Potty trained dog back to peeing inside the house

[EVANGELINE BACTAT]

Hello everyone! I am new here. I have a 7 year old mix breed male dog who was potty trained, not neutered. We got a new female puppy for 7 months now. I noticed that my older dog is now back to peeing inside the house. He would go out for regular peeing and pooping outside but once he gets inside the house, he is gonna pee again (kind of marking everywhere). My puppy is very playful and would often want to play with my older dog which causes too much barking on my older one. Recently, they both became aggressive towards each other and we have to separate them as to not cause accidental harm. The aggression was like a switch that was turned on and every time they see each other. I love both of my dogs and doesn't want to give up on either one. 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there, welcome to the forums,

There is quite an age gap here. It sounds like your older dog is overwhelmed and stressed by this new addition. 

Here are some reads to get you started:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/how-to-introduce-a-puppy-to-an-older-dog/

Some dogs urine mark when there are novelties introduced in the home:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/why-does-my-dog-pee-on-anything-new/

A few questions:

Is your new female spayed?

Is your male marking something in particular?

Was your male giving signs of enjoying play when he was barking or did he appear tense/defensive?

Can you describe the aggressive behavior you are seeing? (barking/growling/snarling/snapping/biting?)

Are you noticing any patterns as to what may be evoking such aggression? (toys? sleeping spots? your attention?)

Or is it just their mere sight?

Does your male have any health issues?

How large is your male dog compared to your new puppy? 

Any ideas of what breeds they are?

 

[EVANGELINE BACTAT]

Hi tanks for the response. Both of the dogs are not spayed/neutered. I noticed that my male older dog was marking on areas that the new pup was peeing. It’s a mix play and being defensive most of the time. The new pup seems to want to get the attention of the male dog and growls/snaps when she doesn’t get her way. I also noticed that she is starting the heat phase “bleeding on where she walks and sleeps”. They are of almost the same size. My male dog is a mix (shihtzu/pomeranian), the new pup female is a rat terrier. We are in distress already as they clash all the time. My older male dog used to be so kind and loving. Now I can feel there is jealousy and tension between them. My husband wanted to give up on the new pup.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

If she is starting the heat phase and your male is not neutered you will need to keep them separated until the heat cycle is over. This can be as long as  3 to 4 weeks. It can be challenging to keep them away from each other and often the best option is to have a friend keep the male or boarding the male for the time being as smelling/seeing/hearing each other without being able to mate will cause a lot of frustration. 

Him peeing on her pee is often an instinctive sign of "claiming her" so that other potential male competitor dogs are aware of his presence. It could be that the "fights" you are seeing are hormone-based with her trying to get his attention, but not being ready to mate yet, and him rebelling to her challenging behavior.  Rat terriers can act feisty at times. 

As you keep them separated until her heat cycle is over, it would be insightful to see how they will behave once all the hormonal surges have declined. This may be a good time to start all over and go through a more gradual introduction and carefully manage their environment and work on creating positive associations: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/introduce-dog-new-dog/

What type of "jealousy" are you observing? Do they seem to get into fights over your attention? 

[EVANGELINE BACTAT]

Thank you for your response and your advice. The new pup doesn’t want the older dog to get near me when she snuggles with me. I’ve been trying the techniques you have mentioned and was giving them some time together and when things heated up, i separate them. So far that works for them right now. Hope they will get along eventually so we don’t have to give up the new pup.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Thanks for the extra details.

In this case, you are looking at some more specific conflict involving competition over owner attention. 

As you keep them separated during the heat cycle, this would be a good time to accomplish some important goals:

1) Training them individually and establishing some important obedience skills such as a rapid response to requests to sit, lie down, leave it and come when called. These are all covered in the obedience training section. You will need to rely on these cues upon noticing the first signs of conflict which brings us to the next important tip.

2) Become a Pro in Reading Your Dogs

Before dogs get into a "fight," there are several precursor signs going on. It's crucial to familiarize with these signs so that you are able to intervene quickly before any conflict erupts such as by asking your dogs to sit or lie down. Dogs who are sitting or lying dog cannot be fighting at the same time and therefore it's crucial training these behaviors in homes with multiple dogs.  Only by recognizing these signs you will be able to intervene and diffuse any tension before any conflict. 

Here is a general guide: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-dont-bite-blue/ 

and more:

 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/signs-fear-stress-dogs/

The goal is to Create Positive Associations

After the separation time, both dogs should be introduced gradually and systematically. You can start feeding each dog treats upon seeing/hearing each other with the dogs well under threshold https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ preferably starting off the property to prevent territorial feelings, in a neutral area. 

The goal is to establish a strong positive conditioned emotional response upon seeing/hearing/ each other:

 https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Teach Dogs to Take Turns Receiving Attention 

Once both dogs have shown signs of being well under control and responsive, you can start practicing asking your older dog to sit and petting him briefly, while your pup is patiently sitting at a distance and is intermittently fed some tasty treats (work along with a professional if your dogs are prone to resource guarding food). In the initial stages, both dogs can be leashed (you hold one dog, a helper holds the other one) and can wear bite-proof basket muzzles as an extra precaution for safety. As they do better, you can pet for longer periods of time, while always feeding some tasty tidbit to the other dog. 

Here is a case study on a similar case with a video of me doing the exercise:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-fighting-over-owner/

The importance of management to prevent conflict: If climbing on the couch and being near you is a source of conflict, it's best to not allow any dog on the couch. If giving attention to one dog evokes fights, it's best to not give attention to any dog when in presence of the other. 

If your two dogs are prone to fighting/ or if the fights persist despite your precautions, it may be necessary to work along with a professional for safety and the correct implementation of behavior modification.

I hope this helps, keep us posted!

Best,

Adrienne