advise please..

[ILuvMyDog]

Okay now I have two questions. First how do I stop my dog from peeing on the floor when she's scared and/or excited. I can't take her anywhere, like for instance my bf's house because she's gets so excited plus nervous about being in a house she's not very familiar with and she pee's little drops everywhere. I don't want her messing up other peoples carpets and floors. I like taking her with me but I hate to because it's embarrassing her peeing on other peoples floors and having to clean up everytime I'm there.

My second question is, my dog has been very spoiled by being able to climb and sleep on the furniture and now that I'm looking to buy my own place I'm trying to break her from sleeping and being on the furniture but it seems impossible. I say "NO" or "GET DOWN" and she'll get down, but soons shes hits the floor she jumps back up. Again I say 'get down' she hops down....2 seconds later she hops back up. We'll do this 30 times in a period of 5-10 minutes...she won't stay down. And when I do get her to stay down I constantly gotta tell her to stay and then she'll sit there and give me those sad puppy eyes and whine and cry the whole time, and tries to slowly sneak up by putting one paw and and slowly tries to make her way on the couch. She knows she's not supposed to be up there but tries to get away with it anyway and "pouts" when she's not up there. As you can see my method of teaching her to stay off furniture is not working does anyone have any ideas that may work? For x-mas I'm getting her her "own" piece of furniture maybe that will work but does anyone have any ideas to teach her furniture isn't made for her to sleep on? Is getting her a doggy bed or chair a bad idea?

Sorry so long but thanks for any advice.

[DiegoDog]

Well dog beds work, if she jumps up, gently remove her from the furnature bring her over to her pillow get her to lay down and give her a treat and tell her how good she is. Here my dog is allowed up but at my aunts he isn't. But he doesn't jsut hop up, he puts a paw on the couch and stares at me..asking for my permission. Right now your dog is confused. Because suddenly he is not allowed up anymore. So giving him his own place to sit should make him feel better. As for peeing its a tough one. Like if it was peeing when you came in the door, then what you do with that is just ignore the dog and over time it'll stop. I donno best I can say is if you are taking her to someone's house make sure she is completly empited out first. Take her for a walk or keep her outside.

[Magnum]

Great ideas from Diego!! My poodle is the same way with our home. She is allowed on the furniture, so is Magnum, but she knows who's home has the "off the furniture rule" and which doesn't. Maybe you could start with her bed now for her to warm up to the idea, then when you move it will be a totally different home and she will not be as confused.

Peeing upon excitement, whether it is from fright or total happiness is not uncommon. The fright or excitement causes an interference with the normal function of the muscle (sphincter) that keeps the urine from escaping. You have heard of someone having the piss scared out of them? Well, this is the same thing. Diego has a great way in teaching her not to tinkle when she first greets someone. Being frightened is another issue. If she is being frightened without cause, then she needs to have her confidence built up by facing what she fears with someone she totally trusts. Baby steps, regarless of age will do wonders on the tinkling. Okay, I sure hope I making sense on this.... :o

[DiegoDog]

Thank you, and I completely agree with what you said Magnum. If its a fearful pee then its time to make her feel like the worlds greatest dog. She picks up a ball you cheer give her praise, she goes outside to potty big praise, lots of lovin and pettin. She has to feel like she can do no wrong. And keep corrections on the softer scale, and never stay mad long.

[draper]

Here is what I would do about the not allowed on the furniture thing. Put a blanket on a part of the couch for her to sleep/lay on. Then, slowly move the blanket to the floor. Or train her to only stay on that blanket. This way, the couch/chair is protected from muddy paws and the such, and she is still on the couch.

[Magnum]

Another great idea Draper!! :D

[KCCaneCorsos]

Ok, this may sound a little extreme, but you could try putting a mouse trap on the couch. My grandparents did this when their dog ran off and came back a few weeks later. The family that found him let him on the furniture, my grandparents did NOt think this was acceptable. I think the trap may have only nicked him 2 times, but he learned FAST. You won't even have to set the traps in a short amount of time.

