# The last resort.... doggie diapers (gasp)



## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

I've had Chica since she was 9 weeks old and she will be 2 years old in 2 months and still is not dependably house trained. Admitting that really makes me feel like a failure, so I'd appreciate it if I didn't get comments telling me how she should be house trained by now. I know, I get it.

I. Have. Tried. Everything. I have spent hours upon hours researching what to do and troubleshooting, praising her when going in the right place (which is outside) and giving her treats, taking her out consistently, confining her to a tiny crate, a larger crate, the bathroom, a "puppy apartment" crate, I've gone thru more bed washings and enzyme odor treatments than I could ever count. When she was younger I tried disposable pee pads in the house which she shredded, and then washable pee pads which she couldn't distinguish from throw rugs. I would prefer to not try the disposables again for environmental reasons. I just don't want her to think she can potty in the house at all anymore. I have been training her to go outside exclusively for about a year now.

I have even trained her to ring a bell to go outside, which she does perfectly, but sometimes she simply would rather potty in the other room than go thru the trouble of walking to the bell. 

I will not try litter box training because I have two cats and, quite frankly, Chica loves eating cat turds so I want her to stay OUT of anything that resembles a litter box, lol

I have taken her to the vet for urinalysis, but they were unable to abstract any urine from her and hearing her scream was enough for me to never subject her to that procedure again, so I occasionally test her urine PH levels at home using those paper test strips and it always comes out at a perfect level (about 6.0-6.5). 

I'd be quite surprised if someone could give me advice I haven't already heard/tried. My husband has accused me of being obsessed with Chica's potty habits (also something I don't like to admit, lol) but he has never been the one to clean up her messes, either. I'm just ready for a solution already. So, she is now wearing diapers when I don't trust her. Yep, washable dog diapers. Shame shame.

See, Chica has no problem peeing her bed and sleeping in it so crate training was useless. She won't usually poop her bed, but she has no problem pooping anywhere a few feet away if she feels like it. The dog simply doesn't care. As a matter of fact, she even pees her diaper if she feels like it and sits in it. She won't poop her diaper, but pee is no thing to her. She has an "accident" a few times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. But now it's at least soaked up by her diaper so I no longer have to confine her when I leave the house, so she's happier now. She is usually never alone for more than 4 hours, very rarely up to 6 or 7, and I always take her out to potty before leaving the house. Sometimes she holds it, sometimes she doesn't, and I've been unable to narrow down a pattern.

Chica was spayed at 6.5 mos. I wonder if she has urine incontinence caused by the spay, but it's hard to know since there was never a time when she was fully house trained to compare it to. 

So... Has anybody else resulted to putting their dog in diapers, or am I the only loser here? Lol Should I try putting her on incontinence medication?


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## Skippy (Mar 24, 2015)

Small dogs can be very difficult to train. I find myself giving in on all kinds of things with my chi because he's so cute and little and whines to get what he wants. Hopefully others can give you good advice. 

I just started training Skippy to use the Piddle Place because we were having bad luck with him purposefully peeing over the edge of the pee pads and picking them up and running around the house with them. Lol. We've been using the piddle place for a week and I've seen a great improvement in our messes.


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## Cait93x (Feb 3, 2015)

Yup chihuahuas are notorious to house break.

Pablo was a bit of a nightmare and because he was a male he started to lift his leg which was always left a great pattern on my wallpaper UGH. But we realised there was zero point in shouting at him if he had an accident he's quite a sensitive little soul. So whenever he done the toilet outside he got so much praise and treats and we do clickr training as well. He's now completely toilet trained though we do have a little makeshift tray thing in our bedroom as he is really small so sometimes he can't go through the whole night so he jump in that and use it. But he hasn't done that in around 3 months he would rather wake us and let us know he wanted out. My new pup on the other hand we call her the "phantom pooper" She's fine with peeing she will go on to her pad but pooing is a nightmare she likes to hide and poo Lol. So we are doing the positive clickr reinforcement technique and its getting better she goes outside and she's starting to realise if she does it out there she will get a tasty treat. I've also heard great things about the Piddle Place I would look into that for her and if you haven't tried clickr training I can't recommend it enough they really catch on to it. I don't recommend diapers but thats just of personal opinion I mean I wouldn't like it if I was confined to a smelly diaper for hours, and does she dribble a lot not knowingly? If not she's not probably incontinent. We actually have a family dog who's going in for the big op the 13th of this month as she has Ectopic Ureter which causes her to be incontinent so she's constantly wet the wee soul. Have you thought about getting her a large pen? and lining it with pads when you go out so she isn't confined to a diaper.


