Hi everyone,
Dream, a 3 year old male (neutered in Feb 2010) joined our family a week ago and has been doing very well adjusting from life with his breeder to a family home with two toddlers & a 11 year old spayed Basenji female. We're working on learning how to sit, not pull, etc., but the big thing to date has been peeing/marking in the house. It's been a couple of times each day, mostly on carpet/rug…we have bought a belly band and have been using that for the past 2 days but he is still wetting that even though he is let out quite often and goes consistently out there. My question is, have people found belly bands to be effective and how do we phase it out over time? We have a water spray bottle on hand just in case he goes after the kids stuffed animals (while the kids have them in their arms) and plan to spend time with the "diaper" off when we don't get distracted by kids/work, etc. and spray him if he tries to pee in the house. Dream's breeder recommended trying the belly band as he is probably trying to assert ownership of the house over Vi and any remaining scent of Tucker (who passed just over six months ago). He did not mark at their home so this is new behaviour. Any recommendations?
Have you had him checked for a UTI? Stress can trigger them.
Is he intact? Marking maybe?
What are you using to clean up the pee he has marked?
He was checked out by Deb's vet before coming to us and was neutered just over a month ago so it's most likely marking as it's only a small amount vs. the full on pees he has once outdoors. We are using Nature's Miracle to clean up the pee and he has not hit the same spot twice (yet). 2x family room carpet/furniture, 1x hardwood family room, 2x living room rug, 1x den rug, 1x dog fleecy pad in prime sunny spot, 1x guest bathroom rug. So different from Tucker, who would NEVER do his business while in the house or even on our property unless there was no choice!
I would certain consider a UTI… I have never used a belly band, so can't comment on that.
Do you know from the breeder if this behavior is typical of him? Was he a house dog before or a kennel dog?
Even if it is not a "full pee", doesn't mean it isn't a UTI. If a dog is normally very clean they will do their best not to soil their environment. Moving to a new house with new people is stressful. I would get him checked for a UTI just to be sure.
i would first and foremost check for a UTI.
After that I would start NILIF (nothing in life is free) and a makeshift shutdown (http://www.squidoo.com/TwoWeekShutdown#module20977592). I dont neccessarily believe in the whole "alpha" theory of dog training, but I do believe that if a dog is given too much freedom right away, he will not learn his place within the home and will be trying to assert his rank, which may be why he is marking.
I personally would use an aversive (like a water bottle/loud noise etc) when he is doing it and distract him to something else. NILIF and the 2 week shutdown should also help him get acclimated to your home.
Keep him in one room when your gone, when you home, keep him with you, put a leash on him attached to you.
That way, you can keep an eye on him. Take him out every 2 hrs with treats and praise when he goes.
Keep all other rooms closed off, either shut the doors or use babygates. That is what I do.
My dogs are housebroken, but I keep rooms babygated off, so they are in the main house area.
I think you're right about too much freedom at once…most rooms are babygated but with 2 kids and me trying to work from home this week to ease the transition, Dream's gotten more access to "real estate" than I had intended for the first week. He has kept his crate dry every time he's been in it, whether overnight or for a short time when no one is in the house during the day, so if it were a UTI he wouldn't he also have soiled there?
I agree with the advice in the previous posts. I think that this is not unusual for a mature Basenji moving into a new home especially if there are other dog smells and baby smells.
You say that after using Natures Miracle he doesn't pee in the same place again so that is obviously masking the smell effectively. White vinegar is also a good spray and neutralises the pee odour. You could also spray vinegar on attractive (to him) areas including baby toys etc. this would be quite harmless to the children and would deter him from peeing on those spots. I totally agree with the advice to contain him to one area at first rather than give him free run of the house. A favourite of these dogs is to pee on human's beds so watch that too!! Eventually the habit will disappear - it only requires patient deterrents until he realises that it is indeed his home.
Before I had my own I fostered no end of Basenjis from kennels and met this problem in some, including bitches.
I think I've been trying to acclimatize him too fast as I have this week working from home to get him used to his surroundings & our home. There's usually someone home, but it's not the ones used to handling the B's so I'd hoped to keep him confined to the main living area. We have doublegated the upstairs but will have to close off access and get the 10+ year old long/laundry line out which we used to tie to the pups when training them. The belly band does not seem to deter him much even though it should feel wet to him. The plan is to crate him during the day when no one can supervise, and at night until he's a little more used to everything. Great suggestions and feedback, everyone - it's very much appreciated given we never dealt with it with the first 2 Basenjis…and I thought it might have come up with fosters or other adult dog placements for someone else.
Thanks for your comments & suggestions on this issue! After a little over a week, Dream seems to have settled down and figured out this is "home" now. We have limited his access to most of the house unless leashed with us, and while he is still wearing the belly band when indoors and not crated, he has not peed in it for 3 days now.
Excellent, good job of working with him!
