One of my favorite board-and-train dogs is the one who needs housetraining. I love potty training dogs. Adult dogs, puppies, young dogs, old dogs, send me your dog who needs housebreaking and I’ll do it. As long as she’s a healthy dog, that is. When there’s something getting in the way of complete housetraining, I can still help with housetraining plus management.
I’ll give you two examples of dogs that don’t fit the healthy dog category because they have physical conditions that prevent complete housetraining. In other words, it’s not their fault when they urinate in unexpected places. I’ve had both kinds as personal dogs.
One type of dog who can’t be housetrained completely is a dog with an ectopic ureter. Being I’m a dog trainer and not a vet, I searched for a good description of ectopic ureter from a veterinarian site. Marvistavet on ectopic ureters: “Instead of connecting to the bladder, the ureters connect to the urethra, the vagina, or even the uterus. The ureters are thus bringing urine to an area inequipped for urine storage and leaking results. Incontinence and infection are the usual outcome. Most affected animals are female and often there are multiple internal urinary anatomical abnormalities.” There are some drawings on that page which help clarify the internal wiring that causes this. Having a dog with an ectopic ureter is having a dog that needs management in the area of potty training. You can set up your household and dog to minimize urine spillage in the wrong places. Some dogs with this malady run a stream sometimes, rather than a leak. It depends on where the ectopic ureter misconnects. But it’s not the dog’s fault when this happens, and she shouldn’t be considered hard to housetrain.
As for leaking, there is an issue that some female dogs have after they’ve been spayed. It’s called spay incontinence. This can happen shortly after spaying, years after spaying, anywhere in between, or never. The symptoms of spay incontinence are the dog usually pees in her sleep, or when resting. She’ll get up and you’ll find a big wet spot. As with ectopic ureters, it’s not the dog’s fault and is not considered a housebreaking problem. A dog who suddenly pees without consent is just unable to hold it in due to the lack of hormones in the case of spay incontinence. The good news is there are inexpensive medications that can be given to your dog, which control spay incontinence. The medicine I give my spay incontinent dog is Proin. Proin is a chewable tablet and is usually snack-like to the dog, so easy to give. Best news is that it works.
There are other physical abnormalities that make complete housetraining impossible, some are lifelong, chronic challenges, and some acute. Housetraining and housetraining management can work in tandem when your dog has a lifelong challenge, while your veterinarian can treat those sudden illnesses that cause an otherwise faithfully housetrained dog to break training. And if all is well physically with your dog, complete housetraining is doable and I can help.
If you need help with management housetraining or complete board-and-train housebreaking, contact me today to get started.
Helen Verte Schwarzmann
Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-KA
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Your Dog Trainer for Weston, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Broward County, South Florida
By Helen Verte
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