Terrier Club Pet_Care Forum I need help!  From:  Message: Desiree December 01 at 18:28 I need help! I'm at my wits end with Casper! I've posted before about all of the skin problems we were having with him. Well, we're still having them...but that's not the biggest pain. He's starting to poop and pee on the floor every day! I was waking up every morning to find a huge mess to clean before I had to go to work. I've since been crating him at night, and this has fixed the problem. He still occasionally will poop during the day when I'm gone. He is also going on the back porch, and instead of walking OFF the porch he's going ON the porch! I don't understand why he's started this stuff, he used to be housetrained fine. His skin still irritates him, but it's not as bad as it used to be, so it's not like he can't control himself. Does anyone know what I can do about this? I'm starting to give up on him and begin looking for a new home for Casper. Please help!! Janie, Chip, and Mulli December 01 at 19:41 Re: I need help! Please don't give up on Casper. He must be miserable with his itches. What drugs is he on? The steroids will make him drink more and pee more. What does your vet say? You may try starting over with the house breaking again. Take his water up early in the evening and feed him early so he will do his business before bedtime. Kali had digestive problems so she would poop during the night so you might ask your vet about that. What do you feed him? Remember to praise, praise, praise when he goes potty outside where he is supposed to go. He is so cute and I know when his skin clears up he will be better all the way around. Please let us know when you are getting down. We are here for you... Dexter December 01 at 19:54 Re: I need help! Hello Desiree, I'm sure other members here will be able to give you some good, practical advice for your problem. Last month Dexter started acting up and was marking in the house. He had never done anything like that before... in fact, we had him house-trained very quickly. To get the marking to stop I went back to some of the things we used to do when we were house-training. He was confined to the kitchen when not being directly supervised, I made him go out to do his "business" more often, and gave him lots of praise when he piddled outside. Thankfully Dex now seems to be back to normal. I'm still not sure why he started marking out of the blue, but two things that crossed my mind are that 1) He had itchy skin for the first time in his life, and had just been to see the vet, and was given meds. for it.... and 2) I was very busy with work, and he might have felt like he wasn't getting enough attention. So besides keeping a closer eye on Dex during the day, I also made sure to give him extra attention as soon as I got home from work. I hope you find something that will work for you and Casper. Teresa and Dexter Angie December 01 at 20:19 Re: I need help! Hi Desiree - You have lots of good advice here. Sometimes the itchies can cause many things to occur. So as Janie stated - go down that list and see what is happening. Is he on steriods? If crating helps, do it. (Sometimes its just a nice reminder.) Just because the itching doesn't appear to bother you - it may be bothering him more than you realize. Are his stools loose or firm? Meds or foods could be causing this. How is his over all attitude? Sluggish, wild, normal? Is he getting the exercise he needs? Take him on a good long walk in the eveing prior to retiring. He'll be too poop to..well, poop. :) Did you change his food? We are here to help you - just don't give up on him too soon! :) Angie Mary December 01 at 20:52 Re: I need help! great advice form above, I was thinking if he is on steroids that may be part of it. When the vet put Kelsey on them she drank tons of water and had to pee all the time. It drove me crazy and I stopped them as she had me up multiple times durnig the night. I tried other things including diet whih helped, I even put derm caps on her food. Don't give up on him. Lisa December 01 at 20:58 Re: I need help! I know before my Moo got really sick he was marking a little too. My vet switched him to a botanically based all natural steriod which cured both his itchies and his peeing. He was peeing so much from the regular chemical steriod. Also try Buffalo and Salmon dry food by Wolf king. It worked wonders on Moo's skin up until his passing. Best of luck and please don't give up on him. Terrier Hugs Lisa Lois January 13 at 01:22 Re: I need help! I would like to know the name of the botanical natural steroid if you still have the info. Thanks, Lois The Oregon Girlies... December 01 at 21:05 Re: I need help! All of this advise is very good,. but a lot of times the problem can be traced back to the fact that the dog is picking up on your feelings. Try to be firm but loving and don't let him know the anixiety you are feeling about this. I can tell by your post that you are very stressed and Casper can feel it too. The crate definitly is a good idea at night and can be used to retrain him just like when he was a puppy, and that is what you need to do. Praise and treats when he gets it right. You may find that with a calmer dog the itchies might not be so bad. Good luck and let us know how it goes. xxxBetty and the Girlies... Lynda and the Minkies December 02 at 03:14 Re: I need help! Is he home alone quite a bit ? Perhaps he'd benefit from having a pal-and perhaps one