New rescue, marking inside etc.

[Silver]

We rescued a great Rottie a week ago and I need help with his urinating inside. I did searches on this but most of them suggest crate training and that IS where the problem lies. When he was at the shelter there was no consistent time that a volunteer would take him out so they were forced to go in the crate if they really had to.

He is house trained very well, he doesn't chew anything, but what I did notice was that I found 5 or 6 piddle spots (this was all within a week) on the other side of the house. To preface a little - the formal living/dining room is on the other side of the house and my husband and I "hang out" on the opposite side of the house where the kitchen and day room are. Ever since we got him we have not gone to that side of the house. I could not reprimand him since I didn't catch him in the act. But this weekend I followed him like a hawk. He would go into the other rooms and look out the window. This happened several times and then it happened, he went to the window, turned around, saw me standing at the doorway, I backed up a little, pretending I was not paying attention and then BAM the leg goes up, I yelled NO! you don't do that. He sat immediately, ears close to his head and we immediately went outside and I praised him when he was done.

He is between 3-5 years old. The rescue place did say that he might do that in the beginning until he learns our schedule. We also had a previous dog and thought it could be a marking territory situation.

My thoughts were 1) we should live on the other side of the house for a little bit, so he realizes that this is not "outside".

2) Close off access to the other side of the house and hopefully he'll learn to hold it until we come home. We did do this yesterday. We were gone for about 4-5 hrs and there were no spots anywhere.

Any suggestions to this situation would be very helpful.

[TrishB]

I would limit his access to other areas of the home until he settles in. Any dog that has been 'untrained' by ill-crate training techniques needs time to realise where they may or may not go. At this point, it sounds as if he just doesn't realise that the other areas of the home are just that, home!

Once he settles in, I'm sure he'll get the idea. You can slowly begin to add another area, every few days. Congratulations on your newest addition!

Best of luck! :)

[waschull]

Do not allow him access to most of your home. Baby gate the house so that he can only access one or 2 rooms (where you spend most of yuour time). Also, do not leave him unsupervised in the house. If you cannot supervise him, take him out to use the restroom then crate him. However, at first, do your very best to limit the amount of time in the crate. Come home from work and allow him to go out and use the restroom during the day if possible. As soon as he comes out of the crate - back outside and not inside until after he goes. After a few days I am certain his crate urination will stop. Then (if you wish) you can begin to leave him out in 1 small room while you are gone. He should generalize his crate training to the room (provided it is small enough and you maintain the same schedule). Continue to build onthis and soon he can have access to other rooms. You shoul dsee improvemetns within a couple of weeks. However, with any new dog, esp a rescue you must be patient. These things take time.

[pride-and-joy]

Is he neutered yet?

Baby gates work great for confining to the kitchen or other small area where you can keep an eye on him.

I would restrict him to within your eye's reach for awhile....even if you have to tie a leash to your belt.

Good luck!

[k&s]

Ditto the crate suggestion. You want to be sure he does not have much opportunity to 'mark' in the house, or do other things that he is not supposed to do. As he gets to know the rules, and is more comfortable, then he gets more and more time out of the crate. This keeps things positive (not much opportunity to do 'bad' things).

One of my rescues tended to urinate in rooms we did not use much, such as a spare bedroom. It seems as they get used to being in particular rooms, they know it is not OK to urinate there, so they look for a less 'familar' place.

Give him time. He'll do fine.

In the meantime, I recommend 'Nature's Miracle' to get out the odor and stain. I keep a couple of gallons on hand just in case of accident. Works great.

[Silver]

Thank you for the replies and suggestions. I did close off that area, so he only has the kitchen and the day room to roam around in. I even closed the doors to the two bedrooms that are on that side of the house.

And thank you for the Nature's Miracle recommendation. I will try that too.