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## Dorothy's Mom (Apr 8, 2015)

I had a 15.5 year old Min Pin, Bella, who passed away in February of this year. In her last year she was incontinent. You can tell incontinence because they will often dribble and then get up, look around and realize they dribbled and THEN ask to go outside. Incontinent dogs will also urinate fully while sound asleep. They will NOT wake up or look for a place to pee. They will just be laying there, asleep, and let go. When they DO wake they will often get up and look around and start sniffing and then, in Bella's case, she would cower because she KNEW she had wet herself.

Anyway, I just tell you that so you understand how a truly incontinent dog experiences wetting themselves.

In the end we DID use diapers on Bella because she always slept in our bed and, well, we couldn't be sleeping in dog pee all night.


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## Cait93x (Feb 3, 2015)

Dorothy's Mom said:


> I had a 15.5 year old Min Pin, Bella, who passed away in February of this year. In her last year she was incontinent. You can tell incontinence because they will often dribble and then get up, look around and realize they dribbled and THEN ask to go outside. Incontinent dogs will also urinate fully while sound asleep. They will NOT wake up or look for a place to pee. They will just be laying there, asleep, and let go. When they DO wake they will often get up and look around and start sniffing and then, in Bella's case, she would cower because she KNEW she had wet herself.
> 
> Anyway, I just tell you that so you understand how a truly incontinent dog experiences wetting themselves.
> 
> In the end we DID use diapers on Bella because she always slept in our bed and, well, we couldn't be sleeping in dog pee all night.



Aww bless little Bella. Wee soul, My aunt has just purchased a husky puppy about 4 weeks ago they found out she was incontinent she has Ectopic Ureter she's constantly wet can't stop it so she's in diapers until she gets her big op its such a shame she was sitting on my knee the other weekend and I was soaked! Not that I mind she's way too cute not to.


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## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

Thank you all so much for your responses. When I started this post last night I was rather frustrated because Chica had thoroughly peed her diaper yesterday (it's usually just a little piddle in her diaper when she does go in it, but this time she had obviously done a full on pee). This morning, her diaper was totally dry so we started the day off on a good note 

Thank you for suggesting the Piddle Place, I'll do some research on that.

When Chica was younger, I kept her in a large pen in my house when no one was around, but after a while she learned to climb out of it (a 3.6' pen! she looked like a little monkey climbing out of that thing, lol) so I started keeping her in the bathroom after that. I kept pee pads in the pen and also in the bathroom for a while and she would usually go on them, but she would also shred them and thrash them about, lol... I also didn't like the negative environmental impact of the disposable pee pads, so I switched to washables. But it seemed like she couldn't distinguish between the washable ones and any other rug in the house. I also got tired of washing them all the time (using all that water to wash them couldn't be good for the environment either, not mention the power to run the washer and dryer so much) so I decided I didn't want her going potty in the house at all and started training her to go outside exclusively. I'd confine her to the bathroom with her bed, toys, food, water, chewies, even a radio playing soft music, etc... Sometimes she would hold it and sometimes she'd just potty on the bathroom floor, and as gross as it sounds, it was just easier to clean up the tile floor than to wash a pad over and over again.