that comes housetrained ? XXX. Skipper's Kay December 02 at 10:53 Re: I need help! Here's a couple different angles you might want to consider. Elliot always hated to get his paws wet probably due to that mold spore allergy making them very raw. Skipper (Lhasa) and Minnie (Shih-tzu) are both the same way about getting thier paws wet. Minnie's paws are fine but Skipper has the same problem with his Elliot did. He'll walk under the eave of the house and go in the dry gravel before he'll go out onto the wet grass. Are you getting alot of rain? Minnie has air born allergies and was on allergy shots every 6 weeks for a few months. Right before the shot would wear off, she'd start going potty in the house. I assume she was either so miserable from itching or 'depressed' from lack of steriods that caused her to do that. She's now taking a low dose of prednezone every other day & only goes in the house if I spend the night away from home - everyone else would be at home but me. That's her way of telling me she missed me, I guess! If you don't get their scent out of the carpet, they tend to use the same spot again. K john / irene TOBY December 02 at 12:52 Re: I need help! Lots Of Good Advice Here , as said lots nice walks Plenty of Play & Toys to ocupy him , Our Toby is on Steroids & we have no problems with him Just took a while Find the Minmum dose We could use ohn / irene TOBY Desiree December 05 at 20:15 Re: I need help! Well, let me see if I can answer all of your questions. He's not on any meds right now, I keep getting the run around from the doctors and I'm pretty sick of dealing with them. He's been off of the medication for about 2 or 3 months now. Benedryl is all we give him right now. We changed his food last spring, so his diet hasn't changed recently. He doesn't like getting his feet in the wet grass lol, you're right about that. That's probably why he's being lazy and going on the porch. He's been doing better since I posted last though. We haven't had any accidents in the house (and just 2 on the porch), but I have been crating him at night, even though he doesn't seem to mind...I don't like having to do it. I do praise him when he goes outside, I always have since training him. He's not alone any more than usual...just throughout the 8 hour work day. He probably was picking up on my stress though, but you'd think that would have made him stop pooping in my house lol. He knew he did wrong, because his little ears would go back as soon as I walked into the kitchen lol. I keep him pinned out in the kitchen, and don't let him in the living room, because of his itchy dry skin all over the place, and his "accidents", so he's not smelling his markings on carpet. We've always kept him in the kitchen...it's open to our living area though, so he's not distanced from us. We're always going back and forth. Thank you all for letting me know that I'm not the only one who's had this problem. It does give me hope. It's going to be a long winter lol. Janie, Chip, and Mulli December 06 at 09:12 Re: I need help! Thanks for the update. I have been thinking of you both. If I were you I'd ask around who a really good vet is and who has lots of experience with skin problems and allergies. Then I would get another opinion. I have done that even with Dr. Brown whom I adore when I didn't agree with something he said. I know he has got to be miserable. Try some Gold Bond Powder that you get at the drug store. Just rub it into his skin and that will help with the scratching and biting. Don't get it near the eyes though as it can cause problems there. Please keep in touch. We care that you are having these problems... Lynda and the Minkies December 06 at 02:35 Re: I need help! It's a shame he's confined to one room when you're home after being alone during the working day too....I must admit that doesn't sound very fair or much fun for him.... XXX. Desiree December 07 at 19:38 Re: I need help! Well, if anyone is interested in adopting Casper, please email me at iheartjamie42@yahoo.com. I'm sure someone could be more "fair" to him than I am. I just can't deal with it anymore. I'm in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, so if you're interested and can give Casper a better home, please let me know. He's a very good dog as far as his personality...very happy. I just can't deal with the filth anymore. Janie December 07 at 20:10 Re: I need help! Desiree, I am forwarding your plea to Westie Rescue of Missouri. We will do whatever we can to help you and Casper find him another home. Please be patient for a while longer... Desiree December 07 at 20:15 Re: I need help! Don't get me wrong...I love my dog, and I would never give him to anyone unless I was sure it was a good home. I'm just getting to a breaking point...he would be better off in a home where they could care for him properly. He deserves better, and we just can't afford the care he needs. Thanks for all of your help! Lynda and the Minkies December 08 at 14:20 Re: I need help! At least you're big enough to admit it and ask for help, Desiree....they'll get you some help here...just don't give him away to just "anybody" whatever you do !!! XXX. Angie December 08 at 23:06 Re: I need help! Hi Desiree, I wanted to let you know that Angie Gittle will be contacting you regarding Casper. Angie is a wonderful person. Just as you are... hang in there - the calvary is coming. Angie J.

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