# She peed on my bed!



## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

My 6 month old puppy was doing better with housebreaking and I've been letting her sleep on my bed from time to time. Last night she did well all day, at 10pm i took her outside and she peed. Then i took her to be. about 10 minutes later she started digging at my blankets, i thought she was playing (she tries to find my feet in the bed) then she just squatted and had a massive pee. It soaked thru to the mattress. I had to get up, strip the bed, and i had no clean sheets to put on, so i slept on the couch with a throw blanket over me.

I know she must have had a full bladder (maybe didnt' empty completely when i took her outside before bed) but I thought she would have made more of a fuss or would have tried to get off the bed. 

I think it will be another month before she's allowed back on the bed again. She is still having an accident every few days and I have to be very very vigilient with her and I don't trust her to hold it at all in the house. 

I'm so frustrated with housebreaking with this dog!


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## lise (Sep 1, 2006)

Are you taking up the water dish after 7pm or earlier? This helps alot. I do that and then bring him out for his final pee around 10 or so and he doesnt go all night. (early days tho)I may be a bit too confident


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## rokipiki (Oct 15, 2010)

That peeing on bed is a tricky issue. Roki had that problem but not any longer. The closest conclusion I have comed to is that is some kind of protest. Maybe she needs longer walk before sleep. Withholding water during summer is not such good idea. I put fresh bowl for Roki before going to bed and in the morning it is almost empty!


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## lise (Sep 1, 2006)

*Water*



rokipiki said:


> That peeing on bed is a tricky issue. Roki had that problem but not any longer. The closest conclusion I have comed to is that is some kind of protest. Maybe she needs longer walk before sleep. Withholding water during summer is not such good idea. I put fresh bowl for Roki before going to bed and in the morning it is almost empty!


I have been told to take the water up at 7pm by alot of dog owners, both Hav and not and my breeder. I figure we don't drink for 8 hours when we sleep (well used to sleep) so he should be fine too. Ted gets up at 5:20 and first thing I do is put a fresh bowl of water down for him.He doesn't ussually go to it until after he goes out to pee.
If I were out for a time during the evening (although that will be awhile) I would leave him some water as I'm sure he would be up when we return to play and empty his bladder again. Ted has never whined for it yet and he sure tells me when he wants something!


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## marlowe'sgirl (Jun 17, 2010)

Tuss said:


> .
> She is still having an accident every few days and I have to be very very vigilient with her and I don't trust her to hold it at all in the house.


It sounds like too much freedom, too early. I got my Hav when he was 4.5 months old. The only house accidents we had were within the first 2-3 weeks when my vigilance failed. But he stayed in his kennel a LOT. My routine was 15 mins outside until a pee/poop, if not kennel for 45 mins, try again on the hour (I rarely had to repeat this after about 3 days). If he did go, party! and dedicated play time for half an hour, back in kennel etc. He napped in his kennel whenever I'd be distracted (cooking, laundry whatever). It's a lot of kennel time, but to be fair, he's 2.5 yrs now and still spends an awful lot of time napping at my feet. For the longest time, I didn't think my Hav 'got it' but I just knew his routine, took him out often, and never gave him a chance to make a mistake.

It was probably 2 months (7-7.5 months old) of completely accident-free days before I let my Hav out of his kennel when I went on errands (up to an hr unsupervised, allowed downstairs only). Slowly I increased his time unsupervised until he got whole afternoons. I didn't let my Hav on my bed until he was almost 11 months old. At almost 2 yrs old, I finally let him have free reign of the upstairs in addition to the downstairs; but that was mostly I was sick of the baby gate.

