Is this defiance

[Lili's Mama]

I'm not sure if this problem should come under housebreaking, training, temperament or what, but Lili is acquiring a baaaaaad habit. Tues. I was dressing to go out and she was sitting on the bed with me. She sleeps there with us and is up and down all the time so nothing new for her to be there, when all of a sudden I felt something wet and warm and the little devil had peed on me, soiling my gown and robe, also the duvet cover and duvet. I immediately said no and put her outside but it was freezing so couldn't leave her long. After that I put her in the hated crate for about an hour. She has never liked the crate and is only in there when we both are out, which is rare. After that episode she has been an angel until today (Saturday). All was well and she had just come in from outside when I said, lets go for a walk and got her leash and sat down on the sofa to put it on her. She's not particularly fond of the collar and leash either so she promptly peed on me again. Her little fanny stayed outside for about 2 hours this time. All the while she is peering in the French doors begging to get in. Her potty training has been okay with a few accidents but this seems like an act of defiance because I was going out and she didn't want to put on the collar. What should I do? Any suggestions? She's so darn cute it's all I can do to ignore her but I have been.<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm33.gif" border=0> Shirley

[Mark]

Hi Shirley,

First, IMO, do not use outside or the crate as a punishment for Lili. Outside should always be a positive thing, as should the crate be a refuge. If they become negatives . . . the house is all that's left.

I see many Dachsie's here (and one of our own) who commit seemingly defiant or attention getting acts of peeing or pooping. The only thing we did is pretend that she never knew anything and go back to square one. With us it was Duck Butter who we had trouble with and she would seem to pee & poop for spite. It was when we first got Top Spin . . . Dachsie's hate change! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif At first we would scoop her up as soon as she did the offense and put her out. It makes sense now that it didn't work. I could see her wheels turning, as though she was thinking, "Let's see . . . if I wanna go outside I just pee or poop and voila, they put me out." So we went back to the basics of taking (not putting) her out on a schedule and we made it a "fun thing" by getting excited the "we're goin' outside". Encouraging her (we used "go potty") and when she finally did right . . . big praises (some like to use treats). Within a week or two she was back on track and we gradually decreased and eliminated the "basic training".

Anyway, that's what we did . . . I hope it helps.

Keep us posted,
Mark

[Lili's Mama]

Mark, thanks for the input. Lili is a bell ringer and we let her out every single time she rings the bell, which is often. Sometimes it's just to race outside, bark and race back in. We have a fenced yard so she has plenty of freedom. I didn't know of any other way to punish her for such an act. This morning she was fine and has gone outside twice and received lots of praise like she always does. I forgot to say that she did the same thing (peed on the sofa) right after I clipped her nails. We did the clipping outside and she raced in, jumped on the sofa and let go. She is so attached to my husband and me (mostly me) that she never wants us out of her sight. We are retired and home all the time because my husband had a stroke 7 years ago and is in a wheelchair. He and Lili adore one another and are together anytime my lap isn't available. I must say, she has brought far more love and joy to us than you can imagine and we have spoiled her terribly.<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm20.gif" border=0>

[Heather]

Hi Shirley, Beanie was a submissive pee'r and one thing we did to stop that was to ignore the behavior and with some other techniques, it did go away. Remember that Lili will not differentiate negative attention from positive attention, so maybe try ignoring the behavior-yes this is hard, and don't clean it up in front of her.

Good luck

[Heather]

Oh, I realize your situation might not be submissive peeing, just thought I would share one technique that might work.