Spiteful Dog

Updated on April 09, 2010
A.F. asks from Bellmore, NY
11 answers

Just wondering if anyone else has this problem. This past week it seems like my dog is being spiteful by peeing in the house and going through the garbage for my daughter's dirty diapers and garbage. Is she really being spiteful and wants attention?

I have to say that my dog has had to readjust to apartment living coming from a house with a yard and pool. I admit that she doesn't have a consistent walk schedule either. When the weather has been so cold, often times it has been extremely difficult to walk her with a baby. When the weather is warmer, I enjoy taking my dog on walks.

I try to give my dog a lot of attention because I am a SAHM and I love my dog. When you have a crawling one year old, things definitely change and it's not about the dog anymore. Any suggestions? Thank you.

1 mom found this helpful

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So What Happened?

Update: Things seemed a little better for the past few weeks until today (4/22). I took my dog out for a walk before my husband and I went out for about an hour and a half. The dog peed again in our daughter's room. I don't get it because she was just out not long before.

Since the last time I wrote, the dog has not growled at the baby but she continues to lick her constantly. So unless the growling continues, I will keep my dog. My husband and I are in the process of looking for a house with a yard and more space so hopefully that will make us all happier!

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P.K.

answers from New York on

Sounds like the dog needs to be in a home where people can care for
him properly. Do him a favor and find someone to take him. Sounds
like you do not want to be bothered.

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D.K.

answers from State College on

Your dog is probably just working on adjusting still. If he normally has a yard, but now you have to go out with him to potty he may not be going out as often. Also if his exercise has decrease and he is active then he is trying to find something else to do. Even if you can't get him out to play or walk, try doing some mind stimulation inside. You can do hide and seek with treats, or hide yourself with a treat and have your dog wait and then release to find you. A buster cube or something similar to put a meal in works well too, exercises the dog and makes meal time fun. Also for part of breakfast or dinner have him do tricks for exercise. If the urinating house is new you may want to have a vet check and make sure there is no UTI. Also make sure to take him out to go potty after eating, drinking and playtime and that should help. I'm sure it is hard with a little one crawling around that also needs lots of attention and that you love them both very much.

2 moms found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from Boston on

I agree that your dog isn't being spiteful and that the peeing in the house is either a UTI or not getting out enough, as previous posts suggest. As for the dirty dipe scavenging, my dog would eat those as if they are special treats if I let him! It's so gross but he loves all poop except dog poop thankfully, since that's the one you most encounter outside. ANyway, that sounds totally normal to me so perhaps a diaper genie or champ or dekor or whatever you can find cheap on craigslist would help solve your problem. I always dump poop from the dipes in the toilet and immediately put them in the diaper dekor to avoid providing snacks for my dog.

I agree it changes everything - I had my black lab in 2004 and treated him like a child with the attention I gave him - he was my priority with walks, hikes, excursions and went everywhere with me. WHen my daughter was born in 2007 I changed things around and while I still make sure his needs are met, it isn't the same as I used to be able to do for him. I think it's been ok for him because now he's 6 so he's not a pup anymore.

Anyway, I digress. Sounds like the dog is normal and if you can't get him out enough, maybe you can hire a neighborhood kid or someone to walk him once during the day?

good luck.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Portland on

I suggest that the most likely cause of the peeing in the house is her not being taken out regularly to pee. She formed a routine when you were able to let her out into the yard at regular times. I'm not specifying a by the hour schedule. Just that when she needed to pee you could open the door. Perhaps, unconsciously, you picked up on signs to let her out.

A dog HAS to be let out. How often, depends on the dog and the size of their bladder. Also once a dog has peed inside the odor is there forever the dog to smell. You may not notice the odor but the dog does and it tells him to pee on top of it.

I learned this from experience. I have a corner in my living room that was a pee magnet after I had that corner professionally cleaned down to the wood floor several times in a row. The tech said I would always have this problem unless I cut out the carpet and pad and patched in a new piece. This means, watching my dog, carefully so that I let him out enough. He still pees there often. It means constant cleaning to manage the odor. I won't get another dog once my old friend passes on.

As to going thru the garbage for dirty diapers and garbage this is normal. I kept a covered can for my grandchildren's diapers. My daughter and her friends live in apartments and they immediately took poopie to the garbage chute. They had a diaper genie sort of set up for urine diapers.

Same with garbage. I only put paper and plastic into waste baskets. Anything that has touched food and food goes into the covered system I have in the kitchen. Sometimes someone puts a napkin in the waste basket and I find it, shredded, later.