I should mention that even though putting her in a diaper sounds awful, she is actually much happier now. She got separation anxiety when confined. When I kept her in the pen, she would tear things up and eventually crawl out. Keeping her in a crate, well, she'd just pee in it (regardless of how small it was) and cry a lot and be hysterical by the time I got her out. It was downright heartbreaking to put her in a tiny crate day after day, she was a wreck and so were we. Things got better when I'd keep her in the bathroom, but eventually she got separation anxiety in there, too.. She'd thrash her bed about the room, tear up toilet paper if I forgot to put it away. She'd even scratch the door to the point of bleeding. By the time we'd get her out she'd be an anxious mess, it was doing nobody any good, especially her.

Now that we have her in the diapers, she has free run of the house. When we get home, she is relaxed and just happy to see us. I would love to be able to stop using the diapers, but the fact that she dribbles in them every other day shows me she's not ready. She just can't be trusted.

Thank you for the info on incontinence Dorothy's Mom and Cait93X, I'm now pretty sure that is not the problem with Chica. Every once in a blue moon she'll do that "excited peeing" thing, but I know that is different from actual incontinence. I know she can hold her pee... if she wants to. She is lucky she is sooooo extremely cute and sweet... Because she gets away with everything! LOL 

I'm so sorry to hear about your Bella passing away, Dorothy's Mom. Sometimes I think about losing my Chica and I have to stop myself, it's too horrible to imagine. Hugs to you!


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## Dorothy's Mom (Apr 8, 2015)

sugarmag said:


> I'm so sorry to hear about your Bella passing away, Dorothy's Mom. Sometimes I think about losing my Chica and I have to stop myself, it's too horrible to imagine. Hugs to you!


Thank you. And, yes, it IS awful. I miss her terribly and I still find myself crying on occasion when something triggers a memory. I don't think it ever truly goes away.  She was, without a doubt, my heart-dog.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

I certainly don't think you are a 'failure' !!! Continue to use the diapers. If you're happy, she'll be happy and that is the main thing. Maybe she'll catch on later? Meantime, just do what you're doing and be glad that something IS working!!


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

I'm afraid there's some truth to the chis being hard to housebreak thing. Piper is really good for months and then she'll just squat and pee on the carpet. ???? However, I'm still really proud of her since usually she will run the entire length of the house to a pad. I just don't understand why sometimes she doesn't go to a pad. Do they forget for a moment? Do they just have to go too badly? I'm personally a big fan of reusable pads. I know Piper can't hold as long as a larger dog and sometimes she goes (and I mean goes, not marking) twice in an hour. But no one here minds the pads being down and both of mine have never dragged or played with them. I also used diapers briefly when retraining Mickey as an adult. I used them less than a month, though, as he HATED having the wet belly and he got the idea. I don't think they're as horrifying and cruel as some people think. I would put a senior dog in them in a heartbeat or any other situation where every other alternative's been tried, which sounds like you have done. Sorry, this isn't advice, just our experience. Thank goodness chi pee doesn't smell!


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## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

I hear ya! Except Chica's pee does smell a little, tho. But I think in a way that's a good thing because if her pee spot had already dried up I wouldn't know it was there unless I could detect the smell. I'm just glad she doesn't pee huge amounts like a big dog!

Chica usually only dribbles in her diaper, so it soaks in and dries up quickly. Often the only way I know she has peed in her diaper is by smell.

There have been many times when Chica acts like she's got it and won't potty in the house for almost two weeks. I get so proud of her! Then out of the blue she'll run upstairs and pee in the guest room or hallway or somewhere random like that. I just don't get it. I praise her when she pees outside and I often give her a treat, too, so she knows I want her to pee out there. And she knows every time she rings her bell I immediately come running to open the back door for her to go out. I don't know if she forgets or simply doesn't care. Dog brains, sheesh!


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

The fact she has some separation anxiety, and can go for weeks only peeing outside makes me think she may be marking rather than peeing. 
When a dog is insecure, they will mark. It isn't just a male dog thing, the worst marker I have is Mouse, an unspayed female. 
When we first got her she peed on everything, carpet, furniture, cushions, shoes etc anything she could reach she marked. It took a while to realise she was marking and not just badly housetrained, but as she settled in the marking stopped. She is very clean now, but if I take her to a strange house i know she would pee on things. When we visit my parents i leave a used pee pad next to her crate, which helps. I assume the scent of her urine is enough to curb the urge to mark.
I do think Chis are difficult to house train, they are the only breed i have known who are happy to pee and poo in their own bed.


