My Westies wont stop weeing indoors!

Pickles1992

Hi all,

I'm in need of some advice in relation to my lovely White Westhighland Terrier. He is one of two that we own and have them for the past 10 years. They are very good dogs. Love going for their walks and are very playful. One of my Westies just can't get it into his head that weeing is for outdoors! This is an ongoing problem. Both dogs were neutered a number of years ago as we were told by our Vet that this should help.
However, it has'nt . I come down in the morning to be greeted by a puddle by the patio door(by the way we have a back door with a flap so that the dogs can go in and out at ANY TIME) but he refuses occasionally. He will often go maybe a few days at a time and then wallop! there it is again. As soon as I arrive and say 'I dont believe it' he is cowering in his bed knowing that he has done wrong. We have put him outside when we notice but still it just seems to continue.

Im at my wits end and my husband is having no more of it. The amount of times he has threatened to get rid of him.........he is running out of chances. Do any of you know where we are going wrong.................has anyone had a similiar problem................please can you help?:(

Discostuy

Are they toilet trained or is just by chance he goes out the back sometimes?
Has this been an ongoing problem for years or just recently?

At 10+ years of age if its only started happening recently it could be a medical thing...

But if its a case he has always done it, then it could be time to go back to basics and train him like a pup.

If you walk into the kitchen and find a wee, there is no point in putting him out the back then, becuase he will have no idea whats going on, he will not know he is being punished for weeing.

You need to bring him out the back when he is about to go, or even if you catch him midway. Wait till he goes out the back and praise him.

Rayven199

I found cage training to be brilliant with my dog, she sleeps in the cage overnight, it basically forces them to hold it in until they get out, and then bring them outside first thing in the morning and praise them when they do their business outside.

Also, we keep my dog outside when we are not around, and when she is inside she is supervised. When she was a pup we watched her like a hawk and when we caught her in the act we would say NO very firmly to her and then bring her outside to show that this is where it should be done! We also brought her outside every 20 mins or so and gave her time to do her business if she needed to.

We did this for months and now she is a year old and hasnt gone to the toilet inside in a long long time!

Hope that helps!!

lostinnappies

If your westie is 10years old and has always done this then the problem is training. A good dog trainer or behavourist should be able to help. If he has been potty trained before but only started doing this since he started to get older then the problem could be medical. Some dogs as they get older can have some kidney problems which lead them to weeing indoors but mostly dribbeling. Acupucture for dogs i have found is really good in older dogs who wee indoors. Could also be prostate problems, couldnt really tell you without seeing him.

Pickles1992

Thanks guys, Firstly when we first trained both dogs we got it right and they went in and out whenever they needed to do their business. When we did notice the odd wee here and there we actually blamed the other dog because it just was so out of character for Ben. So at night (they both live/sleep indoors in an area which can be cordoned off) we divided them up and locked in the dog which we thought was weeing only to find it couldnt be him but Ben.
Unfortunately, we NEVER catch him doing it. He is soooooooooo clever because as soon as I have either left the room or gone out for a while lo and behold its there when I come back in. And yet when Im there he goes outside. IS HE JUST LAZY?! if anything this little guy would talk to me and has a great personality whereas the other guy is lazy and a bit of a slob.
I think as Rayven199 said, I will need to put him outside when unsupervised and see if that helps. As we are kinda using the cage training at night anyway because he cant roam around he is confined to his bed.
I will also bring him to the vet to see if medically there is anything wrong with him, although he recently had his boosters etc and they gave me a clean bill of health for him.
Otherwise its back to the drawing board and start ALL OVER AGAIN!!:eek:

Rayven199

We found the cage training great-but the trick to it is that they literally only have the room to turn around and lie down, we made that mistake when our dog was a pup, the cage was big (because she was going to be big) and we put some teddies etc. in there to make it cosy and smaller, but she would wee in the back on the cage and sleep in the front!

They dont soil where they lie but if they can go close to where they lie and still avoind being in it then they will. They are basic animals, to them when they get the urge they go where ever they are. Simple as. It makes no difference once they dont have to sleep in it!
Thats why the cage training worked so well for us, the dog learned that when she needed to go, she didnt necessarily have to go. She had to wait until we brought her outside and she gradually learned that that was the desired place to do the business!

The supervision thing should help too, the two combined should make a difference once the problem is not medical of course!
Hopefully you will be able to sort it out anyway!

glineli

Hi Pickles

On a different note, how do your 2 westies get on? I have one, he is 15 months old, and i would love to rescue another. The guy i have loves socialising with other dogs, although dont know how he would react to sharing his turf.

lostinnappies

it sounds to me like you need a behaviourist, if its not due to age and only happens when you leave it may be nerviousness, or anxiety of some kind.

Although i have seen some dogs do this only when their owners leave, because once the "dominent" pack leader leaves, they feel they have to take over and start marking.

pardon my spelling

Tabitharose

might I suggest contacting Dogs Behaving Badly for a consultation / advice, Maureen who runs it also runs Westie Rescue & is hugely experienced in both dogs with "issues" and the breed aswell

she's contactable on 086 8200010