If you're still having accidents every few days, I wouldn't trust her unsupervised at all - let alone on the bed. Let her earn her freedom, very, very slowly.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

She is able to go all night in her crate without any trouble. I know she can hold it, she just chooses not to. My other dog was completely housebroken at this age and very reliable. This havanese is so stubborn and i don't trust her at all! I thought she would be okay on the bed, but apparently not.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tuss said:


> My 6 month old puppy was doing better with housebreaking and I've been letting her sleep on my bed from time to time. Last night she did well all day, at 10pm i took her outside and she peed. Then i took her to be. about 10 minutes later she started digging at my blankets, i thought she was playing (she tries to find my feet in the bed) then she just squatted and had a massive pee. It soaked thru to the mattress. I had to get up, strip the bed, and i had no clean sheets to put on, so i slept on the couch with a throw blanket over me.
> 
> I know she must have had a full bladder (maybe didnt' empty completely when i took her outside before bed) but I thought she would have made more of a fuss or would have tried to get off the bed.
> 
> ...


You are braver than I to consider letting her sleep on the bed in another month. An accident every few days isn't potty trained in my world-view. I think she needs MUCH closer supervision and/or confinement (depending on how closely you can watch her at a given moment) until several MONTHS after you are *100%* accident free. Then you can start slowly watching her less and confining her less. If she still remains accident free, you have a day-time potty trained puppy. If not, back up on the supervision/confinement.

I wouldn't allow her in the bed with me (over night, which basically means unsupervised, for those of us who sleep) until she was COMPLETELY independent in terms of pottying, with NO accidents, for several months. Then I would make certain that there was a pad available to her in the room, AND that she felt completely comfortable getting on and off the bed independently. If any of these criteria couldn't be met, she wouldn't be sleeping in MY bed.:biggrin1:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

lise said:


> Are you taking up the water dish after 7pm or earlier? This helps alot. I do that and then bring him out for his final pee around 10 or so and he doesnt go all night. (early days tho)I may be a bit too confident


I know I've said this before, but I feel compelled to say it again. From an animal husbandry perspective, withholding water from ANY animal, for anything other than medical purposes (for instance, surgery the next morning) is just not good for the overall health of the animal. This is ESPECIALLY true for people who feed kibble, where ALL the liquid in the animal's diet must come from the consumption of water... the more the better.

A much healthier option is to give the animal an acceptable place to eliminate during the night. Withholding water at night is for human convenience at the possible expense of the animal's health.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tuss said:


> She is able to go all night in her crate without any trouble. I know she can hold it, she just chooses not to. My other dog was completely housebroken at this age and very reliable. This havanese is so stubborn and i don't trust her at all! I thought she would be okay on the bed, but apparently not.


Animals don't think that way, and your puppy is NOT stubborn. They develop habits,and your Hav is not confirmed in this habit yet. As far as your other dog being easier to potty train... not a surprise. Big dogs in general, ARE easier than little dogs, in general. Among little dogs, Havanese, especially if they come from good breeders who have them well started on potty training before they go to their new homes, are much easier than some.

Try to readjust your expectations. It is the RARE Havanese puppy (and she IS still a puppy!) that is fully and reliably potty trained under all circumstances. But with patience and diligence on your part, she WILL get there!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

*Big sigh* As i put in my third load of laundry (sheets and duvet cover, duvet and mattress cover), you guys are right. My expectations are a bit too high for a little dog. This wasn't the first night in the bed; i've done it the past few weekends and she did really well. She normally goes all night without needing to go out and I thought her bladder was trained at night. I also thought maybe my bed might be like her crate (don't pee where you sleep). Apparently I was wrong.

She is getting more reliable; most of the accidents are my fault (she just came in and wants to go out again and I ignore it because i think she wants to play). She also seems to go pee but only lets a little out and saves the rest of the pee in her bladder for later. I'm trying to avoid all distractions when she goes to convince her to empty.

I think last night in retrospect, she went went for a long walk and it was a warm night. She probably drank a lot of water to cool off and the extra urine was a result. Guess I gotta pay more attention to how much she's drinking so i can plan accordingly. If I had stayed up another hour and took her outside one last time there probably wouldn't have been a problem. 

She is not getting to sleep in my bed again anytime soon. Maybe in August or September she'll get another chance.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Although I never let my guys sleep in bed until they were about a year old, you might want to have her checked for a bladder infection. The only time one of mine peed in bed was when she had an infection. 
It is worth a look see....