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

LOL. I can always tell if Piper is marking or peeing. She lifts a leg to mark when we are on our walks! Yes, really. Anybody else have a girl that does that?


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Mouse! She can pee really high up, must do a handstand to do it. She will lift a leg and contort into all sorts of positions to get the pee where she wants it. She will squat to mark the floor though


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## ChiChiLove (Feb 4, 2013)

zellko said:


> LOL. I can always tell if Piper is marking or peeing. She lifts a leg to mark when we are on our walks! Yes, really. Anybody else have a girl that does that?



My Itsy will do whatever it takes to pee where the boys have! I've seen her do leg lifts and handstands!


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## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

Well, I was giving some thought to the idea of it just being marking, until last night. Chica was downstairs with my hubby watching TV and I was coming down to let her out to potty (I had let her out about an hour and a half before) and I was shocked to see she had pooped on the stairs. It's been several weeks since she has pooped in the house. Why didn't she just go ring her bell to be let outside? She knows that's all she has to do because sometimes she does it. I don't know.

And now this morning, her diaper was thoroughly soaked with urine. She had completely emptied her bladder in her diaper, so she didn't have to pee at all when I let her out this morning. She peed outside right before bed last night (as usual) so I would think she wouldn't have to go so bad during the night. Maybe she drank a lot of water right before bed and I didn't notice. Well, her diaper was so wet it got onto her bed, so I'm washing all that stuff again this morning for the millionth time, lol

Before I got her diapers, sometimes I'd set my alarm and get up in the middle of the night after about 4 hours of sleep to take her out to potty and then go back to bed. On those nights she usually doesn't wet the bed (tho she has before), but I'd really prefer to not interrupt my sleep cycle like that for the next 15 or so years. Sometimes she holds her pee for up to 9 or 10 hours, so I know she is capable.

I researched the Piddle Place. I know her so well, she really doesn't care where she potties. If I get her that thing, she'll probably lay on it and potty 3 feet away. I'm afraid it'll end up another waste of money just like all those washable pads I bought, and then my job of training her to go outside exclusively will be even harder.

Two days a week, my husband or I come home from work on our lunch break to let Chica out to potty. One day a week I work from home and on the weekend one of us is usually with her or we take her with us wherever we go. But two days during the week, I take her to stay at her "grandparents" house (my in-laws). That way she gets attention all day and we don't have to come home for lunch to let her out. My in-laws claim that she doesn't have any accidents at their house and hasn't for a very long time (as far as they know). They take her out to potty every 2 hours or so, the same as I do when I'm home with her. I think she's just one of those dogs who has to be with someone all the time. By herself when she knows no one is looking she has no problem peeing and pooping anywhere. As for her pooping on my stairs last night while both my husband and I were home - that is a rare occurrence and I'm not sure what was going on with that.

So, I think wearing the diaper may be a lifetime thing for her. Never in a million years would I have thought that I'd be putting my young adult, perfectly healthy dog in diapers because she can't be house trained. It makes me feel so bad, but it's better than shutting her away in the crate or bathroom where she has separation anxiety, and it's better than her peeing/pooing all over the house. She still hasn't pooped in the diaper, so at least the diaper is teaching her to hold that.


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## Bexasaurus (Aug 7, 2015)

Don't feel like a failure, I have read about how hard chis are to train and I have had a tough experience myself! Artie seems to get it, but he's also 8 and will still pee in the house if I don't let him out regularly. Rook is sometimes OK if he goes out every couple hours... And sometimes he will be outside for ages and then save it up and come back in and poop on the floor. When I am actually around to let them out every few hours, it cuts down on this behavior, but I have to keep Rook outside for at least an hour every morning or he will just come in and poop (luckily we have a big yard and he loves being outside.). I am going to look into the Piddle Place, but other than that I just keep trucking along, trying to give them rewards and hoping they will just get the picture. We have gone down from multiple poos in the house a day to 1 or 2 a week so at least there is some progress.


