Help with a dog

My husband adopted an 8 month old beagle a month ago for a hunting dog.  Personally, I can't stand dogs, but dh has always wanted a hunting dog so I gave in.  I still can't stand dogs (this one included) and we've found out that now 3 of us have to be on allergy meds for her to live here.  Dh is the only one not allergic to her.  
 
Anyway, the big issue is potty-training.  Prior to us, she was spending 18-19 hours a day in a crate with maybe a 45 mins reprieve somewhere in there.  She smelled of urine when we got her and we had to scrub out her crate because it stank.  So her potty-training plan had been "cross your legs and hold it".  
 
Here, she's going to have to be an outside dog, but dh still wants her to come in some when it gets cold.  That's when the problems start.  She sometimes would ask to go out (not a barker so she rings a jingle bell).  The problem is that she has no issue with just peeing in the house.  I think she knows it's wrong because she'll never do it in front of us.  She always ducks into another room to do it.  We have about 1/2 the house blocked off from her.  Even this morning, she was loose inside for maybe 3 hours last night with 90% of that spent in her bed in the family room.  And I found dried pee on the kitchen floor.  
 
She also will watch if dh and I go into our bed room.  She'll wait outside our door, pee and then stand there and wait for us to come out and find it and her.  
 
She has proven in other things that she is very smart.  We can take her out and if we're lucky and we stay on top of taking her out, she won't have accidents.  But she really doesn't seem to care if she pees in the house.  She can and has asked to go out some. She will be an outside dog because of the allergy issues and she does seem to prefer outside on nice weather days.   We praise her like crazy when she asks to go out.  What else can we do?  Dh thinks she should travel with us.  Personally the thought of 8.5 hours in a car with her with my allergies sounds like a nightmare.  And the thought of her, non-pottytrained at someone else's house just sounds rude.
 
 
Marissa

 

I'm absolutely no help. Beagles are known for this issue. Our beagle was almost 13 years old. And we had this issue for almost 13 years. We recently put her down it got so bad. When we went out, she was always in the crate. Always. She never had free roam of the house when we were out.
 
My inlaws have a beagle as well, and she doesn't have accidents in the house. She goes to the door and there is a bell on it, so she will jump up and hit it to go out. Could you do a bell/something similar? Click training?

 

You just have to work with her.  Keep her on a lease on the house, make sure you always know where she is so she can't go and pee.  
I would say crate train her- but since she was mistreated before you got her, that might be hard.  A dog is supposed to see their crate as their place. They won't pee in it if it is the correct size.  Of course that is if it is used correctly.  

 

Good luck!  I would only allow her in the house if she is in her crate.  Day time I'd make her stay outside.  What about dog training?  Since beagles are so intelligent I would get her and your DH to a dog trainer ASAP. 
 
And honestly unless the dog is elderly or has health issues if they have a warm area outside it shouldn't be an issue.  My dog growing up was completely an outside dog.  He had a dog house and my dad bought straw each winter for him.  He would clean it out and put in new every few weeks.  I was very allergic to dogs and back then allergy med choices were limited. 
 
I'd have a sit down with the DH about the dog.  Crate or outside.  And definitely a huge no on traveling with the dog especially staying at someone else's place.  I'd be a mess despite allergy medication if I had to travel with a dog for 8+ hours in a car.  Plus I'd would be one pissed host to not only be expected to provide space for someone else's dog but also if it pees inside. 

 

Oh and while its not a dog.... we had a cat for awhile that pee'd everywhere inside the house.  She was declawed (before we got her) so couldn't go outside.  It was awful.  We took her to the vet over and over and over.  Finally our vet told us that the biggest reason cat owners put their cat to sleep is due to litter box training.  We literally tried EVERYTHING.  We worked with her for over a year.  Finally it was too much and we made the very difficult choice of sending her to live in a barn on a farm.  It wasn't completely outdoors and she had her back claws.  She disappeared after just a week and honestly I regretted being a wuss and not having her put to sleep. 
 
We had to replace all the carpet in our house.  ALL of it.  So I might sound harsh about the peeing but it literally cost us thousands of dollars for one cat.

 

Oh my Marissa, I won't be any help because honestly I just don't know that I would tolerate that going on.
 
Frankly, I think your DH is selfish and wrong to want to keep the dog. I really can't imagine insisting on having a pet that DH  really, truly didn't want and that made him & the kids need allergy meds. Not being housebroken is a big deal, but the other things would be dealbreakers to me. That is not okay in my book. There's lots of things I've always wanted and don't have, and probably never will. We don't get to have everything we want, especially when it has a negative impact on the rest of our entire family. Does he have a hunting buddy that could take the dog? He could still hunt with them. How many times does he go hunting a year that justifies a dog the rest of his family is allergic to 365 days a year?
 
Do you have a garage? Heated dog cage, in the garage. If DH wants the dog that bad, he can give up his side.

