Sleepless in Doberman...peeland!

[Terica Lilley]

Good Afternnon Everyone(1st timer):

I have 2 wonderful Dobes who I love endlessly & tiredlessly; 5 yr Female-K.C.; & 2 yr Male-"Suggs" who is the night pee-r.

My husband works 2 rotating shifts & myself straight days. We have 50 acres which they run everyday for at least 1 1/2 hours, so there's no lack of excercise(eating lots of grass?). Have had Vet check to make sure Suggs' health is not an issue. Suggs is not neutered. They both sleep in bed with us; also have doggie beds on floor for them.

The issue is that Suggs gets up every night 1-2 times(sometimes more) without fail; & if we ignore him he will pee on the carpet(no particular area). We know Suggs can hold it; as when were on the day shift together they are left for 9-10 hours with absolutely "no accidents". But every night he has to go out! There are also the times that my husband comes home late from shift work & he lets him out(between 11:00-12:30; then a couple of hours later without fail he's banging on the door to go out-bell trained.

- We have tried to limit his nightly access to the main floor with a barrier(unable wonder through house); to which he will knock it over in the night to go downstairs to back door.
- We've tried to get up at scheduled hours to let him out; then start to stretch the time between pees.
- Cut of water supply by 6:00
- Tried to keep them up late-10:00 then make sure he's peed before bed; I get up at 5:00a.m, so there's not a long stretch of holding time.

My husband said he would start to get up with Suggs(placed 2 tags so could hear him) in the night; to say the least for the 2 nights since he's been getting up with him(I have resorted to ear plugs); I have awoken to 2 pees & we all know how much a 1 1/2 year Dobe can pee!!!!

Thanks for listening.......
Anyone with any ideas?????.

Terica

[Laura Redhawk]

Hi Terica!
Sounds frustrating!
When you have the Vet check, did they run a urine sample?...did they run samples MORE THAN ONE TIME. Sometimes a UTI can be missed, human error or just not developed enough to show up.

It also sounds like he was accidently "conditioned/trained" to need to go during the night.

We've had this happen with my girl, Hannah. Our Roomie rarely sleeps through the night. She would often take Hannah out, as a puppy, either to go potty, she had need and had asked to go out, or just for a late night/early moring...0300...stro ll. This has taught Hannah not to sleep through the night. A dog that isn't sleeping WILL NEED to go potty more often than one who IS sleeping...the body isn't fully at rest!

It's possible that as long as the dog's sleeping schedule is being inturrupted...he will continue to need to go out during the night...not much you can do about this...(doggie ear plugs?)

When you tried waking for a specific take out time...how long did you work on this and what did you do when he was exposed to going out? Did you let him out, TAKE him out...was there a party, Praise & Treat, once he went potty outside...(yeah..I know, like you FEEL excited about anything that isn't your own cozy bed at these hours of the night...you peed...oh joy...eat this treat and go back to sleep you crazy dog!...wink)

This is a Re-Conditioning type of training, you are attempting to OVERRIDE one behavior with a controlled behavior...it can take a few weeks to a few months to reach a reasonable level of success in "getting the idea down." It will usually take even longer if the original motivation for doing the ORIGINAL behavior is STILL taking place...such as the second/third shift return home.

This is a gold-plated toughie! Good Luck! I think I remember you from DD...so I know it's been a chronic situation.
Laura

Good Afternnon Everyone(1st timer):

I have 2 wonderful Dobes who I love endlessly & tiredlessly; 5 yr Female-K.C.; & 2 yr Male-"Suggs" who is the night pee-r.

My husband works 2 rotating shifts & myself straight days. We have 50 acres which they run everyday for at least 1 1/2 hours, so there's no lack of excercise(eating lots of grass?). Have had Vet check to make sure Suggs' health is not an issue. Suggs is not neutered. They both sleep in bed with us; also have doggie beds on floor for them.

The issue is that Suggs gets up every night 1-2 times(sometimes more) without fail; & if we ignore him he will pee on the carpet(no particular area). We know Suggs can hold it; as when were on the day shift together they are left for 9-10 hours with absolutely "no accidents". But every night he has to go out! There are also the times that my husband comes home late from shift work & he lets him out(between 11:00-12:30; then a couple of hours later without fail he's banging on the door to go out-bell trained.

- We have tried to limit his nightly access to the main floor with a barrier(unable wonder through house); to which he will knock it over in the night to go downstairs to back door.
- We've tried to get up at scheduled hours to let him out; then start to stretch the time between pees.
- Cut of water supply by 6:00
- Tried to keep them up late-10:00 then make sure he's peed before bed; I get up at 5:00a.m, so there's not a long stretch of holding time.

My husband said he would start to get up with Suggs(placed 2 tags so could hear him) in the night; to say the least for the 2 nights since he's been getting up with him(I have resorted to ear plugs); I have awoken to 2 pees & we all know how much a 1 1/2 year Dobe can pee!!!!

Thanks for listening.......
Anyone with any ideas?????.

Terica

[Kati Jordan]

I feel your pain :( Its still going on with my dog Molly too. She goes all day by herself full run of the house, no problems ever. She doesnt even potty right away when we let her out when we get home. But just this morning for example, my husband came to bed at 1, right after she went out and peed, i got up at 6am to find a puddle in my living room. Its SO frustrating because you know she can hold it :( I wish you the best, i hope everything works out for you, and if i can make one more suggestion, if its carpeted floors shes having problems on, get em cleaned =P It can leave horrid rings on hardwood floors underneath, our old house was a nightmare when we pulled the carpet up lol. Good luck to you :)