Is my dog insecure?

Shazanne

Hi all. I have looked for advice here before and have always received a very helpful response - thanks to everyone who has helped in the past.
I got a second dog in mid-August as a companion for my first dog. He is an adorable basset hound cross - very loving, soon became the aplha dog (although he does not get away with much with his "sister"!) and he can be fairly jealous and always butts in if she is getting attention.He loves attention!
All that aside, he is very good and seems to have settled in really well. He is 2/3 years old (both are resuces so not 100% sure of their ages). However, there is one problem. If we leave them in the kitchen while we are in another part of the house he will wee on the floor - every time! He will never do it while we are in the kitchen and does not do it in the utility room where they both sleep together at night.
Is he insecure and suffering from separation anxiety? If so, what can I do to reassure him? He is never left on his own as my other dog is always with him and the furthest we would be is upstairs in our office or in another part of the house.
Any suggestions/advice welcome:)

dvet

Behavioural issues are always a toughie... but this is what I'd try, for what it's worth!

It could well be a separation anxiety thing, a lot of dogs do pee like that when they're nervous. Especially when your guy is a rescue dog and so new to your house.
The other thing to jump to mind would be house training issues... you will probably know yourself if this is likely to be contributing so I'll just talk about the behavioural side here!

Firstly, it's important not to punish him for peeing inside as if it is due to anxiety, this will make it worse.

It's also good to try and reduce his stress levels in general, e.g. making sure he gets on with your other dog, reducing sounds that make him scared, anything else you can fix that might be stressing him out. Also, not necessarily my first resort, but worth a mention are those DAP collars/sprays etc that you can get - they contain Dog Appeasement Pheromone, which, if I remember right, is similar to the pheromones that a bitch releases when she's nursing her pups - it reminds them of their mother and calms them down when they're nervous. (Rescue Remedy for dogs!)

Apart from de-stressing him, it would probably help if you tried to increase his independence. The first part off this is not letting him follow you around the house all the time - e.g. occasionally go into rooms without inviting him in. Gradually build up the time spans that you spend 'away' from him, e.g. 30 seconds at first, and then when he's ok with this, a minute, then 3 mins, 10 mins, etc etc. He will eventually learn that although you occasionally leave him alone, you'll always come back sooner or later. When you do come back into the room, wait until he stops being excited before you pay him attention. When he calms down, then you can reward him by giving him a scratch behind the ear etc!

With anxious dogs/dogs that are overly dependent on their owners, something that can really help them to learn to cope on their own is to reduce the amount of attention/affection they get (even though it's really hard to do!!). It doesn't mean you have to ignore him all of the time, but just not to make a fuss of him 24/7. At the same time it's important to give him other things to think about (i.e. toys/kongs etc to distract him, or more frequent meals etc). The more things you can find to keep his mind busy, the better. I know it sounds horrible to have to 'ignore' him more often, but it will be harder for you than it is for him - and when he gets over his anxiety issues, you can go back to giving him as much love as you want

The golden rule with whatever rules you introduce is to be consistent, and to make sure everyone else in the family follows the 'rules' as well! Happy dogs are ones with a good set of rules and a familiar routine, and once he learns this he'll begin to feel more at home & less anxious.

Cherry Blossom

Is it possible he's asserting his dominance when you leave the room ie. master gone, now I'm the boss of the room, sniff on this :rolleyes:. Is there a minimum amount of time he has to be left before he does it or anything? I suppose the cause of it has to be determined before you can figure out how to fix it. My dog has a rough idea of how long I'll be gone because I tell her, this could help if its seperation anxiety.

Are you comming? -> I am going out and you're comming with me = jumping on the spot beside the front door :rolleyes:

Back in a minute! -> I am going into a different room, out to the car or upstairs to get something, you wait here! = Dog happily sitting by the door of the room I left her in awaiting my return.

See you later! -> I'm going out for a while, you are staying here with everyone else = looking out window as I get into the car, whinges a few times then is fine until she hears me comming back

Bye now! -> Everyone is going out except you = She gets into her bed and settles down for a nap.

Her intelligence never ceases to amaze me!

Is this a sign of an unheatlhy relationship with ones dog? :rolleyes:

Billy7878

are u insecure? if yes then ur dog is prob too

dvet

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Is this a sign of an unheatlhy relationship with ones dog? :rolleyes:

Sounds like a great relationship!

Shazanne

Hi dvet - many thanks for your reply:) A great deal of what you have said is very helpful, although alot of it does not apply to Max (my dog)
Firstly, I have never reprimanded him for peeing in the kitchen as, in the first instance, I can never catch him doing it so he would have no idea why he was being reprimanded (plus he'd probably die of shock if someone raised their voice to him as he's becoming rather spoiled!) I just clean it up and pass no comment.
He appears to get on well with my other dog - even though, as I said, he can be a bit jealous and it's impossible to play with/rub her without him butting in to take over. On the opposite side, she is not a bit bothered when he gets attention.
Sounds, noises etc don't seem to bother him at all and he is generally a chilled out little man. However, he is always on the alert and if someone passes by the house (human, canine etc) he is up like a shot to bark loudly at them. I think he feels like our protector and perhaps this, in itself, could be making him stressed. Millie (my other dog) was like this before he came along but now she just sits back and lets him do all the looking and barking as if she's handed over all responsibility!
He does not follow me around the house. Both dogs stay in the kitchen by day, in a purpose built covered area with a heated kennel while we are at work and they sleep in the utility room at night. Once we are in the kitchen with them all is fine but, as soon as we leave, up goes his leg for a pee, or two, or three.....!
I have tried going back in and out of the kitchen but as soon as I leave he starts to howl (so she starts as well!) and I felt it might be better not to give in to this or it would keep continuing.
I hope all of the above might explain the situation a bit better. It's not a major issue and I have no problem cleaning up pee from the floor. But I just want to know that he's ok or should I be doing something to help him.

