Thread: Please Help Me!
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Old May 27th, 2010, 11:38 AM
MyBirdIsEvil's Avatar
MyBirdIsEvil MyBirdIsEvil is offline
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I'd like to start with this:

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She started bashing her head against the door and screaming. We had been warned that some dogs get upset, and to wait it out, but we were afraid she would hurt herself, so we let her out, and she settled down. After that, she refused to go into the crate again, no matter what kind of treat we put in there. So much for that idea.
Did you research how to introduce her to the crate? You did it incorrectly and that's your issue here.

You can't just stick the dog in the crate because they're not used to it. You need to slowly introduce it by allowing them to go in on their own and giving treats.
You should make feeding time in the crate (with the door open) so they get used to being in there during feeding time.
Only after the dog is completely comfortable with going in and out of the crate and sleeping in it and eating in it with the door open should you lock them in.
Look at it from her eyes. It was a brand new item and you just put her in there and locked the door. She didn't know what was going on so she freaked out.
And then we get to the next part where you messed up: You let her out because she was throwing a fit.
Well, now she knows she'll get let out if she throws a temper tantrum (it was pretty unlikely she would have become seriously injured). So if you ever do decide to introduce the crate again you're working against that. You should NEVER let the dog out when they throw a tantrum (unless they actually do injure themselves) because they're training you to let them out when they want out. You wait until they've been quiet for at least a minute and then let them out.

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but we got her a standard hard crate, as our friend told us that she would require a hard crate to keep her in if she decided she didn't want to stay there.
You don't know that because you didn't try the soft sided one first. If she was already comfortable with it she may not have tried to get out. It really depends on the dog. I do know people that use soft sided crates with no issues. So if she's already comfortable with that you may want to try it.
She is less likely to soil the crate she's already comfortable with also because it's sort of a den to her. Dogs don't like to soil their sleeping area.

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Then, all of a sudden, she started peeing on the rugs in our living room. We would come downstairs in the morning, and find a huge wet spot - almost always on the same rug. So we removed the offending rug, and she was okay again for another couple weeks, then she moved on to another rug - still in the living room.
I do have to ask if she's fixed. It is a possibility that she's marking and it is more common in unspayed females, though it does happen with spayed females also.
Spay incontinence, as cassiek mentioned, is not that uncommon also.

I also would like to mention that incontinence issues are a fairly common thing in adult female labs. Do you ever notice her pee in her sleep or anything?
The urinalysis may not have picked up on the issue she's having. Do you know every single test that the vet did? There are some kidney issues that definitely may not have been picked up by the vets tests.

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Then last night, right after we gave her dinner, which follows our daily walk, she squatted in the dining room, right in front of my husband, and exactly centered over three oriental rugs, and emptied her bladder, soaking all three. He of course told her that peeing in the house was not okay (in a soft, stern voice - we never yell at her or hit her with a newspaper or anything) and took her outside.
This is not an expected thing for her to do if she's already been through potty training and can hold it. Most dogs after having gone through potty training will at least go toward the door and squat. You mention it was after her eating, so I kind of wonder if the extra stuff in her belly pressing on her bladder caused her not be able to hold it for some reason.

I notice you haven't mentioned her pooping in the house anymore. Usually if it's strictly a potty training issue, as in the dog doesn't understand to go outside, you will have at least some accidents other than just peeing. And she seems to be holding her bowels overnight, no? It's just the bladder issues? So that kind of leads me to believe you're looking at some kind of medical issue here.
Peeing after a long walk and a meal isn't real surprising when incontinence issues arise, because the the long walk can wear the muscles a bit and make it harder for them to hold it...then along with the food in her belly pressing on her bladder...you see what I'm getting at?

I would definitely try some kind of crate training again. Do try the soft sided crate first, she may be just fine with it and not destroy it. If she has trouble with trying to get out, only then would I try to introduce the hard sided crate again.
If she soils her crate then you know you definitely may be looking at a medical issue.

And I would keep nagging the vet about the bladder issues (sometimes it takes a lot of nagging for them to look into doing other tests) and maybe talk about going to a specialist.

Overall it sounds like you've been doing ok as far as training and at 4 she should have caught on and been able to hold it for a long time. That's why I'm thinking she just CAN'T hold it for some reason and the vet needs to figure this out.
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