Friday, May 21, 2010

Can anyone help?

My Mom passed away 10 months ago. She had a dog named Becky, a miniature pincher, who my Dad is now taking care of alone. Becky has always had a slight problem with going to the bathroom in the house, but starting a couple of months after my Mom passed her "accidents" have increased tremendously. My Dad has tried to a number of things to keep her from going in the house and nothing seems to work. He is currently almost at the end of his rope and has decided to give her away. I love her very much and she is a part of my Mom that I do not want to let go. I have two dogs of my own and there is no way I can take on another one. If you have any solutions or ideas on how to cut back on her "accidents", I would greatly appreciate them. Thank you very much in advance.

Sincerely,

Jessica Bates
Answers:
Sorry to hear of your mum's passing.

Jessica, is Becky an older dog? If so, it can be age that is making her incontinent, specially if she has had any pups.

She may have an infection as well, and she will also be grieving for your mum as you all are.

One of my old dogs became like this, even though she was spayed and never had any pups) and the vet gave me some medication to help.
Maybe your dad can keep Becky confined to one part of the house where, if she has an accident, it is easy to clean.

Dont forget you dad is also grieving, and has been persevering because the dog was your mum's. Please don't put him under anymore pressures. You are all hurting and grieving. Talk about what to do with your dad. He is the one who is coping with it all, as you said, alone. Try and take a step back, I know it is hard, and look at the bigger picture.
You will have photos of Becky that you can keep and look at, probably some with your mum. Support your dad with whatever decision he makes.
Sounds like he doesnt want to let her go either - he has been tending to Becky for 10 months alone, and her increased incontinence for 8 months. Work together and look at the best solution for all. I know it is hard, but try not to be selfish.
Crate train her. Even older dogs can be crate trained. The trick to crate training is to take Becky out all the time. And I mean, every 20 minutes if thats what it takes. She needs praise for going outside and when she goes inside, take her back out immediately. Just treat her like you would if she were a three-month old puppy, shes having a tough time and is acting strangely because she misses her owner.
Jessica, I understand b/c this happen in our family.
My mom had 3 house dogs. They loved her alot %26 her passing upset them greatly.
What helped moms dogs was my sister %26 I started going over taking time w/them %26 letting them go potty. My dad had to give them more time also. It took almost a year for them to get use to their new living ways. Old habits are hard to break. If you have a fenced yard, leave her out longer during the day. It just takes time.
If I lived close to you, I'd love to have her. I have 2 min-pins. Good luck %26 I'm sorry about your mom.
Guess you need to walk the dog more often now..
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=na.
Get a book on crate training your dog.It works very well, even if training wasn't successful before!
Do you mean urinating in the house?Or does becky go to the bathroom where the toilet is?
If the dog does it in the same place a tray of pepper other than that ,chuck the dog outside,thats where they should be anyway..

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