 

I'll admit that today I'm having trouble feeling nice about her.  It's a nice day here so she's outside.  But the allergies are so bad today that I could barely wear my contacts.  When I got to work this morning my eyes were watering and I really just want to claw my eyes out.  I'll be switching to glasses when I get up from here (even dh knows that means I'm desperate because of how badly I hate glasses).  It's was also finding dried dog pee in my kitchen this morning where she snuck away while dh was watching her last night.  It's having to store my spot-bot in the garage because it's cleaned up so much dog pee that the smell has soaked into the plastic and the spot-bot stinks.  It's taking allergy eye drops and an otc allergy med and still feeling like I want to claw my eyes out.  My dh doesn't have any allergies and I think that until you do, you really don't get it.  I've told my dh all of this, but he really wants to keep her. And it's his bday today, so I can't fuss today.
 
Lily has access into the garage.  We also have a very low deck and she has made herself access to under the deck.  She has a jingle bell she rings to let us know she wants to go out when she's in the house.  And occasionally she will ring it and we will praise her and let her out.  So she absolutely knows how to ask to get out.  Lily actually still loves her crate for sleeping at night.  She goes in it without any problem and stays all night without any issues.  She also will go in it if we have to be gone and it's too cold outside and she's fine with that.  We will sometimes give her a choice of crate or outside and she'll usually pick outside.  
 
I don't know what to do.  I'm a complete and total cat person and I know part of my feelings about the dog are related to the fact that my cat won't come around us near as much and I miss her.  Dh is in complete agreement that she needs to become full-time outside.  It just felt mean to take a dog that was used to a crate in an apartment and dump her in the backyard in January when it's 20 degrees out with snow and ice on the ground.  She had never been off of a leash or anything when we got her. So, we're working up to the outside thing.  I'll suggest straw in her dog house.  Outside is the goal.  And Lily seems to prefer outside anyway. If nothing else, she might have figured out that she get's fussed at less if she stays out there.
 
Marissa

 

Do you have a fenced in yard so that she doesn't have to be chained up outside? Because honestly that would be unfair to her. I'm with Rachel on this. I think your husband is being kind of selfish--in a way that's not fair to his family or the dog.

 

Honestly, if my kids were allergic to my dogs, the dogs would have to go.  I adore cats in theory, but I'm majorly allergic and so we just can't have one.  I think you and your DH need to have a serious talk about how much the dog is making you suffer.
 
What about trying to train her to use the puppy pads?  At least that would be contained and easier to clean up.

 

 
The backyard is completely fenced.  She's never been chained out there but gets free run of it.  Plus she has access to the garage. Plus she has access to under the deck.  Plus she has a dog house.  I think this is such a drastic change from her old situation that she's had to get used to the concept of all this room to just be a dog and hang out as a dog.  I've gotten her some outdoor chew toys.  She also has some cow knuckles to chew on that she knows has to stay in the yard.
 
I think dh's hope is that once the weather gets dependably warm she can just outside all the time instead of coming in in the evenings and for the night.  It was a warmer day so she's been out since 7 this morning and it's almost 10 at night.  And once she's outside all of the time, I think he's hoping the allergy issues will lessen.  I'm willing to try that.  
 
I think that puppy pads would be a step backwards.  She has asked us to go outside to go the bathroom before.  She completely knows how and has demonstrated it.  But about once a day, if she's in the house, she'll pee somewhere.  Sometimes it's a situation where I'm not doing what she wants me to do.  A couple of days ago she was thinking I should feed her, but instead I was moving laundry.  (Her crate and food are in the laundry room and it was almost feeding time).  She followed me around licking her lips and the pawing her food container.  Then I went upstairs to put up the laundry.  When I came out of our bedroom, she had pee'd on the floor and was sitting there next to it watching to see what I would do.  That seems like a much more deliberate choice to pee on the carpet.  That's when I get very frustrated with her.
 
Marissa

 

I would consult a dog trainer about the peeing.  My parents had a beagle and he did not pee in the house until he was older and started having kidney problems...they got him when he was about 8-9 months and he spent most of his day in the crate because the previous owners were never home.  He HATED that crate. But he was very much a house dog, very much a family dog and he was very passive (he would have made a terrible hunting dog!).
But, I also have to agree with Sheryl about your husband forcing a dog on you A) you didn't want and B) most of the family is allergic to.  Whether or not the dog is mostly going to be an outside dog, there still could be allergy problems.  
I am also wondering if the peeing is due to anxiety or some type of emotional thing the dog could be going through?  My vet has recommended Feliaway for my cats and they sell adaptil for dogs:
http://www.ceva.us/Products/Product-List/Adaptil-Formerly-D.A.P-R

 

 
Couldn't agree more.  The health needs of three people trump the wants of one.

 

Yes.