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## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

Bexasaurus said:


> Don't feel like a failure, I have read about how hard chis are to train and I have had a tough experience myself! Artie seems to get it, but he's also 8 and will still pee in the house if I don't let him out regularly. Rook is sometimes OK if he goes out every couple hours... And sometimes he will be outside for ages and then save it up and come back in and poop on the floor. When I am actually around to let them out every few hours, it cuts down on this behavior, but I have to keep Rook outside for at least an hour every morning or he will just come in and poop (luckily we have a big yard and he loves being outside.). I am going to look into the Piddle Place, but other than that I just keep trucking along, trying to give them rewards and hoping they will just get the picture. We have gone down from multiple poos in the house a day to 1 or 2 a week so at least there is some progress.


THANK YOU! It makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one going thru this.


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## Jenna&JoJo (Aug 30, 2015)

I am so sorry you are going through this frustrating experience with Chica. You are not a failure my dear by any means. It sounds like you have gone above and beyond what many other owners would have tried and I applaud your commitment to Chica. 

One thing that sticks out to me like a neon sign is that you've said that she has no qualms about eliminating where she sleeps. Did Chica come from a reputable breeder where you were able to personally observe where the pups were kept and raised prior to her going home with you? In my experience, more often than not, the dogs that have no issues going potty where they sleep were not kept very clean as small pups. Normally Mama dog keeps the "den" immaculately clean by cleaning her pups messes. Sometimes, a first time Mom won't do such a great job, or sometimes the breeder won't change the bedding under the pups often enough or make sure there is enough separation in the puppy area as they get bigger and start to potty on their own between the potty space and the sleeping space. Any of these scenarios can essentially desensitize the pups to the instinct that you're not supposed to potty where you sleep. Again, I can only speak from my own experience but I have seen this happen several times where having evem slightly sloppy upbringing conditions in their very, very young lives can effect their potty habits for life. Sometimes it can be overcome but it's a very challenging situation. 

I feel for you, no one likes to wake to such a mess and have to keep washing everything, including the dog!

The only thing I can suggest is to pick up water after a certain time of night... 6pm lets say, no more water, last time out is say 11pm... it should help somewhat if there is a regular schedule and cut off to how much liquid is going in. 

Keep your chin up. She could still very well overcome this!


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## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

Thank you 

I drove 3 hours to pick Chica up from a family who lived on a farm. They had many other Chihuahuas and a couple Pomeranians. All looked very healthy and none were caged. They ran free and all seemed happy. The breeder was the lady of the house and she seemed to care very much for all of them. She brought Chica out to me from a baby playpen in her bedroom. Chica was in there with her brother, they were the only two born in the litter. Her brother was much bigger than her and a long hair (Chica is a smooth coat). I didn't really poke my head into the pen to inspect it, but from what I could tell it seemed clean enough, I guess. It smelled a little like "dog", but it didn't smell like urine or feces. I got to meet Chica's dad and mom. Her dad was a beautiful red and white long hair, a tiny little thing (about 2.5 lbs). Her mom was a stocky brown smooth coat (about 5lbs). I can't remember how old the mom was, but she definitely wasn't a first time mom. In fact, I think she is retired now from breeding. Both parents seemed very happy and healthy, loving and personable. I got a good vibe from the experience and had no qualms about taking Chica home that day. I was sent home with a toy, blanket from her pen, and pink picture frame and a pink folder containing all of Chica's paperwork and records. The little girl was only 1.5 lbs and as cute as can be!!! She is now 3.75 lbs and still absolutely adorable, getting all the attention everywhere she goes  Sometimes I feel a twinge of guilt for not adopting her brother, too, but being that Chica was my first dog (besides the big family dogs I grew up with) I felt like one was all I'd be able to handle. And I think I was right about that! Chica is not AKC registered, but she is CKC registered. I didn't really care much about that anyway because I knew I wouldn't be interested in breeding her.

