Sometimes I look around and can’t believe that we have three dogs. A friend was joking with me right after we rescued Wellie and said that even though we have three dogs, they are all so small that combined they really only make one big dog – kind of like those Transformers that combine into one big one. Sometimes I really notice we have three dogs, and sometimes it’s not really obvious at all. One will be sleeping while two play, or they will all be napping at once – or alternately, all playing at once. What I do know, is that Wellie belongs with us and it was the best decision to rescue her.
This week has had its ups and downs. Jane and Sonnet were here until Sunday and Sonnet and Wellie played a lot. Sonnet got braver and braver as the week went on and by last weekend she was launching herself on the other dogs and grabbing onto their hair in her mouth. They didn’t like it much and it only really worked on Wellie at actually getting her to play. Wellington was the only one who seemed to actually like Sonnet, whereas the other two just tolerated her. Jane left back to Kingston on Sunday and Wellie kept going in the basement looking for both of them.
Since Jane and Sonnet left, Wellington has been really testing our patience. I’m not sure if she’s angry that Jane isn’t home with her all day during the work-week, but she’s been having housetraining “accidents” all over the house so frequently now it’s not even funny. On Monday, while I was at work and Thomas was teaching, she peed all over her organic pet bed – so much pee. And this is the second time she’s done it! What is even worse about this is that because it’s organic, I can’t wash the stuffing and the cover isn’t waterproof, so the stuffing got pee in it too. Argh. The store told me to wash the cover and leave the cover and inside poof out in the sun and that should help – something about the sun getting the smell and stain out with UV rays. I’ll also be spraying it with pee stain and odour remover to see it that helps.
As If that wasn’t enough, Wellie then proceeded to poop and try to eat it right in the next room while I was doing laundry (washing the bedding she peed on!!) and then had three pee accidents later on in the evening. Then another pee accident overnight on Monday night – the first time in a few weeks! So many setbacks all at once!
It’s not that she can’t hold her bladder, because she has shown us she can. I really think now it’s behavioural. We have been urged to try to tether her to us so we can catch her in the act and correct her immediately by putting her outside, so we tried that last night for the first time and it seemed to work – no accidents yesterday! She doesn’t mind being on the leash either so that’s good. Wellie is also being, what my husband has been calling, meddlesome. She is getting into everything and it’s been trying our patience. I think that having her tied to us all the time will help with this as well…I hope!
I know that when we were raising Paddington and Corduroy from puppies, that the puppies learn quickly and then go through a “rebellion stage” where they test you (and their boundaries) like teenagers do. Do rescue dogs do the same? Even ones that are over 1 year old and should be done with their teenage stage? Wellie is really leading me to believe that yes, they do, but I’m not sure if that is just me rationalizing her behaviour.
Last night we went to the Small Fries Social at Bark & Fitz in Westboro and all three dogs had a great time. While there, they all got their nails trimmed and Wellie did MUCH better than the last time. Our vet showed me how to calm her and it worked so well. We have also been touching her paws a lot and I think that helped as well. I was so proud of her! She wasn’t perfect, but is well on her way to being ok with nail trims.
Something we’ve been noticing that is quite strange is that Wellie has the weirdest reactions to tin foil and measuring tapes. They both make kind of the same sounds when moved around and she goes crazy nutso when she hears it. Last weekend when my parents were up, Thomas and my Dad were hanging things around the house (I’m a lucky girl!). When they were measuring for these amazing oversized fork, knife and spoon that are now hung in our kitchen, Wellie went insane and jumped and ran and just went crazypants – so much so that they had to block her out of the kitchen to finish. Then last weekend, a friend came over to cook us the most amazing gourmet meal (Again, lucky girl here!!) and he was using tin foil for something and she went crazy again! Maybe something happened in her previous life with that sound? I am not sure if she’s excited, or anxious because we weren’t expecting this reaction so I wasn’t paying attention to her mood really. Next time I will be more aware and see if she’s happy, or afraid.
This weekend I am also going to attempt to re-take my profile shot with the dogs for both my photography website and the Ottawa Dog Blog. Hopefully the weather is good so I can get that done – I feel awful that Wellington isn’t in any of those pictures!
Wish us luck this week with having Wellie tied to us all the time and I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!
Read Week 5 here | Read Week 4 here |Read Week 3 here | Read Week 2 here | Read Week 1 here | Read Welcome to Wellie here.
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Liz Bradley is a dog lover who lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her husband,
10 Users Responded in " Week 6 with Wellie "
I would suggest that you get your vet to check out Wellington to see if there is something wrong physically that may be causing the housebreaking accidents. Additional stress can cause a simple bladder infection in pets, or there may be some issue with the kidneys that is causing the many peeing accidents. These health concerns can all be ruled in or out quickly with a blood test and a urine sample. If Wellie is perfectly healthy, then housebreaking training needs to start up from scratch right away before this becomes an ingrained habit.
Wishing you good luck,
Daisy
@Daisy – I had also wondered this and asked at Wellie’s vet apt a few weeks ago. He said she is in perfect health and it is completely behavioural. I’m starting to think she was never housetrained in her previous life.
I’m glad my tethering suggestion seems to be working! I know firsthand how annoying it can be to have the pup tethered to you, but for us, it was the deciding factor that finally made it click in Finnegan’s head that pottying inside = OH GOD NO and pottying outside = WOO YAY TREATS!
He’s been accident free for over a year now! Keep me posted on her progress!
@Liz – So glad that you looked into whether this was a physical issue vs a behavioural one. Many owners would be wise to follow your example in this. As for the housebreaking, you may wish to look at using the PPC (Positive Potty Control) method to help with potty training Wellie. I have both taught this method to others and also have used it myself extensively with all of my dogs (I’ve had 8 over the years) and found it very helpful in making things “click” in the dog’s mind about where to do his/her business. Crating the dog when one can’t watch him/her also helps but making certain that the crate is the appropriate size as too large a crate will encourage an non-housebroken dog to do its business inside. Good luck and I look forward to reading all about Wellie’s ongoing adventures in a future post.
Daisy
I’m no expert, but it definitely sounds behavioural.
When Snoopy first arrived he seemed to be housebroken, but then shortly after there were the occasional accidents. We finally got him going outside, but then we’d come home and find random pee spots.
Five months later we’re still having this issue, and after x-rays and urine tests, we know he is healthy and is just being a little shit and marking. When we’re home he goes straight to the patio door whenever he needs to go to the bathroom, but if we go out for any length of time, we find pee. My hope is that this will improve when he goes to his new home next Saturday, as he doesn’t need to compete with any other dogs. We’ll see! As a dog who has very little socialization skills, I think he’s found it difficult being in a house with random dogs coming in and out.
As far as the weird reactions – Snoopy freaks out if we burn something on the stove or put the oven fan on. He sits in one spot and shakes like a leaf. We coax him into the kitchen now with carrots and turn the fan on low, and then high, all the while distracting him with treats. He has made improvement! Whatever you do, don’t avoid the tinfoil or measuring tape, though. You don’t want Wellie to keep being afraid, obviously.
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