Re: urination

In Reply to: urination
Category:   
Posted by:  Melissa Dabilis
Posted on:  March 30, 2002 at 12:47:48

: Our 2 year old make JRT has begun to urinated on everything all over our house. This behavior is new. We confined him to 2 rooms in the house and it seemed to subside. I then thought I would take the gate down while I was in the house and put it up when I went out. The minute I took it down he ran to the living room and urinated on the couch. OUCH! He is back to the two rooms and did very well for several days. Now he has uriniated in one of these rooms. He is down to 1 room. We have a large fenced in yard and he has never been tied up. We walk him for 1 hour about 4 times a week. He lives with a 3 year old females, they are both neutered, who assumes the alpha position. I have never previously worried about separation anxiety as they are good company for each other while we are at work. Is it possible that there is a medical reason for this behavior? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Response:

Dear Melissa,

I'm answering both of your questions in this one post.

Whenever a terrier begins acting "differently" either physically or behaviorally we recommend that the terrier should be given a complete examination by the vet. Since your terrier's urination and behavior patterns have both changed recently, I suggest you get him an appointment next week.

I also suggest that you ask your vet for a recommendation for a behaviorist. Behaviorists work one-on-one with your dog (and your family) to evaluate what is going on and then give specific remedies to the specific problems.

Finally, please do not attempt to put your terrier in a submissive posture when he is acting aggressively; this often escalates the aggression and may not be the proper approach for your terrier.