I was thinking the same thing about taking up her water at night. If I notice her really gulping it down, I usually do take it up. Then I set my alarm to get up in the middle of the night so she won't wet the bed because I know on those nights she'll probably have to go. But I think you're right, from now on I'm going to have to just pick up the water bowl after a certain time so she can't have any. That should probably fix the night peeing issue.


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## Dorothy's Mom (Apr 8, 2015)

This just dawned on me...I have no idea why I didn't mention it earlier....have you ever tested her blood sugar? If she drinks a fair amount and has a lot of peeing she could be diabetic.

I know my Bella never eliminated in the house - until she came down with diabetes. That was my first clue something was wrong.

Next time she pees in the house let it dry and then put your hand down on it. See if it's sticky. Of course, she would need to pee on a flat surface like tile or linoleum. But, seriously, see if her pee is sticky. If it is then you should get her tested. Diabetic dogs, when not well-regulated are known for improper elimination.


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## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

Dorothy's Mom said:


> This just dawned on me...I have no idea why I didn't mention it earlier....have you ever tested her blood sugar? If she drinks a fair amount and has a lot of peeing she could be diabetic.
> 
> I know my Bella never eliminated in the house - until she came down with diabetes. That was my first clue something was wrong.
> 
> Next time she pees in the house let it dry and then put your hand down on it. See if it's sticky. Of course, she would need to pee on a flat surface like tile or linoleum. But, seriously, see if her pee is sticky. If it is then you should get her tested. Diabetic dogs, when not well-regulated are known for improper elimination.


Wow, I never thought of that! Ok, I'll definitely try it out. Thanks!


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I still think this is marking caused by insecurity.
Dogs mark for different reasons, and i don't mean the type where she is leaving messages for other dogs, more making her environment smell like her to make it comforting and familiar. They can use poo as well as pee to do this.


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## Skippy (Mar 24, 2015)

Testing her pee for sugar is a good idea, but I'd use the urine glucose test strips that you can get at the pharmacy, and not the sticky dried pee method because the test strips would be more definitive.

With the other behaviors that you have posted about, I'm leaning more towards this being anxiety and boredom driven. But it could be a mixture of diabetes causing anxiety, insecurity and all kinds of behavioral issues. 

I hope that you are able to figure this out.


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

I know what you mean about the vet's getting a urine sample. I'm lucky that both mine will let me collect at home. If the vet won't take a home sample I'm off to another vet. My current vet prefers home samples because she hates to see the animal stressed. I read about how seeing eye dog are trained to accept petting during elimination and so now I try to get mine accustomed to hands on them. This is random, but I posted in case you have to test for diabetes.


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## Dorothy's Mom (Apr 8, 2015)

zellko said:


> I know what you mean about the vet's getting a urine sample. I'm lucky that both mine will let me collect at home. If the vet won't take a home sample I'm off to another vet. My current vet prefers home samples because she hates to see the animal stressed. I read about how seeing eye dog are trained to accept petting during elimination and so now I try to get mine accustomed to hands on them. This is random, but I posted in case you have to test for diabetes.


When I collect pee I follow them outside first thing in the morning and slide a pie plate under them when the go. Works everytime.


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## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

OK, there is much to report...

1. I work full time as a graphic designer, but I'm also a part time singer and have a very busy schedule because of this. Due to a financial hardship, I had to take more singing gigs than usual this summer and wasn't home nearly as much as I wanted to be. It was very stressful and all my relationships with friends and family suffered because of it, including my relationship with Chica. And my husband has been working extra jobs as well. He came home after work yesterday, let Chica out to potty, and put her back in her diaper and left to work some more. I had a gig last night, and when I got home it was very late and he wasn't there, but Chica was and of course she was all alone in her diaper. She was very happy to see me and piddled a little in excitement. I think I'm missing something very important here that's been right under my nose all along... Chica is never on a regular schedule and maybe she misses me (I know I certainly miss her all the time!). I'm not home enough with her and this summer has been hard on her, probably more than I realize. I think this has contributed to the house training problems. This makes me really sad, but I've had no choice but to work as much as possible this summer. Do I think she's bored? YES. Do I think she is anxious? YES. So maybe she IS marking after all. Chica is no doubt a difficult house training case, but I think it's more MY fault than hers.

