We had to leave our home and our dog for a month for military training. We left our dog at home rather than a kennel becaue we thought she would be happier in our house. A dogsitter comes several times daily to feed her, play with her, walk her, and let her in the backyard to go (she is a house dog).
She has been going to the bathroom all over our carpet because I think she is mad or stressed that we are gone. My mom says maybe we will need to replace our carpet now and retrain her when we get back!
HELP!!!! She didn't do this when we were there. She only peed a few times when my kids had pneumonia and she wasn't getting walked. She is a female, spayed, 7 year old german shepherd/lab, if that helps. How can we retrain her? And do we need to pull out our carpet or just clean it? And would homeowner's ins pay for it? I haven't seen it yet - still living on base. Thank you.
Thank you ladies! I love my dog so much that even if the carpet is ruined, that is okay. She is such a sweetheart and is used to almost always being with me that I am hoping as soon as we get home, she'll stop. She won't go in a kennel for the dogsitter but maybe I can start kennel training her when I get home. Thanks!
The dog is probably super lonely. Do you know for sure the sitter is coming? It would have been smarter to pay someone to take the dog if your going to be gone for so long. I would rather bring someones pet to stay with me for a month rather than go to their house 10 times a day to interact with their dog. I would say she is "acting out" because of stress or she is not getting out enough.
I think she's "pissed off"! LOL
Can your doggy sitter keep her in a comfy but non-carpeted area between walks/feedings?
I thnk she'll be fine once you're home.
Even if the dog sitter is doing her job perfectly, many dogs suffer from separation anxiety. It's pretty common. My dogs do, and I absolutely have to kennel them when I am not home. Obviously you can't put a dog in a small kennel for a month with only breaks to be out, but that is really the only way some dogs will not pee on the carpet. If you have to do this again, I'd definitely suggest boarding the dog, it will be better for her.
When you get home, she might keep peeing when you leave her out of fear that you aren't coming back. If this happens, you might want to start kenneling her while you're at work. My dogs are much happier in their "dens". They freak out if I try to leave them out. I've tried a few times over the years, thinking surely they'd outgrown the destructive, loud barking behavior. But no such luck. It isn't harmful to kennel train a dog. Or she might just go right back to her old ways and be fine.
As for the carpet, have a reputable carpet cleaning company come do an estimate. If the pee has soaked into the carpet pad or subflooring, though, you will need to replace the carpet and pad, and treat the subflooring, I'm sure. Otherwise the smell will keep coming back. Good luck. I'm sorry you've got such a mess to go home to.
I don't think you will have to retrain her when you get back. I think she will get back to normal once you are home. She sounds alot like our dog. A stranger that comes in and lets her out doesn't replace her family and she still has alot of time where she is alone. Our dog is getting older too and everytime something is changing she is getting really weired and will follow me everywhere like a shadow. Last time we left her with friends and we picked her up she had alot more gray hairs. Its just very stressful for pets when thinks change. No sure what you will need to do about your carpet but I am sure your dog will be back to normal once you are back.
As far as the homeowners insurance, some will, some won't. Request a copy of your policy from your agent or call them to ask. If you call to ask, make sure to tell them not to file a claim until you know if it is covered and the damage will be above your deductible. I know the company I work for does not cover property damage to your dwelling caused by your own dogs. If it's a rental situation with renters insurance, that might be different. I might call a professional carpet cleaner to see if they think cleaning might be an option as opposed to pulling the carpet. I don't have any advice on training the dog, but hope you get some good ideas!
I would steam clean the carpet first with dog stain remover. in order to retrain her get a kennel (dog box) and kennel her when she can't be watched night and when your gone. it wouldn't hurt for the dog sitter to kennel her till you get back. try steam cleaning them before replacing the carpet. it is probably cause she is lonely or insecure.
Sounds like your dog is lonely. Also is the sitter coming on time to let your dog out?? I have sat for many dogs, the one time I was late the dog peed on the floor. The dog could not hold it one second longer. I was never late again!! So make sure the sitter is really going to your home on time. And make sure the sitter is going over several times. I used to visit the dogs I sat several times a day, some more than other because some seemed so lonely.
