# dirty protests



## mimimott (Apr 9, 2012)

how do i stop my dog doing dirty protests? hello evrybody i adopted a three legged jack russel from my local rescue centre three weeks ago, all the centre would tell me is that he had been badly treated. hes eighteen months old and is as freindly as anything and as good as gold, when he first arrived he would chase my cats rellentlesly but thanx to a baby gate this is calming down now and the cats are actually brave enought to spend a few minutes in the living room, obviously as soon as they run my dog thinks its a great game and all hell breaks loose but its not something i see as a problenm as there have been marked improvements in just a three week period.
so my dog is intelligant and learns quickly.
the problem is at night when we go to bed my dog sleeps in the spare room, as he has me all to himself during the day i feel this is his time to sleep and the cats then sleep in the bedroom get cuddles ect wich works out fine the dog barked at first but is now very good he sometimes even takes himself to bed!.
only problem is he does dirty protests! and lots of them i,m waking up evry morning to at least three or four gifts! sometimes more!!! he has a decent walk just before bed, i have tried being stern with him, but considering his background i,m reluctant to be to stern, for the most part hes the model dog he has his little niggles but its early days so i expect that, its just that i only moved in to my house a month ago and at the moment theres no carpet in the spare room obviously when we decorate i dont want him doing number twos all over the new carpet! does anyone have any ideas?????? i,m willing to try anything.


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

What time do you put him to bed and what time in the morning do you let him out?

Do you feed him once a day or twice and at what times.

3 or 4 Piles during the night seems excessive.


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## 912142 (Mar 28, 2011)

More importantly what are you feeding him? 3-4 poos is excessive.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

mimimott said:


> how do i stop my dog doing dirty protests? hello evrybody i adopted a three legged jack russel from my local rescue centre three weeks ago, all the centre would tell me is that he had been badly treated. hes eighteen months old and is as freindly as anything and as good as gold, when he first arrived he would chase my cats rellentlesly but thanx to a baby gate this is calming down now and the cats are actually brave enought to spend a few minutes in the living room, obviously as soon as they run my dog thinks its a great game and all hell breaks loose but its not something i see as a problenm as there have been marked improvements in just a three week period.
> so my dog is intelligant and learns quickly.
> the problem is at night when we go to bed my dog sleeps in the spare room, as he has me all to himself during the day i feel this is his time to sleep and the cats then sleep in the bedroom get cuddles ect wich works out fine the dog barked at first but is now very good he sometimes even takes himself to bed!.
> only problem is he does dirty protests! and lots of them i,m waking up evry morning to at least three or four gifts! sometimes more!!! he has a decent walk just before bed, i have tried being stern with him, but considering his background i,m reluctant to be to stern, for the most part hes the model dog he has his little niggles but its early days so i expect that, its just that i only moved in to my house a month ago and at the moment theres no carpet in the spare room obviously when we decorate i dont want him doing number twos all over the new carpet! does anyone have any ideas?????? i,m willing to try anything.


A few possible causes stand out from your post.

How long was he in kennels? Its often a common problem when you sometimes
re-home a rescue dog especially if they have been in kennels awhile that they lose some toilet training. Often in kennels they are shut in at night, so he may have gotten used to toileting in the kennel at night too and it may have become a bit of a habit.

Other possible clues is that he has himself to you all day and then isolated at night, if they are allowed constant access, then when they do get left they cant cope, inappropriate toileting can be a sign of anxiety and stress.

Third clue is that you have been "stern" with him, by that I assume you may have told him off for it in however mild a form, if he has been told off or punished for it in his previous life even a mild telling off can have impact. They will also pick up on your body language if you are angry tense and fraustrated at the toileting accidents even though you may not actually be telling him off that much. Also if you are telling him off when you find it in the morning, he wont even associate that its the toileting likely, only that when you greet him you are not happy and he gets told off but wont know why. Being upset with a dog for toileting accidents can make them more likely to be nervous about going in front of you and more likely to sneak off and do it.

Personally I would tackle it in three ways.

First a refresher course on toilet training, going out with him and when he starts using a cue word, eventually they associate the word with the act of toileting, and once learned you can use it as a toilet cue often getting them to toilet on demand. Lots of praise and treats when he does it right. In the night for a week or so, I would also set an alarm and pop him out to toiler once or twice. No bright lights on and talking and interacting with him as it will stimulate him wide awake. Just outside, toilet couple of words of praise and his treats and back to bed. This will re-enforce even more outside is the only place and the praise and treats will re-enforce it.

Second I would look at his diet. What food is he on? Some foods are bulked out with fillers and cereals that are not a lot of nutritional value, if he is on this type of food it will create more waste making him toilet more. A good food with higher nutritional value, tends to produce less and smaller stools plus you often need to feed smaller amounts too as its more nutritional. So diet may well be playing a part. Three or four poos overnight seems excessive unless thats all he is doing in the course of a day, making me suspicious if he does there is a behavioural element as well. Also look at the times and routine you are feeding him, usually if you keep to a set feeding routine they tend to establish a toileting routine more as well. If you constantly leave food down for him to graze on constantly throughout the day, instead of set meals that may be adding to it.

