• Animal Rescue Live
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• 19 July 2007

Ask the Experts: Toilet Training

Kiran Sareen answers your questions on the subject.

On the fourth show the subject of the phone-in was toilet training. Here Kiran Sareen answers some extra questions that you posed by phone or by email.

Lizz Sullivan asks:
I have a 3 year old rottweiler who keeps weeing at night time. She does not do it during the day at all but it has happened ever since she was a puppy. Is there anything I can do to stop this behaviour?

Kiran replies:
Make sure that she is having a last wee at night even if you have to wait in the garden for ages. It may be necessary to slightly alter her feeding times so that she is not eating too close to bedtime.

Aside from her drinking at this time, dog food does often also contain fluids. When she does go to the toilet outside, give her calm quiet praise. Don't punish her if you find that she has had an accident overnight. She won't remember what she did wrong and anxiety can be a contributing factor in housetraining problems.

In the morning, if she has messed overnight, clean it up with a 10% solution of biological washing powder. Once this is clean, wipe over the area with some surgical spirit. Make sure that you test the solution on an inconspicuous area of flooring first to check that it doesn't remove the color. It is important that she doesn't see you clean it up as this could encourage an attention seeking behaviour to develop.

Sue from Mersea Island, Essex, asks
My daughter's cat, a male, neutered, 3-year-old Bengal has been weeing on her leather sofa in the same place¹ over the past 6 months which has now ruined the leather sofa. Do you have any suggestions on what we can do?

Kiran replies:
Initially, take the cat to the vet to check there isn't a medical cause for the behaviour. If he is given the all clear medically, this could well be scent marking, in which case how you clean up the mess is crucial.

Clean the area as I've described above, making sure he doesn't see you clean it up so as to discourage attention seeking behaviour from developing.

If this is the only place that he scent marks, restrict his access to this room for now as much of the behaviour may now be habitual. After a couple of weeks you can reintroduce the cat to the area, and you can effectively 'scent mark' for them to reduce their desire to do so. Use a damp cloth to wipe over the cheeks and whiskers, then wipe this along the edge of the sofa so it contains their scent.

To pinpoint the cause of the behaviour, you need to consider whether anything changed at the time the behaviour started i.e. new cats in the area/house or a change in the household composition. If the cat does become anxious easily, have a chat to the vet about getting a pheromone diffuser which can help calm a cat down and reduce their desire to scent mark.

Rackel asks:
My dog doesn't tell us when she wants to go out, we have to leave the back door open all day and at night she wees at the back door, how do we get her to tell us when she wants to go?

Kiran replies:
As the door is open, your dog doesn't need to indicate that she wants to go out. Try keeping the door closed for a few days and observing her behaviour very closely. She will probably give very subtle signals that she needs the toilet such as becoming slightly anxious, pacing or approaching the door.

You need to be rewarding these subtle signs at this stage, telling her she is a þgood girl' for showing you she wants to go out and building it up from there. She will gradually become more clear in her signals as she knows that they are a successful way to get outside but this is a slow process and unfortunately dogs won't instinctively communicate that they want to go out, they do need to learn.

Do not punish her for her behaviour if she has urinated indoors, simply let her out, make sure you are cleaning the area correctly with a 10% solution of biological washing powder and make sure you gently praise her when she does go to the toilet outside.

Lynn Diggins asks:
I have a Shih Tzu who does a wee when we put his lead on to go out for a walk, especially first thing in the morning. What do I do to stop it please?

Kiran replies:
This sounds like he is weeing out of excitement as he anticipates going for a walk. You don't mention whether you have a garden, if so, is it possible to let him out directly, first thing so that he has chance to go to the toilet? This would avoid the prolonged excitement of his lead being put on.

You could try changing his routine slightly, for example having a quick play with a toy first before quietly attaching his lead. This may reduce the excitement of the attaching of the lead and going out for a walk and so not trigger the weeing.

You could also try using a 'slip lead' initially as this is fair less fidgety and will mean that you are not bending down and touching him which may be enough to cause all the excitement. You can then clip his actual lead on to his collar when you get outside. If he is a young dog still, this is a behaviour he is likely to grow out of.