My girlfriend and I have a dog, he's nine years old. He's always been a bit anxious, especially during thunderstorms. But all in all he's the easiest dog around. He's completely changed over the last month or so. It seems to be connected to a day when we had our built-in microwave replaced at our condo. When I got home that evening he'd urinated on the bamboo floors and tracked it all over our condo. He also "dug up" the carpet in the closet in one spot. Although he's never urinated in the house, we chalked it up to an isolated incident. For several days after that he urinated again and tracked it all over. We got him a Thundershirt and Velarian Root for anxiety, still urinated. So we got him some doggie diapers and instead of urinating, he crapped all over th floor. We had to get a home kennel for him although now he urinates in the kennel and has begun chewing his paws until they're raw. I've run out of options and we're tired of having to bathe him evey evening because he urinates then sits in it all day. He's pacing the floor when we're home and can't seem to settle down. Any advice you can give I would be ever so grateful, it's just breaking our hearts! The vet says it might be a progressive mental disorder older dogs sometimes get when they were sick as puppies like Rudy was. Thanks in advance! cmiller
do you ever take him out? maybe he doesn't like the new microwave And what's the microwave connection? Do you mean someone went in to do it, while you were gone and the dog was alone? Then he's probably not used to dealing with strangers and feels the need to keep marking his territory. Maybe needs to be socialized more?
Get him a crate. He will be less likely to piss in there as he will have to lay in his own piss. How much exercise is he getting? Was anyone home when the microwave was installed? How much do you trust your vet?
It's extremely rare for dogs to actually sit in their own filth - that's why crate training is recommended. The only other thing I can think of is that something started when the microwaves were installed and is still continuing. Animals are much more sensitive than humans, and something like an ongoing hum or rattle could be spooking your dog. I would try crating and then if that fails, try unhooking the new microwaves and see how he responds.
Walk him at night in the morning try and tire him out. Get him a crate and keep him in there when nobody is home. If he messed up you need to punish him, he might be under the impression it's alright.
Why would the dog have to learn/be punished if he is 9 years and never had problems before? It has to be a disease or the microwave, it's the only logical assumption.
maybe allergies. see if he's better after the rains. maybe change his food. I would go with lamb and rice if allergy is a problem. If you do this, change it gradually.
sounds like your dog went crazy, chews his paws until it's raw? not normal at all... sorry about your dog
There could be some kind of sub-sonic sound which is really irritating him, due to the new piece of electronics. First thing to try is, unplug the new microwave from electricity, and leave it off all day. See if the dog's behavior is any different at the end of the day.
It sounds the mental disorder is a legitimate cause for this. Is there medication he can take that would curtail this?
I'd ignore all the diet, training or walk ish people posted here. It's pretty obvious your dog totally went nuts and we don't exactly know why. Like one guy mentioned, plug the microwave out and see if he behaves normal again. If that doesn't help, bring him to a doc so that they can find out what he has, sounds like a mental disorder.
Sounds to me like the dog needs to be set on a schedule and talk to him. He needs a routine of when he eats, and gets taken out to do his business. I have two dogs and my little one pees on newspaper and my big one i have her trained by talking to her. I realize that its all about the tone and the manner that i do it but she has responded very well to it. We made the mistake of always leaving their food out and i would come home and it was bad. Poo and pee became the key words to get her attention and she responded. For what its worth try it, dogs are awesome dont give up on him he will learn.
Highly uncommon...but so is the dog's behavior. I would say give it a try. What could it hurt? Other than that, I would ask your vet for an anti-anxiety and/or anti-depressant for the dog. I have a cat on Prozac, and it's totally changed his life. He's much more calm, more affectionate, and not pissing on everything in sight. And the meds are cheap.
Yea, if you noticed the correlation between the microwave, get rid of that and experiment to see if it works. It may not be the most cost efficient option, but if you see it as family as many dog owners/lovers do than just 'keeping' it outside like one poster says wouldn't be an option. I've had vets that have been flat out wrong or not as progressive and open to the affects of diet, etc. So ask around as well. Outside of that, from a proper diet(they aren't meant to eat grains and while this doesn't have a mental affect as shown ,but just like humans who switch to organic,less processed food that are body simply has always absorbed better) it can lead to overall better health and mental clarity. Definitely spending more time if you can take some more time off and being proactive with the walks. Poor guy, can't imagine the frustration on you and him.