I am sure it can be professionally cleaned. If it is old and needs replacing that is one thing but if it is in good condition they can save it. They have chemicals that can remove the urine down thru the pad.
Good Luck
M. B in Boise
Updated
Sent an answer but don't know if it went thru so i will send this to check it out.
She feels abandoned, and it sounds like the sitter isn't doing a very good job. I doubt the sitter is letting her out and playing with her and being company to her while you're gone. Plus she spends every night alone, right? Maybe you should have had someone live in your home while you were gone. Too late for that now. I think once you return home and your dog isn't lonely and bored, she'll go back to the way she was. You might have to replace carpeting but I'd try cleaning first. And no, insurance won't pay for it.
We had dogs that did this and never found a solution. They were fine the second we got home but as soon as we left and the sitter was there (whom we had stay at our house) they would pee all over the house. The only thing that worked for us was to put them in a kennel. The people there are trained to work with the dogs and your house will not be ruined. As far as your carpet, unfortunately, it will never be the same, you will probably have to replace it.
If you have yet to put anything on the urine spots try getting a enzyme cleaner. It takes the smell out right away. I got a giant bottle of some 8in1 stuff at walmart and it took both cat and dog urine out of the carpet. The cat thankfully has stopped and the dog doesnt do it when we are home thankfully. Unless there are fireworks going off outside then she refuses to walk out the door for anything. If you have already tried to clean the spots in might not work tho.
I do think your dog is lonely and yes I think you will be able to re-train her. If it's not too late to get a housesitter that will stay all night then get one. If not.......live and learn.
Have the dogsitter buy Natures Miracle, an enzyme, and clean like crazy. Keep the dog locked in the kitchen when she is alone. That's about all you can do.
The smell is super hard to get rid of if there is a lot of it.
But I believe it can be done. Consult professional cleaners or a restoration company (fire/ flood etc).
The dog doesn't know that you are coming back...dogs are pack animals. Even with a live-in sitter, some animals still feel traumatized. Maybe recordings of your voices for her to listen to?
It could be very possible that your dog is stressed out. Dogs are by nature social animals, not loners, and you are her society. She may still love you but feel abandoned. A dog sitter coming in might work for a day or two with some dogs, but a month is a long, long time.
Expect to replace your carpet and the pad, and to do major cleaning to whatever is under the pad, in order to get the odor out. Professional companies know how to do this. You'll have to talk with your insurance company about whether they cover the expense.
When you get home, give your dog lots and lots of love. If she doesn't want you out of her sight, you can't blame her. Give her lots of attention, take her for walks, play with her, and begin to establish your relationship with her again. Just as if she were a puppy, take her outside after every meal, every nap, and every period longer than a couple of hours, just to get her back on the right track. Keep clean-up stuff handy for mistakes while she gets used to the regular routine again.
It would also be a very good idea to have your vet check her out just to be sure there isn't any infection or other reason that she would "do her duty" inside rather than waiting to go outside.
I saw a mention of seeing vet but it wasn't really emphasized. Absolutely take her to a vet. the most common sign of a UTI is inappropriate peeing. Also, spayed females VERY commonly (like 30%) develop urinary incontinence. Not that I wouldn't still spay a dog, but it would've been nice to know this is a common side effect! anyway, it can show up as early as 5 years old (it did for our now 14 year old). There's a couple of medicines that can be used to control it and they work very well and are pretty cheap. If there's nothing medically wrong, she's either just anxious (for which there's doggy prozac too) or the pet sitter isn't really coming as often as she said she would. I'd try cleaning first with a professional that has experience w/pet odors just because to me it'd be worth the couple hundred dollars to try and avoid the thousands for new carpet. yes, you'll be able to retrain but if you don't get all the pee out, she'll always use the carpet on occasion because of the smell. good luck.