My dog is actually my daughter's dog from when she was in high school. She lives in an apartment and couldn't manage with the dog because a dog needs to go out more often than she could manage even when she was at home with the baby. A dog usually, at the very least, needs to be taken out once in the morning when he wakes up, once mid day, once around supper time and again before going to bed. How often do you pee? This will give you an idea for how often you have to take your dog out even if you don't walk him. It is alot of work, I know.

I don't think your dog is being spiteful. He is just being his natural self. First he has to pee more often than we sometimes expect. And, second, he's a scavenger, who hunts for food. Being able to eat anything means survival in the wild. They are also sensitive to the odor of pee and poop because that is part of establishing their territory.

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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

well, where is she peeing? Our dog protested the new baby by repeatedly pooping in front of our daughter's closet door. She's 3, and if we're not careful, sometimes she still does this.

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I.G.

answers from Seattle on

Sounds to me like your dog is bored and underexercised. This is not a matter of spite or wanting attention. You mopved him from a place were he could run around to being couped up in an apartment, then you stop giving him the difference in exercise.
I totally understand not wanting to leave the house with a baby in crappy weather, but you do have to get the dog outside, unless you are ok with him taking apart your house.
If you cannot do it, consider hiring a dogwalker or a babysitter (whichever is easier to find/cheaper) so you can work with your dog. I bet once you pick up the exercise and reinforce previous training, the issues will stop.
Good luck.

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N.D.

answers from New York on

It sounds more like a territorial thing, peeing in the house. The baby is crawling and leaving he scent so the dog is leaving her scent. And going thru the diapers is also normal in dog speak. They sniff at other dogs butts and poop to discover where the other one has been, what they ate, and Lord only knows what else. Did you know that mother dogs eat their puppies poop so it doesnt leave traces for other predators?
So what to do? Get a garbage can that the dog cant get into and perhaps keep her in an area that has no rugs. She should get over the marking after she gets used to the other little creature in her territory.

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S.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I don't think your dog is being spiteful so much as he is bored. I don't know if you ever watch The Dog Whisperer but you'll see that Cesar will use a treadmill to give a dog exercise with almost every single case. I didn't realize why until recently when we moved from a dirty downtown area (so dirty we would never take our little dog for walks -- she just went on a pee pad indoors) to a nice, suburban area. My dog used to suffer from anxiety -- she was extrememly anxious of strangers and would even freak out easily at home if we got too close to her with anything ( like a remote control). Well since moving and giving her daily walks, her anxiety has all but disappeared! It only took about a week before she was actually going up to strangers and big dogs and now we can even rub her belly with the remote and she doesn't care. It's really quite miraculous. So yes, long story short, your dog probably needs longer, more frequent walks because dogs are just like that. If you absolutely can't do it and you don't have a treadmill, hire a walker to do it for you -- i don't think they're too expensive and your dog would really benefit. good luck!

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A.C.

answers from New York on

From your what happened.. I must admit your Dog is jelious of your Child & can not be trusted. Unfortunately you may need to rehome her with an older childrens home or anouther family member ? I went thru this with 2 twin 5 yr old dogs & a 5 yr old cockatoo myself so I know how hard it can be when we have pets befor children.

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M.M.

answers from New York on

Even the best trained dog will go through garbage if the opportunity arises. A tight-fitting lid should take care of that, and if not, move the can to a higher spot out of reach. I find that exercise is a big-gy for dogs (as well as the kids). Be sure she has lots of chewy toys (kongs are great). Even a day at doggie day care once a week can help her burn off the excess energy, and it's really not very expensive at all where we live--I guess it's the same everywhere. Good luck.She still needs you....

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A.R.

answers from New York on

You didn't mention how long ago you moved into an apartment but I'll assume resently! I had the SAME issue...apartment, babies, cold & snow & disabled...I know some people hate it BUT they sell a dog litter box in PetSmart which I used when I had the newborn (born in November!)As a backup when I couldnt take my other baby (my dog) outside to do her business. They even sell doggie litter! (I use newspapers) as for the diapers my vet told me dogs like baby diapers cause of the way babies digest their food. Something about it still being food when it comes out (sorry it sounds nasty!) I went & got a diaper genie & that problem was solved. I also retrained my dog & her potty habits & include her when I have tummytime w/ the baby. I'm now on the 2nd baby & things are WAY better than w/ the 1st baby! We take the dog out in the morning, after dinner & before bed & during the midday she uses her potty. Weekends & whenever hubby is home or it's not so cold for the baby she gets extra outside time to play & once a month she goes to a doggie run for the day. She's 7 years old so she's an older dog now but she needs the excercise now more than ever! HTH!

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