 

I agree with others that it all seems unfair. We had a dog when the girls were born. We made the hard choice to rehome her to an older gentleman we knew that was looking for a companion dog when we found out our girls were allergic as toddlers. Our allergist suggested it. We thought long and hard and made sure we knew the person she was going to live with. It was a win win for all of us.
 
Their excema got better, their asthma improved, and we were able to lessen their allergy meds (they were allergic to other things as well as dogs). We ended up doing allergy shots for other allergies, but for the 2+ years of allergy shots, I did not want to have them suffer from dog allergies too.
 
Other option would be to have her live somewhere else (maybe a hunting buddy?) and/or go to a trainers. The peeing sounds so deliberate and will be tough to break without training. Or doggy camp or boarding for training. Some hunting dogs do well 'outside' but if you are in a colder climate, I would not suggest it for the most part. If it is too cold, then even straw would not keep it warm enough. In summer, you will have the 'too hot' extreme and not want the dog out in 100 degrees.
 
You will also have 'dog' allergies if she is outside, when you go outside you will get 'dog' dander on your clothes and hands/skin.

 

I haven't talked to dh about it much more, but Lily is staying outside quite a bit more and it's helping me.  I also agreed that he could get a dog with him and I both knowing that I had absolutely no desire for a dog.  He wanted one for hunting and the kids wanted one.  We all agreed that the dog wasn't going to be mom's to take care of.  The kids feed her.  Dh takes her to the park.  I do walk her some, but that's because I tend to take walks in the neighborhood frequently.  Dh gives her baths.  Before we knew the extent of the allergies, it was already agreed that she was going to be in the backyard because dh knew that me and a dog weren't going to share space in a house well.
 
On the allergy front, well, Timothy and I are allergic to most of the world so we just tend to deal with things and not make other people adjust.  For instance, Timothy cannot have anything with any bit of milk in it.  There is still milk and milk product in the house, he just doesn't eat that food.  I'm allergic to eggs.  I don't demand the whole family go egg free for me.  I just avoid it.  I've been allergic to clothes.  I have an allergic, rash reaction to strep.  We knew that Timothy tests positive for cat and dog allergies even though we've always had cats and he's been around plenty of dogs and never reacted.  For him to react, he has to bury his face in their fur.  We were actually mostly concerned about him and watching his reaction to the dog. He was already on allergy meds because he also has seasonal allergies, dust and mold allergies.  Sarah's reaction to the dog was a surprise, but mild sinus stuff.  My reaction was also a surprise because I've been tested in the past and dogs didn't show up.  
 
So I guess that's why my attitude is see what we can do to make this work.  Lily's learning to live outside, which was quite frankly scary for her coming from her previous environment.  Dh has agreed to bathe her once a week.  We're looking at putting an air filtration system on the furnace, which would help with more than the dog.  There is actually more than dander on the dog that you can be allergic to.  Their urine contains a lot of allergens which is why I was asking for help and suggestions on her house-training for those times when she does have to be inside.  You can also be allergic to flakes off of their skin (which is different than dander).  Those can be lessened by adding omega oils to the dogs diet, so we have.  Dh is eliminating quite a bit of the dander by bathing her.  So the urine issue/allergens is really the biggest hurdle.  
 
If Timothy and I wanted to live allergen free, we would have to live in plastic bubbles and take away quite a bit of food for the rest of the family.  So we've tried to have the attitude of figuring out what we can live with so we can have a life.  Sometimes that means we just take allergy meds.  Sometimes that means we practice avoidance for ourselves. Sometimes that means we ask other people to bathe dogs and give them omega oils to lessen the allergens.  Now if we can take care of Lily's house-training problem, that will eliminate one more allergen.  Because tonight and tomorrow morning, it will be too cold for her to stay out and she needs to be able to function in a house.  I think that by next year, she'll be fully outside and better able to handle herself outside.  But just a little over a month ago, her life was a crate in an apartment.  Asking her to handle 18 degrees is a bit much right now.
 
Marissa

 

Marissa, it sounds like you have a good plan!  I agree, 18 degrees is just too cold for a dog to be outside any significant amount of time.  I am also glad that you are willing to make it work with Lily and I hope it does work.  I'd really ask your vet about the peeing and see if they have any suggestions at all.  I wonder if her previous owners had specified a peeing problem with her?  Is she unable to be trained or no one bothered to train her?  I wish you luck and keep us posted with how you and Lily are doing!

