12 months old before this he was fully house trained and only had the odd accident when left for long periods. He has been examined by a vet and medically he is very well in health and the vet says this is a behavior problem.
The only time he urinates is when he is left alone in the kitchen, even if i go upstairs for 1/2hr i still come down to find he's eliminated.
He will urinate up the one kitchen cabinet corner, up the bin and in his food bowl and water bowl and even it seems just on the floor. The urination though is only really in 3 or 4 main places and 99% of the time is not full elimination. He has never eliminated in front of me anywhere in the house. The kitchen floor is ceramic tiles if this helps. There was no change in my lifestyle when he started this and no change in his diet.
I have tried to leave him blankets for him to sleep on but he just urinates on these if left out. i also gave him one of my tops i had worn and he just urinated of this too. A radio is left on when im out also for him.
The only change i noticed in him when this started was how protective he was becoming over me or my girlfriend at the time when walking him. Which i will talk about in a bit.
When in the garden he has again about 3 or 4 places he likes to urinate and these are mainly up a garden pot on concrete and at the end of the concrete which drops down to gravel. When being walked he will eliminate every 50 yards or so and this is where other dogs have eliminated, even if he's empty he still cocks his leg.
He will also eliminate even if has had a good walk and then is left alone.
I have been told this is separation anxiety and to ignore him for up to 2 weeks which i did, this seemed to help but not stop the problem but didn't last long, the last thing i want to do is ignore my dog for the rest of his life. Have also tried leaving him the toys filled with food but they dont work for much longer than a couple of hours i have video'd him. I work full time and during the day he is alone for about 8hrs.
The problem with him being over protective started again when he was just over 12 months old before this he would let anyone come near him and would let them stroke him. Since then its just got worse, i have to walk him early in the morning or late at night to avoid contact with other people or dogs. He has always been walked on a lead. If someone was to approach me the first thing he will do is wag his tail but then jump up at the person trying to bite them. If he see's someone he becomes very alert and tries to go straight for them. Also he wont let people he doesn't know in the house and again will jump up trying to bite them. Very good if they are trying to rob the house but no good if they are friend.
Hope you can help, Many Thanks Matt


Answer
Dear Matt,
Thanks for the question. Ignoring your dog is not the answer. From the information you provided, I would not classify this behavior as the result of separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety has four major signals and they occur only in the absence of the people - inside elimination  destructive behaviors directed at entry and exit points, salivation, and excessive vocalization.

J only has one symptom of clinical separation anxiety and that occurs when you are home, but out of the room. In addition, he never eliminates in his crate, which would occur with a dog that has separation anxiety.

In addition, dogs with separation anxiety exhibit the behaviors within the first 10-25 minutes of their peoples' departures. The video you shot when he was entertained by the food-filled toys for a couple of hours rules out separation anxiety.

That doesn't mean that he is not anxious, but it does mean that he is not an example of a dog with clinical separation anxiety.

The diagnosis for his inside elimination would be that he has developed a preference for a particular location - known as substrate preference.

I would suggest starting a program to teach him to ring a bell to indicate that he wants to eliminate outside. Motivating him to want to go outside is done by the use of rewards for ringing the bell.

First you teach him to ring a bell on a string that you hold in your hand. He gets a treat for bumping the bell with his nose. Once he figures this out, you move to the next step. Hang the bell on the door and get him to bump it. Reward each bump with a treat. He gets the treat inside the house at this point, right next to the door.

Once he learns this step - instead of giving him a treat immediately for bumping the bell, you open the door, go outside and give him the treat outside the door.

The next step would be to walk him to the elimination area and deliver the treat there.  Once he is happily running to the elimination area for the treat, you can move to the next step. Do this one in the morning or when you know he needs to eliminate.

He bumps the bell, you open the door, he runs to the elimination area, you give him the cue to eliminate and then you give him the treat.

The idea is that you must give him a reason to want to go outside to eliminate.

Use a clicker to teach the bell bump. Buy the book, Clicking With Your Dog by Peggy Tillman for instructions about using a clicker to target train.

The aggression issue needs to be addressed. Please review the archives of my answers for suggestions ideas about treating the aggression. You will need a local trainer to help. Visit http://www.apdt.com and search for a certified trainer in your area.
Happy Training!
AT