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Pee EVERYWHERE!!! (vent)
I have an 18 month old male weimarener, and an 8 year old male pomeranian. The pom has been living with my mom for the past 6 months (she gets lonely and enjoys his company) but is back with my husband and I permenantly.
The pom is neutered and the weim is scheduled to be neutered next month. Ever since we brought the pom back, the weim pees all over the house while we're sleeping, and he makes sure to pee on the crate the pom is in. I get it that he's trying to show his dominance over the pom and I'm hoping that it will quit once he's neutered but until then I don't know what to do.
I put the weim in a crate when I go to bed, but every morning he's managed to chew his way out of the crate. I am at my wits end with this dog. He knew the pom from the time he was a puppy, so I don't understand why all of a sudden he is doing this.
The weim is in a collapsable wire crate with a front and side door. I've had to zip tie every joint on the crate to keep the wiem from undoing them, and the side door was zip tied shut, but the weim managed to break those, open the door and get out last night. The front door is literally padlocked shut to keep him from opening it.
I can't close the door to the room his crate is in because #1 he's already damaged the walls with his escape antics and #2 it will get too cold at night with the door closed. He stays in his crate without the padlocks for 9 hours during the day while I'm at work, and doesn't even attempt to get out. But for the 7 hours he's in the crate at night he's trying to escape. His water gets pulled up 3 hours before he gots put away for the night and he has 2 opportunities to go to the bathroom beforehand so its not a bladder control issue.
I'm 8 months pregnant and nesting, so it is repulsive to me to wake up to pee puddles every morning. Do any of you have experience with a similar situation? What did you do to manage it?
Re: Pee EVERYWHERE!!! (vent)
I don't have experience with a similar situation, but I'd suggest making sure you are crating your Weim and your Pomeranian in separate rooms.
Also, what did you do to reintroduce them to living together when you brought the Pom back? Six months is a long time for a dog to have the run of the house without another dog, and then just get thrown back into a situation of living together.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
The crates are in separate rooms. We didn't do anything special to re-introduce them. We weren't thinking there was anything special we should do.
While the dogs might have still "known" each other when you brought the Pom back into your home, they hadn't shared territory in quite a while. It does make a difference.
If you can't shut the door to the room your Weim's crate is in, can you shut the door of the room the Pom's is in? Or is it possible to transition the Weim to sleeping in your bedroom (either crated or on a dog bed, whichever works/you prefer)?
I honestly don't have any advice on how to get him to stop peeing at night other than giving him lots of praise for positive interactions with the Pom, possibly keeping them separated from each other (like with a baby gate) when they're both out, and rotating time and attention. Also, wearing the Weim out completely before bedtime might help (if he's exhausted from lots of exercise, he's not going to try and bust out of his crate). Weims are pretty high energy, so it's possible he's not getting enough stimulation, both physical AND mental.
You might also try a calming collar for him, though I'm not sure of its application in this type of situation.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Ditto all of the above. I have a weim, and we adopted her around 18 months, so I can vouch that they are pretty crazy at that age!
The destroying of the crate makes me think of either boredom or separation anxiety. Weims are "velcro dogs" in the highest degree, so I can imagine it might be hard for him to sleep when he's separated from his humans. Moving the crate to your room and giving him more stimulation during the day to reduce his boredom should help a lot. You could also try crating him with a Kong at night, to add a positive association with going to bed. We always give treats when our dogs go into our crates, so they hop right in.
Also, have you had him vet checked. The peeing could be marking, but it could also be a sign of a UTI or another medical issue. If you haven't already, I'd schedule a check-up ASAP.
GL!
"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past." - Sylvia Plath
I don't have a weim, but ditto PP's advice of more exercise and mental stimulation. From what I can tell, they are active, athletic, and smart dogs. And any dog (regardless of breed) that is bored has the potential to become destructive. Physical exercise as well as mental exercise (training, tricks, games, puzzle toys, etc.) is a great way to fulfill a dog and tire them out.
I also agree with re-introducing the two dogs. Practicing NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) (you can Google it) if you don't already might help a lot. It absolutely made the transition from 1 dog to 2 dogs a breeze for us and has helped with the positive relationship our dogs have with each other and us.
Also, make sure you are cleaning any accidents with an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle. Otherwise, the dog will smell the old pee and think it's ok to pee in that spot again.
You could also try some re-house training. The few times either of my dogs have had housebreaking regression issues, I have gone back to square one, which for me includes crating them (normally they are baby gated into one room of the house), tethering them to me or DH when they are not crated so that we can keep a close eye on them, taking them out more frequently than usual, and praising/treating for any pottying that is done outside. We then slowly increase their freedom back to its normal level.
I didn't know there was a term for the training we use with the dogs. We make them sit for food, petting, and to go outside. But we'll have to integrate it into our playtime as well. Thx for the advice!