I have a female dog (Abbie). I had to have her mum put to sleep three weeks ago. Since then Abbie has started peeing in her own bed while I am sitting in the same room. The door is always open for her to go in and out as she pleases, but she still pees in her bed. I don't know if she is trying to show dominance or what, as her mum was the dominant one of the two. Any help is much appreciated.
Your dog is feeling the loss of her mother. There are a few things you can do to help her cope and get over her loss.
You will need to keep an eye on Abby and monitor her during this time. She is wetting her bed because she is under distress.
Keep her daily routine as normal as possible. Don't make sudden changes in her routine. Keep her mealtime, walks, exercise and bed time the same as before.
Keep the portions of food the same at meal time for your pet. They might not eat the same amount of food but keep the portions the same.
Don't try to reward or comfort her when she is displaying this type of behavior. it will only reinforce this behavior. Instad, distract her with playtime or exercise.
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Play with a ball or one of her favorite toys to distract her bad or distressed behavior.
Durning the day go with her outside and encourage her to use the toilet again outside. She doesn't want to move to go out the door so you will have to encourage her to go out with you. Get her back in her normal routine again of not laying around on her bed all day long and just peeing in her bed.
Most importantly it is necessary to give Abby time. She will adjust to the loss and come around. Until she does you need to help her with exercise, playtime, and going back outside alone. Show her it is alright to go back outside in the yard alone. Make her feel comfortable and spend time with her in the yard.
attosa Diamond Post Medal for All Time! 1,246 Posts
September 25, 20170 found this helpful
I believe this is one way of coping with the stress of the loss and her picking up on your sadness, too. Giving Abbie extra love in this time will do her a lot of good, and will help her get back to her natural habits altogether.
jeanmurray01 Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 111 Answers
September 28, 20170 found this helpful
I'm sorry for your loss. Abbie may be marking the bed to inform her mum how to find her way home. Dogs and other animals usually try to cover their urine so she must be under a lot of stress. My neighbor's cat started urinating on her son's bed when he left home for college. It might comfort Abbie if you had anything like bedding or a toy with her mother's scent on it. It might ease her stress to be around her mum's scent so that she can slow down the sudden loss of her mother in her mind.
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As for the peeing, you can spray Abbie's bedding with something like Nature's Miracle, or even Rid-X. That will prevent the urine from smelling until you launder the bedding. Accommodating her need to do what feels instinctual now is very kind of you. Best of luck.
cybergrannie Gold Feedback Medal for All Time! 949 Feedbacks
September 30, 20170 found this helpful
It seems for sure this is due to grieving over the loss of Abbie's constant companion. Some dogs are more affected by a loss like this than others but maybe some of the suggestions will help you and Abbie.
Some suggestions from vets and dog psychologists.
Don't rush to throw out items that belonged to the deceased dog.
Keep a small piece of blanket or other reminder that belonged to the dog who died. The scent might be comforting to your dog.
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Pay extra attention to your dog, but don't go overboard and create a larger problem.
Try and stick to regular routines, if possible.
Give your dog some time to adjust before making a decision about bringing another dog into your family.
Some important things to do:
Make sure that her bed is completely free of any urine scent at all. An enzyme cleaner is best for this, and you may want to clean the entire area, rather than relying on spot treatment.
If any odor remains, it can be a signal to your dog that this is still an appropriate place to pee.
Keep in mind that a dogs sense of smell is vastly superior to humans so even if you cant smell anything, perhaps your dog can.
Be sure the floor also is cleaned and has no lingering odor.
If you cannot clean/wash her bed then you may have to buy a new one and use a plastic cover and cloth cover that can be cleaned and sanitized.
Try to spend more time outside so she has ample opportunity to wee before going in. She may not want to go out by herself.
All vets make this a strong statement: Never punish for peeing indoors, because they wont understand what theyve done wrong.
