Does Hero look adequately ashamed?Ok, so maybe S.O.S was a bit strong- though the poor Petco employees might feel that "Save Our Store" is completely applicable.
It's More like STP - Stop the Pee.
Anyway, I know there is a wealth of greyhound experience to be tapped out there and I would prefer a "flood" of information to the flood we experienced Saturday (see previous post).
Hero has not had any "accidents" in our house since the first week he arrived 4 months ago. So it's not exactly an "indoor" potty training problem. It's a PETCO- potty training problem. The funny thing is that he honestly is NOT a big "marker"- magic or otherwise - (sorry).
A couple of people have suggested that it maybe a sign that he was "stressed". If so, how does one go about desensitizing Hero without inducing some sort of ptsd (post-tinkle stress disorder) in all the employees of Petco?
Looking forward to your advice.
8 comments:
Buy him some Depends or put a muzzle on IT maybe ! This is and your last post are so funny. Thanks, for the laughs. Petco may not be laughing. LOL
What the "dedge" ? This is my v. word for this post.
Smack him! :-) If one of my boys, even thinks about leaning into a leg lift inside of anything with a roof (including outdoor covered arenas), he's getting a big old ugly "DON'T YOU DARE!" I simply will not let it happen and my boy is going to know it.
Petco is a great place to work on this.
Jen
Hero does look very chastened and the proof is he's sending his SOS/STP.
Of course Jen is #1 the dog behavior genius in my book, and I agree with her. I know a lot of people say greyhounds are so sensitive, they can't really take reprimands, but I think it's BS. If my dogs do something I don't like, I'll let them know via my negative reinforcement noise (which is quite loud and sounds like "EEEEHHHHHHHHHHH"), a squirt of water, or even a light smack on the snout or behind.
Here's how I would do approach working on it...I'd keep his leash really short and watch for any body language that tells you he's thinking of peeing and tell him no and take him outside. When he pees outside, give him a treat and tell him he's a good boy. If he did start to pee in the store (I know this is counterintuitive), I would drag him out of the store mid-pee if I had to and I'd walk him outside the store until he peed again (even if it took an hour), and then I'd give him a treat, tell him he's a good boy, and go back in the store.
Sorry for the long comment, but that's what I'd do. Hope it helps!
I meant to say that I'd take him to Petco first, then do the things I described. Not sure if that was clear in the first comment.
Thanks for the suggestions/advice. As I said, I was unsure if this was a fear/anxiety situation (in which case a stern reprimand might not be the way to go), or simply a lack of education (in which case I am glad to "teach him but good"- lol)
Addie- yes, I sort of assumed that you meant for me to bring him to Petco first, though after your last post I guess "the store" could have been Jo-Ann fabrics.
Alex, that is pretty funny. Remember that Petco is sensory overload for greyhounds on their first trip. They smell all the dog food, treats, bones, other pets, everything, and it is sometimes more than they can handle on their first trip. We have had several dogs do that on their first trip and the problem fixed itself on the second. Don't overthink it. If he had gone to Office Depot, he wouldn't have peed. He will be fine for indoor meet and greets. It just may take another trip or two to get Hero used to Petco.
I wouldn't worry about it being an anxious thing. If he rolled over on his back for every approaching stranger and peed.........that's a totally different problem of which scolding would make worse. He's just forgetting his manners... there are traces of urine all over those stores... You just have to remind him not to jump off the cliff with the other dogs who marked in the store.
Addie, the one thing I would change about what you said is the short leash. I would watch him like a hawk, but I would pretend to be causual. Don't let him walk you around the store, but give him some slack and watch for sniffing for too long and then that half step forward into a lean.... Don't even let the stream start.
Jen
Alex the only thing I see missing from everyone elses greyt advice is to make sure he urinates before you go into the store in the first place. This is a lesson I've had to learn the hard way with my boys. It is a lot easier to fix a problem when you set the dog up for success, with an empty bladder it will at least take away the immediate urge to go.
Marking problems just take vigilance on your part. Good luck. Don't think too hard on it, you've only had him a few short months, he is still learning after all :)
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