"Pee Boy"

[twruble]

Hi all!

I have come looking for advice on our problem child "Kirby". He is an 8mth old chihuahua who we got at 12 weeks. He was initially purchased as a playmate and compaion for our other chi, 10 mth old Eddie.

Now Kirby has never had much self confidence for some reason even though we give him as much attention as his older albeit much smaller "big brother" Eddie. We went through some issues when he first came to the house with housetraining and Eddie regressing to the point where they both peed everywhere. We quickly had them both neutered as we thought perhaps a little bit of competition and marking of territories.

While Eddie has since gone back to his outside ways, we cannot get Kirby to stop peeing in the house. As a matter of fact he has been nick named Pee Boy out of sheer frustration. No matter how often we take him outside, he will still pee in the house. Not in one area, but anywhere and everywhere.

He has been to the vet's to check him out for a bladder infection. Vet suggested instead that he has very low self esteem and is a very submissive dog. I agree seeing as Kirby can be guaranteed tp pee when he is scared but he also does so when he is happy/excited. My leg has been victim upteen times to a good shower when I get home from work and also out of the blue when he just walks on over to where I am sitting and lets it rip. Scolding only goes to making him more shakey and nervous and you guessed it, peeing again.

The constant peeing has taken its toll on the family with everyone wanting to get rid of him except for me. While I do have my days where I am ready to give up on him, I realize that his problems will also make him more prone to going from owner to owner and I don't want to see that happen because he is a sweet little guy.

This pup however will pee himself, pee the bed, pee on me, pee 10 minutes after he has gone outside, pee if he hears a loud noise, pee if he is cornered and so on.

It seems as of late that the dogs are getting treated differently because of their good vs. bad behaviors. The kids are even avoiding Kirby because of the constant risk of being peed on or having to clean up his accidents(??) and I'm worried that this will just make Kirby's behavior go from bad to worse.

I'm frustrated big time and need some help!

[Chibi]

Is your other dog mean or aggressive towards him, or intimidating in any way? Did something happen as a puppy to make him so nevous? Do you know if he has been hit at all? I would imagine that when you are calling him "Pee Boy" he can sense your frustration and dissapointment, and that will only make him more nervous.

I think that some dog trainers will specifically work on self esteem issues, submissive urination, housebreaking and other 'problem' behaviours. I would suggest finding a dog trainer in your area that you trust and working with them - if that won't help, perhaps a Behaviorist? I would suspect that either the trainer or your vet would need to refer you to a Behaviorist.

Don't give up on the little guy! He is nervous and wants so desperately to make you smile and love him. It's just a big scary world when you are a third of the size of your average housecat.

[twruble]

Oh we don't call him pee boy to his face. We call him by his name.

And yes, Eddie is aggresive in a spoiled kind of way. He always wants what Kirby has and will try to steal it. Or, if he is sitting with one of us, will make a fuss sometimes if Kirby tries to as well. Other times they will get along famously and play and eventually fall asleep together in the dog bed. There is a significant size difference between them though. Where Eddie is 3.8lbs, Kirby is 8lbs.

Kirby is also the only dog that I have ever seen who will wag his tail even though it is down between his legs. The self esteem is next to nill and so I always try to do things with him one on one with no Eddie in the room, or else let Kirby go first when it comes to something that is happening with both dogs.

If the peeing is a behavioral issue, is this something that we can fix with another dog (who has obvioulsy taken the lead dog status) in the house and if so, how?

Thanks!

[Frenchy]

One of my dog is also very submissive (but doesn't have pee issues) and he's also my first dog (Bailey) as an adult . What I do for his confidence "boost" is I feed him first and when it's time for treats , even if he stays behind the others , he gets the treat first. Also , I think you should ignore him when you come in the house , wait about 10-15 minutes before you talk / pet him. Never yell in his presence , he needs a calm environment ... I'm sure others will come and give you better advices , that's all I got for you.

Don't give up on the little guy , I'm sure with the right training techniques , it's going to be alright.

[Chibi]

Your baby just needs a confidence booster. A few things you can do at home is make sure he comes first! First for food, treats, walks, etc. One of the ways an alpha dog asserts his dominance is by eating before all the other pack members, right? So feed Kirby first, and make sure he knows it!
I would suggest talking to a dog trainer, I know a couple of them where I live deal with self esteem issues, and it's not always that expensive.

Also, I found this LINK and it may be helpful to you when working with Kirby at home.