Dog/Puppy Help!
 

I have a 3 year old chihuahua- his name is Comet. We adopted him earlier this year from the Dumb Friends league. He had been dumped there because his prior family had brought home a large dog who hassled Comet- so he took to peeing around the house out of stress- so out goes Comet.

He's been a very good dog- rare accidents, likes to go outside. Smart, sweet and very loving. He's my velcro dog- sticks to me as often as he can. He often goes to visit my mother and gets on well with her dog, Bandit- who is not much bigger than he is (he is a 13 pound beast of a chihuahua).

Last weekend we aquired a new puppy-Raylie. She is actually a little smaller than Comet is now, but she won't be for long. She's lab/german shepherd and will certainly outweigh him before too long. She's a sweet puppy- but she is a puppy and she loves to pounce on Comet. He is doing very well protecting his treats and letting her know his boundaries-but we have a problem.

He has started to pee on things out of stress. Last night he went all over a pillow on the floor, and then a bit on the floor and a blanket. I can tell it's him because cat pee smells different than dog-so the cats are not the culprits and Raylie was not in the room around the time this happened.

I have read that dogs do this to mark their territory and feel more secure. I was wondering if anyone else had advice or experience with this. I know he feels insecure- last time a new dog came into his home he got evicted. I have been making sure to spend a lot of time and love on him as well. He sleeps in our room, Raylie does not (she is in her crate with the boys). He gets run of the house when we are away- she is in the crate or the kitchen behind a gate. The pee thing is new as of last night- he did leave a couple small "packages" for me but nothing awful.


Any help is appreciated. :)

I'm assuming Comet has been "fixed" - correct?

I wish I could help, but I do not have an answer for you, Nephy.

Yes- Comet is neutered, and of course Raylie will be spayed soon.

:) Thanks for the thought-

Our latest adoptee, Jack, also marks - we rescued him last year, and we had him wear a "belly band" (diaper) for several months - we didn't want to stress him out too much - he was sick and neglected when we got him. Now that he's a regular member of the household, we're re-housebreaking him. He sleeps in a crate, and we're vigilant when he's walking around. Correcting a dog "after the fact" really doesn't do any good. You have to catch him in the act...

I don't really want to correct him-I just calmly clean up. I want to know how to help him get past this-

Comet goes outside 99% of the time- I am just puzzled as to how to help him adjust and not pee from stress.

Think of your dog like you would a 2-4 year old child. When they're upset, they act out.

All you can really do is make it clear that the behavior is unacceptable (by correcting your dog when it happens), and eventually when your dog calms down the behavior should as well.