2. This morning as I was getting ready for work I noticed a dried pee spot in my husband's office. I don't know when she did it, but luckily it was on the hardwood floor and easy to clean. But before cleaning it up, I touched it and it was a little bit sticky. So maybe it could be diabetes. She is so young so I would tend to think that she probably doesn't have it, but I think this may be something I should bring up with my vet. Not sure about testing her at home for it, I only have a blood testing kit and I can't imagine how I'd get blood from her, yikes....

3. This morning I dropped Chica off with her "grandparents" to spend the day with them. My mother-in-law said she has been having accidents in their house a lot lately and has been wanting to talk to me about it (!). I was really surprised to hear this because Chica has always been so good about it at their house. I said maybe she has been marking her territory because of their new dog (my in-laws just got a new dog, Belle, last weekend - a very calm, very sweet lab mix), but she said it had become a problem even before they got Belle. She thinks it's somehow related to the diaper, she thinks maybe the diaper is the problem, even tho they don't put the diaper on her when she's at their house. So... could the diaper actually be contributing to the problem instead of helping? 

Before my in-laws officially adopted Belle, they brought her home for a weekend to pay a visit and we took Chica over to meet her. A month later now, they have adopted Belle. Maybe Chica never got over that first visit, maybe she started marking over there after that day. I need to talk to my mother-in-law to get more details. So I'm wondering is the diaper a problem, or could it be Belle? Or both?

There is so much to figure out. I'm not sure what the right thing to do is.. But I know one thing - I need to spend more time with Chica and I'm thankfully at a place in my life where financially I think I'm able to start doing that again. 

Wicked Pixie, if marking is what's going on here, do you have any suggestions for things I can try to remedy this?

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions! You are a HUGE help, if anything just having folks to vent to about all this stuff is a relief.


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## sugarmag (Jun 19, 2013)

Dorothy's Mom said:


> When I collect pee I follow them outside first thing in the morning and slide a pie plate under them when the go. Works everytime.


That's how I collect Chica's pee, too!


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## xxcass (Jan 7, 2013)

Have you considered maybe getting her a playmate an order chi maybe a rescue? I collect pee if I have to by putting a small margarine lid under her just as she starts to pee works everytime for me too. As for taking blood yourself no no let a vet do it as normally they have to take it from their neck.


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## Dorothy's Mom (Apr 8, 2015)

Did I read that you have a blood glucose monitor? If so, then you can test her blood at home and save yourself a trip to the vet. You just lay her down and curl up her lip. You prick the soft, inside of the lip to get the blood. You do this first thing in the morning before she eats anything. Then come on and give me the reading.

The lip curl is the same way a vet will do a blood glucose reading. Yes, it will prick her but the get over it pretty fast. And a vet will charge you at least a hundred bucks for a visit when, if you already have a monitor, you can do at home for free.


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## Shammy (Jul 18, 2013)

What's funny is I JUST started Cookie in diapers today. It's my last effort for sanity on my part. I've spent about 3 years (since we got her at age 5) using pee pads. She is pretty good about peeing on the pads, sometimes misses and just goes on the edge. That pee trails down the grout and soaks in a stinks. Then my poodle trained himself to pee on the pad's edge (and more pee on the grout) and my bichon decided, oh, the sunroom must be the place to pee, doesn't make it ANYwhere near the pee pad, and my PWD decides if the bichon pees there, she has to mark over her pee. I have spent the last week cleaning up and trying to configure more pee pads- and they would just move to the very edge and repeat peeing all over!!!

The problem here is the pee pads. 

