Posted by Jo
on July 15, 2009, 7:16 pm, in reply to "A second Marley!"
Hi Marilyn
The 2nd Marley sounds like he is suffering from stress and separation anxiety. i take it when he is confined he is on his own i.e. away from you or the other dogs? When dogs get stressed it affects their water works, so peeing is a release for them - he's not being naughty and shouldn't be punished for it.
He may well be picking up on your husbands negativity towards him which will make the situation worse.
I would not be in a rush to castrate him - castration is not a cure-all for these problems, or many others that vets suggest. The chemical implant they recommend can also 'fry' dogs brains and make them worse.
I would start a plan of de-stressing him and training in small amounts. Be in no rush to start walking him, but do practice lead training - Turid Rugaas has a book on lead training (look on Amazon), her method is the best I have come across. Doing this a few times a day, plus games, will help him focus (brain work will tire him out), and bond with you. Also practice leaving him alone for very short periods of time and return to him with minimal fuss, to build up his confidence in being alone. Try to get your husband involved as well, positively!
You may need to accompany him in the garden for now on a long lead to stop him running off - use this time to reward him for peeing in the garden, to reinforce that is where you want him to go.
You've done a brilliant thing taking these dogs on and you will be fine, it's just some dogs take longer to settle than others and a house and owner change is a major deal in a dog, especially sensitive ones. He just needs time!
Best wishes
Jo
--Previous Message--
: I started with 2 Samoyeds(now 4 years old). I
: adopted an elderly ill-treated Samoyed 2
: years ago (now 13 years old). I recently
: had no choice but to adopt a brother and
: sister Samoyed (four years old) as they were
: in indescribably bad conditions.
: They both have their medical problems which
: I am curing. Neither have ever seen a lead
: before which is currently making walking
: difficult. The girl is a sweetie, but her
: brother is a second Marley.
: Despite reinforcing all fences he bludgeons
: his way out (but always comes back). If he
: is confined in a room he hacks away at the
: door. I am afraid he may even damage
: himself in his desperation to get out. He
: sometimes pees against the furniture and
: husband is becoming very anti. He is a sweet
: dog in his own way but I don't know how to
: stop him wrecking the house.
: I wanted to have him sterilised but cannot
: until his heartworm is cured (he can't be
: sedated safely). The vet administered a
: "chemical sterilisation implant"
: which she says should last for 6 months but
: is showing no signs of slowing him down.
: I don't know whether to have the dog adopted
: or the husband. Help!
:
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