So my wife and I are living in a place where we have to walk our dog, complete with going behind her and picking up her crap.
Well, of late she has become very particular about where she pees (my dog, not my wife, who has always been pretty particular about where she pees.)
We walk around in the f****** freezing cold for 15 f****** minutes as she sniffs the ground, looks at squirrels, sniffs some more, meanders around, sniffs some more and then sniffs a little more. Then, after 25 minutes of sniffing and meandering, she’ll do one of two things:
Piss out a storm. I mean, if I was holding this amount of urine, I’d be squeezing my peeper and making a run for the nearest bush; not casually sniffing a turd or licking frost off the grass or licking the frost off a turd.
Or 2. Nothing. Won’t pee, but rather continues to meander around and look at me like I’m a f****** a****** for being outside in this sub-human arctic wind. Then, after I give up and take her inside, proceed to whine at the door 20 minutes later because she has to pee.
So, this was originally a Pit rant, peppered with colorful language and thigh-pounding anger, but then I realized there was a legit question buried amidst all the rage: What is it exactly that dogs are looking for when they’re sniffing out a place to pee?
I understand that they’ll pee on a spot where another dog has gone, for marking purposes (a little squirt here and a little squirt there). But not everything can be about “marking,” can it? I mean, why doesn’t she just f****** go already? I know she has to go, she knows she has to go, I know she knows I know she has to go. So what the bloody f*** is taking her so long?
I’ve asked my dog, but she doesn’t understand the question.
Your dog wants to spend time outside. She’s learned that as soon as she urinates, she has to go back in. Therefore, she waits until she can’t wait no more.
She understood the question, what she didn’t understand was your need to ask it. So she said nothing.
IANAVet, but I have had similar experiences with cats, who, although normally box-trained from birth, sometimes choose the strangest places to let go. This usually happens if they have a bladder infection which makes it hard to urinate. The idea suggested by the vet was if they can’t squeeze it out, their brain thinks it is the location, not the biology, so they try different spots until one works.
Other than that, urination is used for marking territory as well, so perhaps your dog is looking for a previous mark to obliterate with her own? “Take that, you trespasser!”
You said your wife was particular about where she pees, why not ask her?
Ooh, there might be something to this! I hadn’t thought about it, but as soon as she does a fair amount of peeing, I immediately bring her in. Maybe she’s smarter than I thought.
I’ve seen it happen with every dog I’ve had. As a puppy, they’re thrilled to go as soon as they can. Then, one day, it’s like a light goes off in their heads: “Oh, wait…” Then they’re drag-assy for the next 10 years until they’re old and want to be in the house as much as possible on cold days.
Just because it didn’t answer the question you asked doesn’t mean it was empty. If I posted an OP that said, “I’ve asked this girl to twenty different movies and she always has an excuse not to go. Why does she hate movies?”, there would be several helpful responses that would not answer the question I asked.
Oh, bull. What you said didn’t answer any question at all and was completely irrelevant to the subject and desires of the OP. In your example thread, many people would seek to help by correcting your assumptions, not snarking about the form of your OP.
Snarking? I assume you mean that I brought it up just to get some enjoyment out of berating the OP, which I did not. It’s an interesting question and a well-written OP which was harder to follow–and it was tempting to ignore it entirely–because of all the ********, which sounds like a 12-year-old who isn’t sure whether or not he’s allowed to curse on the Internet.
::whistles:: let’s bring it back folks, this thread is getting waaay off track.
I’m going to agree with the other poster that the dog maybe holding it in just so that he/she can stay outside a bit longer. OTOH, one of my dogs isn’t even walkable anymore, since she must sniff every tree in sight. My wife will take one dog for an hour walk for a few miles and come back and take the other one around the block and it takes twenty minutes. Some dogs just like to stop and smell the roses.
Is it possible to put a stake in the ground and hook a leash to that. This way you could just let the dog out and it can come back in when it’s good and ready.
While they’re in that state, it’s possible to teach them to go on command. I did not know this. If I had known, I would not have used the word ‘potty’.
It also helps to take/let them out multiple times a day, so that they get some outdoors time without necessarily needing to perform each time.
My dog is an artist. He is Michaelangelo, the ground the Cistine Chapel ceiling, and his urinary and bowel movements his medium. As the Pope found out, you can’t rush an artist. He has to wait for divine inspiration, unless of course, it is raining and then he will piss all over the bathroom mat. If anyone can ever figure out exactly what the dog is looking for, they will make a fortune.
When we got my dog, who’s now 5 and a half, I read to tell them “hurry up” while house breaking. So I followed around this puppy saying “hurry up” until he relieved himself and then praised the crap out of him (no pun intended).
Now, I open the door, he runs out in the yard and does a few laps, sniffing, before relieving himself and comes back and waits on the stoop until I let him in. IF we had been on a walk, and I had him leashed, he most certainly has to try smell everything around. But the moment I say, “Maxx, hurry up!” something appears to almost snap him out of trance, he looks at me like, “Oh yeah, my bad.” Then paces until whatever falls out of him.
I’m guessing your dog is no longer a puppy, but it may be worth a try. Saying “hurry up” or whatever phase you’d like and then as soon as your dog goes, praise her. After a few days, your dog might actually be catching on.
Oh, and my dog is a male german shepherd who drew the short straw for smarts. He pees like a girl dog (the reasoning behind that one probably warrants a separate thread) and hits the ground right between his front feet about 25% of the time. He should spend more time with his bitches…maybe get the technique down.
It could very well be that your dog associates peeing with being taken inside. Try walking her for some time after she whizzes, and see if that changes her behavior.
On the other hand, it may just be in her nature. My female dog has to search for the exact, perfect pee spot. But at least she only pees once and gets it over with. My male dog pees early and often. I swear, he’s got to leave his scent every 5 feet. He can pee 20 times in one walk.
I don’t know what they’re looking for, either, but is your dog very food motivated? Some are, some couldn’t care less. If she has a treat that she loves, take one with you on your walks and only give it to her after she pees. Then continue the walk for a few minutes so she doesn’t have immediate negative reinforcement. Rinse, repeat.
In this same thought you may try the treat once you get back inside. I have three dogs, all female, and they get a treat as soon as they come back in. One is very food motivated, the others not as much but they all want to get out do their business and get back fairly quickly so they can have their cookie.
