Expert: Alan J Turner, SATS LL1 - 11/17/2006

Question
My dog Casper, a white havanese, is totally deaf, 11.5 yrs old, and 9 lbs. He's been with me since he was about 10 weeks old. I also have another havanese named Clyde, who is 15 lbs, and 8 yrs old, and hears perfectly.
I didn't realize Casper was deaf for some time. I think his overall dog IQ is quite low for a dog, due to his being deaf from birth and not getting sufficient auditory stimulation. He knows to relieve himself outside when I put him in his run. However, I am not sure he knows NOT TO DO IT IN THE HOUSE any longer.
He is quite high strung, has OCD, and is very neurotic. Regardless, I love him dearly.
Housebreaking went fine as long as I kept him crated when I was out, and overnight. He liked his crate. That is old news tho; I haven't used it in years. Pretty hard when there are 2 kids demanding to have the little dog in bed with them.
I keep both of them locked in my kitchen when I go out, with their beds, toys and water. I'm out usually a maximum of 4 to 5 hours. The kitchen is large.
Lately, I've been coming home after 4 hours and find that casper has urinated in the kitchen.
I'm going to be starting a new job that will keep me out of the house for 8 hrs, and wonder what to do about this situation. I'm really tired of mopping my floor daily.
How can I remedy this siutation? Must I crate them again (they hate it now) - or do you have any other suggestions.
I should also mention that the vet prescribed a nighttime tranquilizer for Casper; as he gets very anxious and hyper at bedtime.

Any ideas you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

marilyn

Answer
Dear Marilyn,
Thanks for the questions.

How do you know which dog is eliminating inside?

Dogs eliminate inside for many reasons - medical health; pre-learned areas; pre-soiled scented areas; insufficient access; anxiety; marking behavior; submissive urination ; excitement urination; fear elimination; attention-seeking elimination, incomplete house training; (and maybe some other reasons that escape me this moment).

When a previously- house-trained dog starts eliminating inside, it's highly unlikely that the dog "just forgot" about house training. Either the dog was not really house trained (i.e. always had occasional accidents) or something else is contributing to the behavior. You must determine the root cause in order to move forward.

The first step is to rule out any contributing medical issues (medications, illness, infections, et cetera). Take Casper to your vet with the primary goals of identifying or ruling out medical contributors to this behavior.

Every time Casper eliminates on the floor, it's money-in-the-bank for perpetual accidents. Confinement training is the route to go. Visit http://ddfl.org for instructions about slowly introducing a dog to a crate.  

If Casper always had accidents inside, follow the house training guide as if he were a pup. Visit http://www.howsbentley.com to download your free guide.

Happy Training!
AT