Housebroken? I tihnk not...Please Help!

Canada
June 15, 2009 6:21am CST
HELP!! I am looking after my in-laws dogs until they get back from a trip to Hungary on the 25th of June. I figured...this won't be that bad, plus we are getting paid the kennel fees they would have incurred by putting them in a kennel for two weeks. My sister in law was shocked that we were taking them. These dogs have a reputation for being unsociable monsters, however, they've seemed to adapt well in the past few days and the kids love their company. Here's my problem: they pee everywhere even though they are supposed to be housebroken. The final straw was when they peed on my daughter's bed. What am I supposed to do to prevent this from happening for the next week and a half? I totally get that they are homesick so a couple mistakes here and there are not a big deal as we were relatively prepared for it (pulled up the carpet, closed all the doors, made a pen, etc). I don't really want to have to restrict them to their cages or the pen as I don't feel it really fair and they are looking for attention (although with 3 kids how much more attention could you want?), now I'm totally paranoid when they constantly pace around the house looking for somewhere to get comfortable because it looks like they are trying to find a place to pee. Has anyone gone through this before? Any suggestions on how to handle it? If this keeps happening for the next week and a half I will go absolutely crazy:S
2 responses
SusanLee
@SusanLee (1920)
• United States
15 Jun 09
I agree with savypat. Take them out of the cages frequently, but only when you can supervise them. Take them out to do their business, when you bring them in, watch them like a hawk. When they start to lift a leg or squat, shout 'No'. Let them play a bit, then put them back in the cage or pen. They don't have to be out 24/7. What kind of dogs are they? Male or female?
jaydee_r34
@jaydee_r34 (147)
• Canada
15 Jun 09
Female Jack Russell Terriers. They've also been here before. Are they really going to try and mark their territory every single time? I totally understand now why my sister in law didn't want to take them (she usually does) but I would feel way to guilty if they had to be kennelled for that long. As to whether I'll do this again, that remains to be seen. It's not really fair to these dogs since my house is so busy with kids and other animals. Thanks for the responses :)
savypat
@savypat (20216)
• United States
15 Jun 09
In my experience you have dogs that are marking territory, and when one does it the other will also. I wouldn't feel to badly about keeping them in the pens, if they were at a kennel they would be penned up also. Pen them for two or three days and make sure they go directly to the potty area when let out. Then supervise them for a short time and put back in pen with a chew treat. After a couple of days when they have settled you can let them out for more and more time. I don't know if this will work since they have already marked your home and even if you can't smell it they can. But what have you got to loose? Good luck. Maybe others will have better ideas. One more thing is that your children are exciting these dogs and you really need to keep that down. Allow only short periods of child play and if you can make it outside. Once everyone has been together long enough for the newness to wear off things should calm down.