Thirdly I would start to give him short periods of self amusement and relaxation alone during the day, not giving him constant access to you all the time when you are in. He may well be getting stressed and anxious and cant understand why he is isolated at night as it is too stark a difference.
After periods of activity, walks, training or play sessions pop him alone with his bed and a self amusement toy. There is some suggestions below. Just pop him in, leave him with a goody and walk away, start at first for very short periods. so he learns to cope and it becomes normal and part of his routine.
Letting him out before he becomes stressed or vocal. Just let him out ignore him a little longer then call him and praise and treat. You can use food from his allowance in some of the toys.

Recipes - Kong
Busy Buddy Twist-n-Treat - YouTube
Pure Dog | Stagbar antler dog chews | natural dog treats | organic dog snacks | hypoallergenic dog chews | long-lasting dog chews | teeth cleaning dog chews | low fat dog treats

Other things that may help him to settle and also more at night are Dap dog appeasing pheromone diffusers, they have helped with anxious dogs and inappropriate toileting linked with it
Adaptil - The secret to happy dogs - Adaptil

Leaving a t-shirt or jumper you have worn in his bed can help as your smell can re-assure and settle them.

If he is in darkness then try a baby night light some dogs especially rescues dont like complete darkness, otherwise try dakness if you leave a light on now to see if he settles better. Bright light though tend to stimuate them wide awake.

Leaving a radio down low on a talking station can also sometimes help as the mumur of voices can help settle them.


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## mimimott (Apr 9, 2012)

hi evryone, he gets fed at six pm and has half a tin of pedigree chum with biscuts, he was on a full tin but i cut it down due to the toilet issue, he then goes to bed between nine and ten and gets up at half seven evry morning, i have tried the radio and the night light both of wich he chewed through (the actual nighte light and the wire of the radio) he has two kongs both different shapes wich i alternate each night i have tried getting up in the night to toilet him but he refuses to come back in so i tried putting him on his lead for this wich he trys to chew through (only at night toilet visits). i arranged for a dog trainer to come round but she told me to spray him with water so she diddent come back!! it just seems to be a real issue with him, also if he dosent want to go out for a wee he will stand and bark at us like hes demanding his own way we just completly ignore him till hes quiet.
there are obvious behaviour issues but i,m lost as to how to sort them?
i dont think hes a dirty dog at all i purley think its a behaviour thinfg.


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## mimimott (Apr 9, 2012)

woke up this morning to another three


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

mimimott said:


> woke up this morning to another three


Personally I'd feed him twice a day - breakfast between 7.00-8.00am and dinner at about 5.00pm. and I'd also change him onto a decent complete food. Something like Arden Grange, Fish for Dogs, James Wellbeloved, etc. Pedigree isn't really a very good food. There is lots of advice of this forum about various diets. Have a look at The Dry Food Index.

Bedtime at between 9.00-10.00pm until 7.30am in the morning is a very long time. The maximum I'd expect my dogs to hold themselves would be 10.30pm until 7.00am.

That was terrible advice from the trainer to spray him with water as it sounds as if he's confused enough already.

Do you go outside with him to toilet and praise and tit-bit when he performs?


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

Is it possible for you to crate-train him? If he's confined in a small den he would be less likely to foul his bed. 

Try to get him into the habit of going for a poo before bedtime. And could you be giving him too much food? Half a tin with biscuits sounds quite a lot - are you giving just one meal a day? Splitting into two meals, one morning, one later could help.

If it's partly down to anxiety, you could put a baby gate across the door to the room he's in, and leave your door open a crack so he can hear you breathing and get your scent.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

mimimott said:


> hi evryone, he gets fed at six pm and has half a tin of pedigree chum with biscuts, he was on a full tin but i cut it down due to the toilet issue, he then goes to bed between nine and ten and gets up at half seven evry morning, i have tried the radio and the night light both of wich he chewed through (the actual nighte light and the wire of the radio) he has two kongs both different shapes wich i alternate each night i have tried getting up in the night to toilet him but he refuses to come back in so i tried putting him on his lead for this wich he trys to chew through (only at night toilet visits). i arranged for a dog trainer to come round but she told me to spray him with water so she diddent come back!! it just seems to be a real issue with him, also if he dosent want to go out for a wee he will stand and bark at us like hes demanding his own way we just completly ignore him till hes quiet.
> there are obvious behaviour issues but i,m lost as to how to sort them?
> i dont think hes a dirty dog at all i purley think its a behaviour thinfg.


It may well be the food, he would probably be better on a complete food
Like Natural dog food company or James wellbeloved if you want dry or something more natural like nature diet or Natures menu tinned or pouches.
All these are highly nutritional and have no artificial additives and are usually better digested. It might be the pedigree chum and the biscuits full of cereal thats causing some of the problem.


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## mimimott (Apr 9, 2012)

hiya i dont wanna put him in a crate i think he would be more traumatised by it, and he goes to bed at those times coz thats when we do, my youngest is disabled so i,m completly shatterd by ten pm. will try the two meals see if that helps.


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