Is it possible to teach an old dog new tricks?

[Sabine]

My beloved pup has now had 3 accidents where she peed on the our bed, right where she sleeps (spread out over the past 5 months). I have an appt. with the vet next week, but after this last time, FI and I decided that even if it is a medical problem and not a behavior problem like we suspect, we should probably try to train her not to sleep on the bed anymore.

We''ve had her for almost 3 years, and she has been sleeping on the bed with us every night of those 3 years.

What we are doing now is carrying her crate that she is in during the afternoon upstairs and putting her in that at night. Even though she was "crate trained" when we got her, she has never liked going in the crate and won''t go in voluntarily. She has been sleeping through the night in the crate in the bedroom with no problems, but as soon as we let her out, she tries to jump up on the bed. It''s been hard because I take her out as soon as I get up in the morning, and our schedule used to be that she would go back to sleep on the bed while I shower/get ready. I don''t want to put her back in the crate at that point because she is already in it overnight and during the afternoon when I''m gone. I''ve tried teaching her to lay on the floor instead of on the bed, but almost every time I turn my head, she tries to jump back on the bed, so eventually I just move her outside the bedroom and shut the door, and she lays on the floor outside the room until I come out. I know it can take some time for her to learn that she is no longer on the bed, so here are my questions:
1. Will it even be possible for her to learn she is not allowed on the bed so that she will no longer try to jump on it?
2. If it is possible, do you have any tips for training her not to jump on the bed?

 

[neatfreak]

You can certainly train an older dog. You just have to be consistent and firm. If she''s not let on the bed, neither of you can let her on at anytime, etc. Assuming this isn''t a dog who is like 14 whose having incontinence problems, you should be able to train it.

 

[Kayakqueen83]

Sabine,

I'm not sure about advice on crate training with older dogs but I will tell you that I had the same urinating issue with my 7 (or is it 8 now?) year old Yorkie. I actually asked for advice on PS as well. It turned out to be a hormonal problem. Now she is on medication to control the issue and no longer has accidents....at all. Is your dog fixed? If she is, it may be the same issue that my dog had.

I have always let my dog sit on the couch while we are watching TV. She curls right up and falls asleep. Then she started to have accidents in her sleep and we were afraid of how we were going to handle her doing this (and constantly cleaning her and our couch). Now we don't have to worry about it and she is just fine. Of course I would rather her not be on the medication, but in the end I think her quality of life (and ours!) is better.

Here is the link to the thread:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/dog-help.81752/

Good luck with training her in any case! I wish I had advice for you! I hope she feels better!

 

[Sabine]

Thanks neatfreak and kayakqueen! kayakqueen, do you remember what test was done that showed the hormone imbalance? I saw in your previous thread that you had $400 of testing done

I did make a vet appointment and told them what the problem was, and they asked for a urine sample, but didn''t tell me specifically what tests they would be doing. I''d like to make sure that whatever test shows the hormone imbalance gets done! I''m really hoping that would be the problem, because it really makes me sad to have to keep the dog off the bed!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

It sounds like they''ll be doing a urinalysis, which tests for red blood cells, white blood cells, Ph levels, the presence of crystals...I''m not sure if you need a blood test for hormone imbalnces, I think that might be detected in the thyroid levels?

Does she have a lot of little accidents, Sebine, or does she only have accidents in the same spot on the bed?

Let us know how the vet appt. goes! Oh, and training her to stay off the bed is very do-able.

 

[Kayakqueen83]

I actually forget all the testing that they did (I have an invoice of it all in my records but we are in the middle of a move and they are packed

) I know they checked for kydney stones and for a UTI (which she had as well), they did an x-ray, a urine analysis, took blood, and had to sidate her (for the x-ray).

I''m not sure what test they did to find out about the hormone levels... It may have just been trial and error... which is why it probibly cost so d@mn much! haha

In anycase, I''m sure that your doctor will be able to help you out with it. Apperently it is quite common (especially in female, spayed dogs).

Good luck and keep us updated! I hope your dog can return to normal soon!

 

[Sabine]

Just to update...Brandy went to the vet yesterday. She does not have a urinary tract infection. The vet said it was possible she is just getting in such a deep sleep that she leaks without realizing it and gave us some meds. to try to stop this from happening. She said the meds won''t hurt either way, but we could try them. Otherwise, it might just be behavioral, but the vet doubted that since it is right where she sleeps.

In other (much more exciting news!) I''ve finally taught her to sleep on a little doggie bed on the floor in the room! She really hated the crate at night, so she is much happier! Last night was the first night I tried the doggie bed, and she slept in it all night with no problems. This morning, when I got up to use the bathroom, she did try to jump up on the bed when I got back in, but I just told her to get down, and she went right back to her bed and went to sleep! Then, the real kicker! This morning, she slept on her bed when I was in the shower and when I came back in, she was still in her bed and didn''t even try to jump on MY bed when I wasn''t in the room! Yay!

 

[Kayakqueen83]

Oh yea! I was wondering how it worked out! I''m so happy that she loves her new bed... Looks like everything is going smoothly! YEA!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Thanks for checking back in, Sabine! I''m glad she doesn''t seem to have anything wrong with her medically, though it does make it harder to figure out what is going on. The good news is that it seems you guys have created a solution that works! Now you are happy because the pup isn''t peeing on your bed and she is happy in her snug little doggie bed! I''m happy for both of you