Shazanne

Billy7878 wrote: »

are u insecure? if yes then ur dog is prob too

Am I insecure? Not at all. Am I? Maybe I am? Not too sure if I am? Do you think I might be insecure? Maybe you're right. I am insecure.

dvet

Okay, I've never tried attaching documents to a post before, but if these work, they might be worth a read as well; they're published by the British Small Animal veterinary Association - just dug them up from a dusty corner of my computer

The questionnaire one is really intended to interpreted by a vet/behaviourist but it might help you to clarify in your own head what signs he's showing (if any), & when... he need not necessarily have all the signs either, different dogs will do different things, but it might just give you an idea!

Let me know if they work for you or not!

Billy7878

Shazanne wrote: »

Am I insecure? Not at all. Am I? Maybe I am? Not too sure if I am? Do you think I might be insecure? Maybe you're right. I am insecure.

dogs tend to pick up on these things at birth and they replicate the owners psyche, I think u need to look into your heart and not the dogs heart

Cherry Blossom

Does he do it in the utility room at night? If not I'd either leave him in there or leave him to sleep in the kitchen at night on a trial basis for a week or two and see if he improves at all.

dvet

Shazanne wrote: »

Hi dvet - many thanks for your reply:) A great deal of what you have said is very helpful, although alot of it does not apply to Max (my dog)
Firstly, I have never reprimanded him for peeing in the kitchen as, in the first instance, I can never catch him doing it so he would have no idea why he was being reprimanded (plus he'd probably die of shock if someone raised their voice to him as he's becoming rather spoiled!) I just clean it up and pass no comment.
He appears to get on well with my other dog - even though, as I said, he can be a bit jealous and it's impossible to play with/rub her without him butting in to take over. On the opposite side, she is not a bit bothered when he gets attention.
Sounds, noises etc don't seem to bother him at all and he is generally a chilled out little man. However, he is always on the alert and if someone passes by the house (human, canine etc) he is up like a shot to bark loudly at them. I think he feels like our protector and perhaps this, in itself, could be making him stressed. Millie (my other dog) was like this before he came along but now she just sits back and lets him do all the looking and barking as if she's handed over all responsibility!
He does not follow me around the house. Both dogs stay in the kitchen by day, in a purpose built covered area with a heated kennel while we are at work and they sleep in the utility room at night. Once we are in the kitchen with them all is fine but, as soon as we leave, up goes his leg for a pee, or two, or three.....!
I have tried going back in and out of the kitchen but as soon as I leave he starts to howl (so she starts as well!) and I felt it might be better not to give in to this or it would keep continuing.
I hope all of the above might explain the situation a bit better. It's not a major issue and I have no problem cleaning up pee from the floor. But I just want to know that he's ok or should I be doing something to help him.

Just saw your reply now... Sounds like you're doing a lot of things right anyway regards making him a bit more independent - maybe the leaflets I've attached up there will give you a few extra tips as well! Hopefully anyway

Shazanne

dvet wrote: »

Just saw your reply now... Sounds like you're doing a lot of things right anyway regards making him a bit more independent - maybe the leaflets I've attached up there will give you a few extra tips as well! Hopefully anyway

Thanks so much dvet! You are extremely helpful and thanks particularly for taking such time to offer advice:)
I am just checking in here at the moment before I risk driving to work on the terrible roads so I will take a look at those leaflets later tonight when I am home:)

dvet

Shazanne wrote: »

Thanks so much dvet! You are extremely helpful and thanks particularly for taking such time to offer advice:)
I am just checking in here at the moment before I risk driving to work on the terrible roads so I will take a look at those leaflets later tonight when I am home:)

Thanks Shazanne, that's really nice of you to say!! I'm newish to boards but it seems to me like everyone on here is very helpful, so I'm glad to do my bit if I can!

portgirl123

is he nuetered?

Shazanne

portgirl123 wrote: »

is he nuetered?

Yes. I had him neutered a week after I got him and, thankfully, all went well.
I have been in the kitchen all evening watching the soaps and he has been snoozing happily on his couch. Then, as soon as I left to come up to the computer, off he goes! Barking and howling and no doubt peeing! Before I left the kitchen I rubbed his head for a while and talked soothingly to him and made sure he heard me coming up the stairs and not going out the front door, just in case that's what he thought. After about five minutes I went back down to him and spoke soothingly again and coaxed him back up on the couch but as soon as I left the kitchen again he was howling. My other dog just lies there with him totally content and does not bat an eyelid when I leave the room.
All I want to do is help him to overcome this and be totally happy. He's been with us for almost four months now and I feel he should be more secure in himself.