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

Didn't seem like an infection, she had a full bladder despite going outside just a short time before. She must have drank a huge amount of water when i wasn't paying attention, or else she didn't empty completely when i took her out before bed.

My other dog had a UTI once and it was obvious. She was piddling tiny drops and was absolutely miserable. And, the pee smelled awful and had drops of blood in it as well.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tuss said:


> *Big sigh* As i put in my third load of laundry (sheets and duvet cover, duvet and mattress cover), you guys are right. My expectations are a bit too high for a little dog. This wasn't the first night in the bed; i've done it the past few weekends and she did really well. She normally goes all night without needing to go out and I thought her bladder was trained at night. I also thought maybe my bed might be like her crate (don't pee where you sleep). Apparently I was wrong.
> 
> She is getting more reliable; most of the accidents are my fault (she just came in and wants to go out again and I ignore it because i think she wants to play). She also seems to go pee but only lets a little out and saves the rest of the pee in her bladder for later. I'm trying to avoid all distractions when she goes to convince her to empty.
> 
> ...


Don't worry! I know it can be frustrating, but she'll get there!


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## Charleysmom (Dec 6, 2011)

Charley peed on my pillow last week. My temperpedic pillow. Which is now in the garbage. he hasn't had an accident in the house in so long I can't remember when but the pillow incident was my fault. In the morning we usually hug and kiss when waking and then I rush to put clothes on to take him out. That particular morning I wasn't rushing and voila! So....Charley's bed privelges are being withheld for a long time. If it had been the mattress he peed on the smell would have never come out (also temperpedic) and that would be it. So for now, he's back int he crate overnight. The first couple of nights he howled a bit and I ignored it. I don't want to risk that he could ruin the mattress.


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## Charleysmom (Dec 6, 2011)

Tuss said:


> My 6 month old puppy was doing better with housebreaking and I've been letting her sleep on my bed from time to time. Last night she did well all day, at 10pm i took her outside and she peed. Then i took her to be. about 10 minutes later she started digging at my blankets, i thought she was playing (she tries to find my feet in the bed) then she just squatted and had a massive pee. It soaked thru to the mattress. I had to get up, strip the bed, and i had no clean sheets to put on, so i slept on the couch with a throw blanket over me.
> 
> I know she must have had a full bladder (maybe didnt' empty completely when i took her outside before bed) but I thought she would have made more of a fuss or would have tried to get off the bed.
> 
> ...


how is the puppy doing now? where is she sleeping? I had the same thing happen to me with Charley and of course I don't want it to happen again. does your puppy now sleep in a crate in the bedroom or in a another doggy proof area?


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

Charleysmom said:


> how is the puppy doing now? where is she sleeping? I had the same thing happen to me with Charley and of course I don't want it to happen again. does your puppy now sleep in a crate in the bedroom or in a another doggy proof area?


She's been sleeping in the crate. I must say she sleeps really well in the crate and never wakes me up early. Yesterday morning my other dog woke up early (6am) after she heard somebody on the street outside the house. I got up and let both dogs outside to pee and poo. I took the little one back to bed with me. Since it was my first day of my vacation i decided i deserved to sleep in. She was fine, but I had a garantee of an empty bladder.

We are going on 9 days now without a single accident in the house. I'm still very vigilant to take her outside frequently and wouldn't trust her to not have an accident if she really needed to go and I wasn't right there to let her outside. I'll probably give it another few weeks and if she remains accident free she might get to sleep in my bed. I want it to be an occasional thing and not an everyday sleeping place as I want her to be comfortable sleeping in the crate for when I travel, if she's staying at my parents' place or boarding. I don't want her to freak out if she's not allowed in a bed.


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## Charleysmom (Dec 6, 2011)

that sounds good. I actually slepp better when Charley is not in the bed. he loves to play and doesn't undertsand the concept of "reading to relax." I've been keeping him on the floor in a crate or down in the kitchen. What I have wondered is if the sleeping situation impacts the bond between us. Does that sound nuts?!!


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