[DiegoDog]

Okay I have to rewrite this my computer messed up. Grrrrr. Okay so I was saying if the dog has self esteem issues a moustrap is a bit extreme for that type of dog. Now also the shoving game your playing with your dog could be interpreted as play to the dog. What I found also works was taking it by the collar telling it no! in a low serious voice and pull the dog off the couch and tell it good in a happy voice. Usually the dog thinks that means its allowed to go back on, so you say no again sit that dog back down and tell it good. Eventually it gets the idea. If not you just up the corrections so something less gentle. Also the reason she could be pouting is because you demoted her. She was allowed on your level but you are making her sit on the floor now, as many dogs do, but dogs do not like loosing their high ranks. That is the type of thing people with dominant dogs have to do, kick them out of bed, off the furniture, basically take them from sargent to private. Although this is not an obvious case of dominance you are having to go through the same motions. its going to take time, and getting the dog its own peice of funature, whether a dog pillow or what, usually makes them feel better about their placement within your pack. That just because she is not allowed up does not mean she is of lower status. Do you follow what I am saying or I am I kind of running away with my words here?

[DiegoDog]

Draper my dog does that at the cottege, but if you have someone staying with you that dog is going to want to claim the couch they will be sleeping on. Or if you were curling up on a cold night and you causally toss the blanket ont he couch let alone at peoples places, because the dog will associate the blanket with "okay I can go up"

[draper]

We did the blanket thing with my Mom's old dog Scruffy, while we allowed her on all the furniture, when she was wet or muddy - it was the blanket and she knew it. She also knew that the blanket was her blanket, and was able to tell the difference between her blanket and the others in the house. A couple of times we ran out of places to sit in the family room (where the blanket was on the couch) and if someone wanted to sit where Scruffy's blanket was and she was on it - we made her get down. We never had a problem about someone spending the night and taking the couch (because Scruffy would be sleeping with my Mom).

[DiegoDog]

well thats good then

[ILuvMyDog]

wow thanks. maybe i'll try doing the thing with the blanket, and when x mas comes around i'm planning on buying her some 'doggy furniture', maybe a chair (i've seen 'em in the pet magazines). she's getting better, i've noticed at night, like right now, she's in the corner sleeping on the pillow with a blanket i put there for her. she understands she's not allowed on furniture anymore but she don't understand why and she still tries to get away with it, but like i said at night she does sleep on the floor now when i go to bed and sneaks in bed with me anywhere between 4-7 in the morning, lol. it's a start. i think the dog furniture idea for x mas would be a good idea because i dont want her to think she's not allowed on furniture because she's been 'naughty', i just want her to know that this chair/couch is mine and the other is yours (hers).
as far as the peeing goes, she does it when she's scared or nervous mostly. i know when she does it because she cowers her head and wags her tail franticly. i don't know why she's so nervous all the time, she hasn't been abused of any sort. it's especially with men..like say we go to my bf's and he says hello to her patting her head and she instantly lowers to the floor her tail whipping about and pees. other times she does it is when me or anyone walks in the house after being gone for more than a period of an hour at a time...she's gets all excited and pees all about.
you think to try and stop that i should treat her like the best thing in the world and that maybe building her confidence up it may help. does anyone have any examples of how i can do that aside from lots of appraisal. i don't want to go overboard and get the wrong affect so what would anyone reccommend i do? maybe i been babying her too much and spoiling her and thats why she's so submissive and now that im trying to break her 'bad habbits' she's just a confused pup. it's lke im trying to train her all over again and now that im "changing the rules" she doesn't know what to do and what not to do. where do i start as far as teaching her to stay off furniture..working on the not peeing on the floor and trying to build her confidence up? what needs to be done first to make the rest go smoothly? thanks for responding before, i appreciate it, and thanks in advance for anymore advise anyone may have. and sorry about my spelling and grammer, im awful at it.

[draper]

Romeo used to pee on the floor, and what I started doing was allowing him to jump up on my leg to say Hi. I taught him the command (patting on my thigh) and that is the only time that he jumps up (unless I have food). He doesn't even jump up to say Hi when I come in, unless I have given him the command.

[DiegoDog]

I tap my chest with diego.