Backflash: My first dog was a very stubborn minpin who marked anything and everything (even my leg!) I spent several years cleaning up after him, trying to retrain him with different methods. I spent much of his life RESENTING him! When he turned 12, I sewed "P-Shirts" which were like a long vest, but then with a belly band that velcro around his belly. (He could slide a regular belly band right off his butt!) He lived 2 years more, and it was glorious!! I never let up and kept it on him indoors at all times. Once in a while the pad would be wet. Mostly not, I think he hated being wet, even though I checked it often and changed to a new pad. It was far worth it, and those were the best 2 years ever, I could enjoy him fully without worrying about him ruining the furniture and carpet and having my house stink. 

Well. Cookie will be 9. This has been going on 3 years. My grout STUNK. I had managed to keep the stink to just the one little sunroom, but yesterday it was so bad that the den and kitchen reeked from it. I spent 3 hours scrubbing grout by hand with enzymatic cleaner, then rinsing and scrubbing, rinsing and scrubbing with the attachment on my carpet shampooer. It still has a faint smell of pee, so I've sprayed the grout again today and the baseboards where the pee would pool up. I'm hoping the enzymes will sink into the grout and take care of it. 

I DO NOT feel guilty in the slightest for diapering Cookie. I stayed up til midnight sewing her a diaper and ½ a poise pad sticks right in there perfectly. She tried to convince me she couldn't walk at all. Tough. When she saw her breakfast was at stake, she decided her pants weren't a big deal at all. (and she's missing a front leg!) She even stands nicely for me to put them back on when we come in from outside. So far today she has not peed in them. 

Phew. So far today also none of the other dogs have peed indoors, either and my house DOES NOT smell like pee!!! (sorry for the yelling, but I am SO relieved!)

When the time comes in the winter that she needs to use a pee pad (her feet freeze up far too quickly), then I will put a little expen in the garage with pee pads and take her out there. NO pee in the house!

She will wear pants for the rest of her life, whether she pees in them regularly or not. Not giving her the opportunity. 

So, do not feel guilty  And you can make or buy some cute, cute pants! And it will bring you peace of mind and closer to her. Just make sure to change those pants often and do a butt-wash, crate her without and let her air dry often to prevent urine scald (usually the poise pads suck the pee right up immediately). 

Now go enjoy your girl!


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

Shammy, Your sense of humor made me smile. I made "pee shirts", too. We called them "reliability suits". lol They helped turn the corner in my struggle to re-housebreak Mickey when we got him as an adult. I was very lucky. He only had to wear diapers a couple weeks before he decided to avoid the wet belly! Then the reliability suits (without a liner) reassured us he wasn't sneaking in a corner. The things we do for our chis! And it's all worth it. Do you make other things for yours? My newest hobby is sewing, knitting and crocheting for mine. Would love to see you handiwork if you do. Some pictures to make you giggle.


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## Shammy (Jul 18, 2013)

Zellco, those are SO cute! Gobie's pee shirt didn't go around his tail/butt but the shirts were very similar otherwise. 

I only sew for the dogs, and minimally LOL. I went through a collar making phase, and that was fun. Still have a lot of the hardware and will probably make more sometime. 

Otherwise I've made belly bands, pee pants for girls, and horse-coat type coats for my dogs in the winter. Just a simple vest style with belly strap to keep the coat on. I make those out of polar fleece and the dogs seem to really appreciate the warmth. 



That's the limit of my sewing ability


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## zellko (Jul 3, 2013)

Please do post pics if you have the time. Though I'm a sewing instructor I'm new to crochet. It's fun and inspirational to see all projects both advanced and beginner. Mine are 5 1/2 lb. and 2 1/2 lb. I'm happy to share patterns. (Also, have made for friends with larger chis so have a couple larger patterns I have developed).


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## Bexasaurus (Aug 7, 2015)

sugarmag said:


> THANK YOU! It makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one going thru this.


You are definitely not alone! Everyone dog trains differently, and if she's happy in diapers I certainly don't see an issue with it. I tried diapers with the boys, but I never could find ones that worked very well. But if she's happy and you're happy, all that counts is that you found something that works!


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