Hey peeps! How's it going? I know this is a magic forum and stuff but I figured since some posts on this thread are non magic related, why not give it a shot. I hope someone here is kind ( & knowledgeable enough ) to lend some advice on a situation I've got at hand. Here we go...

I got myself a pet Silky Terrier sometime in March Last year and as of May this year, she's 1 year 4 months old. She's reached sexual maturity as well. I would say I've got a great relationship with my dog and though she's only trained to sit and lie on the floor, she pretty much seems to understand what we're saying at home. It took me and my family about 3 months in total to get her to understand that when she needs to pee, she goes to her pee tray. ( I live in an apartment) This means no accidents. Well, this only lasts as long as its Daytime.

Cherry, seems to have a problem recalling where her pee tray is in the middle of the night! Her tray is placed in a corner of the kitchen and she ends up going on the floor. Causing us to have to wash the entire kitchen almost every morning. In the Day we have no problems. She uses her tray when she needs to go. In the night, GOSH! At times, we find pee just inches away from her Pee tray. its ok if she 'missed' but, this is clearly not missing. It seems like she's lazy and when she's sleepy, she just goes to the general area to pee. Causing headaches almost every morning when we wake up. Another problem I find is, she would not poo and pee at the same place. And, She would decide to poo on the tray, then pee next to it, on the floor. It gets frustrating but I'm sure there's a solution.

I guess one option would be to take her out more often so she does her business on grass or to limit her water intake ( she has water in a bowl for now) but these are still temporary measures. Is there something I could do? Any advice? Anyone had this problem before?

Do not limit her water drinking. Just like humans, the more the merrier.

Dogs pee on their home's (or places their frequently use) nearby spots to mark their territory. This has probably to do with the fact she's just reached sexual maturity, so she is likely trying to attract a male to mate with and / or extending her domains.

Some Pet Shops carry a product that attracts the dog to pee on the same spot every time. I don't know ho it works, it must be some kind of pheromone that triggers their will to pee, further extending the conditioning to a specific spot.

I don't own dogs, but my parents have a German Shepperd that refuses to do his business outside the house and on any other spot unless he's absolutely desperated to do so. Even then he will look for a place to bury it, just like cats do. So I guess this product works pretty well when side by side with proper training and lots of patience.

This same situtation was on our noon television news reports. They have a vet doctor every week to answer questions. The doctor suggest putting the dog in it's cage at night. If you find the dog does not mess in the cage, then she is just acting up for some reason. Just keep her in the cage at night. After several weeks you could test her, but it may be necessary to keep her in the cage when no one is home and at night. That is the only solution the vet had for this behavior. The main thing in training any animal is consistency.

I actually never heard of having a dog go in a tray. Cats yes, but not a dog. Good thing you do not have a male, as they only lift a leg and go on the wall.

Yep, we use a pee tray for dogs. Caging her won't work as she has never been caged since a pup. I'm still thinking of possibilities as to why she might do so every night

Wmhegbli is correct about the crate (cage) training and you can train ANY age dog in a crate. It absolutely breaks the pee/poop problem because a dog doesn't like to sleep where he/she does his/her business. My wife and I trained border collies for ten years and crate traiing works every time. And don't make the mistake of getting a large crate for a small dog because you will think the dog has more room and won't feel cagted in. That's human thinking, not dog thinking. The crate should be proportional to the size of a dog....put a blanket or something familiar in it and it becomes their den, or safe haven after time. You might even cover the crate with a blanket so there are no outside visual attractions. They will object for a few days, but after a short time, it becomes a habit and you will have clean kitchen floors in the morning. Once again, consistency is the key. Good luck.

I tried this once. But with a play pen at night. She basically screamed the whole night. I've got neighbors too...In the day, its all ok...I'm gonna try to cultivate the habit of havin her Poo in the outside. This might help..

Crate is still the way to go - it may take a few days of her complaining, but it should eventually stop - I have had dogs all my life and never crated them until the one we have now - it was the best thing to do - we crated not just at night, but when we were out during the day - once they get used to it, it becomes their little apartment and they feel very safe and secure there - if fact even when we were home we would leave the crate unlocked an many times our pup would go in there on his own to take nap - we crated from when we got him as a puppy until about a year and a half, then he just stopped using it (never had an accident in the house since he was 6 months, except once when he was quite sick) - he is a golden retreiver - our dog before him was a Laso an we had a heck of a time house training him - the vet told us to go to the crate when he was 3 years old and it worked - also make sure you walk your dog a LOT, especially before bed time - if they have nothing inside before bed time it is very hard to go during the night - smaller dogs can be a little harder to initially train (smaller bladder) - another important element is to never let you dog see you clean up there mess.

MM

MM is s spot on...put up with a few nights of yipping, warn the neighbors, buy them dinner or something, and you'll have yourself a trained dog in short order, You get the dog you train. Or the dog gets the master it trains. Your call.

Never let your dog see you clean its mess... something psychological behind this?

Everyone has given the solution to your problem. And I said, it comes from a professional Vet. If you refuse to accept the method, then it is on you, not your pet. Please do not take your inability to do what is right out on your pet. It sounds like you want to do what is convenient for you, so what if you have to put up with a little wippering for a day or two. It is not about you, but about the dog.

As with most of these thing, it is not the animal that needs training but the owner.

I am sorry you do not want to do what is right for your animal. It is indeed very sad that people do such things, that is good for the animal. Also many apartments make the renter replace the carpeting or flooring if your animal messes the floors. Cleaning will not penetrate all the way to the sub-flooring.

Wmhegbli... easy to accuse. Without knowing the real situation. No need to be aggressive. I never denied any advice. So seriously, read and access the situation before jumping and condescendingly speaking to someone. For it feels that way. Still, thanks for your time. People are right about the Café now. Its become a shooting range. Thanks Bob, magicalmoticator and wmhegbli for sounding out what the vet said.

PS: once again don't assume I'm doing things for convenience sake. A problem can only be solved when everything is put out to look at. Maybe you do things differently. Crate training it is. I have no idea why you decided to type that. Anyways, FYI, apartments in Singapore have marble/granite tiled floors.

(remove this thread if you need to)

You did write these posts, didn't you? My comments comes from your comments. Just trying to have you see the situtation as you posed the problem. Sorry you took them as an insult, but sometimes the truth hurts. If you don't want to face it, that is your choice, but it was not ment as an insult, but coming from a solid helping side of things.

Thanks for your help.

Wow... does this happen all the time?

Kyle, in all fairness, and by your own admission, you posted a non magical question in the forum, which is fine; I've broken a few rules myself and got my hands slapped. I don't have a problem with that and most other folks wouldn't either.

But you were given solid, consistent advice from three different folks yet you insist that the solution won't work for you. A playpen isn't a crate. What do marble/granite tile floors have to do with anything? The training technique is solid as a rock. Yet you choose to not try it. That's fine too.

But shooting range? No one is taking aim at you, we merely tried to genuinely help you solve your problem. That's what the Café is all about.

And Foxhole, if you stick around for awhile, you'll find the Café to be a great place to meet folks and get lots of good solid help and advice.

Kyle, maybe a night-light would help.

Regan

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. You know what, I took Cherry to the vets 2 days back and he suggested a night lamp too. Tried it and for the past night, I had no problem at all! I'll keep you guys posted as well!