[Shine]

I have a 6 year old chihuahua x Italian Greyhound who developed epilepsy about 4 years ago. Stress, anxiety and excitement all bring on a seizure and she is a very timid and get stressed very easily.*

My problem is this, she`s the most difficult dog I've had to toilet train and over the last 2 years her toilet habits have worsen. It started that she just wouldnt go to the toilet outside when it was cold but has now developed into peeing all the time inside (particlally on the babys things). She will find hidy places to do it, sometimes covers it over, *and when she realises she has been caught in the act she yelps and rolls over, so its clear she knows its wrong, she just tries harder to hide it next time.*

we've tried taking her out every few hours and she will pretend to go, come back inside and pee anyway, most times its in a different place.

if we tell her off she begins showing signs of having a seizure, we praise her when she goes outside, i even bought a pet potty that has never been used. the baby is 8 months but she has been doing this before the pregnancy, but did get worse once the baby arrived. I don't know what to!

 

[stubyng]

Here are some tips on housetraining from Dogs Trust site:

Dogs Trust - Basic Housetraining

As long as the training is done in a calm manner, therefore not stressing her out too much, the epilepsy should not be an issue.

As her problem seems to have increased with the arrival of your baby, it may also be a slight jealousy/insecurity issue. Try and make sure that she still has plenty of your time & attention too (though I appreciate this is not always easy!) to try and reduce this.

 

[Phoolf]

It sounds like from her behaviour you have acted negatively about her doing this in the past. When dogs have been punished for peeing inside they tend to hide, do it when you're not around or do it in hard to find spots, this is why you should never overly chastise your dog for getting it wrong. Your dog doesn't know it's 'done wrong'. Dogs do not have a moral sense of right or wrong, they have no conscience, they only know learned behaviours. Your dog appears to be 'guilty' because it knows from your body language that something unpleasant is about to happen. Instead of projecting human emotions onto your dog you need to start up with the training as if she was a puppy all over again, do not chastise your dog for peeing inside, if you catch her in the act calmly pick her up and take her outside, when she goes outside praise her, do a silly dance and give her some treats so you mould the behaviour you do want. Perhaps try and train her to ring a bell near the door so she can tell you when she wants to go out. Check out dogstardaily.com for great housebreaking tips.

Also you need an enzymic (spelling?) cleaner to get the smell away, if an area of the house has the smell of old pee on it the dog is more likely to go inside.

 

[Shine]

I admit that I so sometimes growl at her when she pees on the baby's things, but never smack or yell at her (this would put her into an instant fit), but usually I just point at the spot and then put her outside.

Just before I read your replies, I caught her peeing on her bed. She was just squatting on her blanket and looking at me. I took her over to it, said no and out she went, but that seems really bazaar, that she soiled her bed.

I think maybe the major problem is that when she needs to go she doesn't let me know.

I'll have a read of that link Stubyng and checkout dogstardaily.com (as well as the topic on this forum) Hopefully something will work out