 

I'm not going to be much help as I'm a dog lover, but you have allergies and that is a health issue. Beagles are known to be stubborn and not easy to house train. They are noisy too. However, it's not a loss cause. She needs a reason to go potty outside more. Crate training her would be a good thing. When you let her out, immediately take her outside and praise her with food when she goes. If she goes inside, if you catch her, take her out immediately. If she finishes outside, praise her with food. Don't make a huge deal about her going inside. Obviously don't praise her or give her treats when she goes inside without your knowledge. Just clean it up and look disappointed. Have a command to let her know you want outside. Something like "time to go out" would give him a clue that he can go to the bathroom. If you try to make him hold it and wait, he may not understand that you planned on taking him out any time soon. He's going to go inside even if he knows it's wrong. Once he knows he'll go out, he may have more incentive to hold it and wait. 
 
Remember, if he was held in a cage for hours at a time. He's going to be going potty in his own cage if he needs to. Dogs don't like this, but they can get used to it. He may feel ashamed that he's going in his home, but now that he's got more space to roam, it's still a home and he sees no difference other that it doesn't seem to please you. Being that he is both an older dog and abused, training him to go outside and learn your house rules is going to take longer than a new puppy would. Be patient, consistent, and persistent on the rules. He's going to make mistakes, but he will learn if you stay one step ahead of him. 
 
As far as your allergies go, once in a while, you can try to bathe him in a solution of water and Downy fabric softener. That helps keep the dander from shedding and your dog will be the softest dog on the block with a nice smell. It's not great for his skin, but every now and then it'll be ok and possibly a little relief for you. Maybe when you go on vacation and you'll have to be in close quarters with him would be a good time to do that little trick. My mother has to do that when I visit. I'm allergic to short-haired dogs. They make me itch and welt up when they lick me, and she has two short-haired dachshunds that LOVE to give kisses. I don't have any problems when she bathes them in that solution. It really sounds like your DH isn't really taking your allergy seriously though. They can get worse and put your health in danger. Maybe if you didn't have such an allergy to longer haired dogs, there were other choices than a beagle. If it's all dogs, then maybe he should at least keep the dog away from you and take full responsibility towards the dog. 

 

Update-  It's going a bit better around here.  Lily has been spending most of her days outside, when weather appropriate.  Dh has been bathing her once a week (Downy wouldn't work, I'm allergic to the perfumes in that.) When she's been in, she is starting to ask on her own to go out more. Today, she was in because dh had just given her a bath.  She went nuts trying to get outside because Timothy went to play in the backyard and didn't take her with him.  That is a huge change in her.  When we first got her, the backyard was a scary place.  Now, it's where the fun happens. Besides, if she's patient we have rabbits in our yard and that's what she helps dh hunt. So, she wants to be out.  
 
Lily is still having some accidents in the house, but it's lessening and today she asked to go out at least 5 times that I know of.  So, there's progress.  She is very happily crate-trained.  She had never gone in her crate until last night when she had a total diarrhea blow-out.  It looked like she had eaten a ton of grass and had a very high fiber clean-out.  
 
Sarah is trying to see how she does without allergy meds.  She's been off of it for a couple of days and doing okay. Lily staying outside seems to really help her.  
 
I'm doing better also.  It appears that the urine allergens is a huge issue for me.  The other night, I was doing great.  Then all of a sudden my eyes just started itching.  When I got up, I could see that Lily had pee'd pretty close to my seat.  Once it was cleaned up, my eyes were fine.  I'm sure the dander plays a role, but between her outside time and the baths, it appears that that's not a huge issue at this point.  The urine definitely seems to be an issue.  Which gets back to the slow house-training.  At least there's progress.  
 
Marissa

 

It sounds like she's peeing a lot too; have you taken her to the vet to make sure she's in good health? It's just a thought.. we had real trouble with one of my dogs and it turned out she had an incontinence issue and there was medication that helped her clear it up.

 

She's been to the vet and is good health.  She tends to need to go out a few extra times because she generally won't poop and pee on the same trip out.  In the morning Timothy lets her out to pee.  Then, 25 mins later, she'll ring her bell and want to go poop.  In general, she goes about 1.5 to 2 hours.  It's on the short side of normal, but I also figure given her past history with extremely long times in the crate, she's probably a bit anxious about going every time she feels the need because she had to take advantage of every single opportunity in her past.  Yesterday, she was still recovering from her diarrhea episode so there was a few extra trips out for that.  
 
Marissa

 

I'm glad it's going better, Marissa. Hang in there!

 

I have a basset and she pees a ton, but she drinks a ton of water. I have to put her out a lot. She is not the brightest dog, she does not notice he oh he dog goes out the doggie door and makes me actually open the door.

Have you considered getting a doggie door so the dog can come and go as she pleases?

If I am not consistent on putting Minnie out she will have an accident in the house.

 

I already have an adult dog, but I periodically take him to a dog trainer, because I have a big and very stupid saint bernard who needs such training, because he ceases to execute commands and can behave aggressively towards other dogs. I also often read the World Pet Express portal because it helps me learn more about how to take good care of my boy’s health. I really love my dog, but he really needs a lot of attention.

 

Wow, this is such a complicated situation.
Hopefully, you'll be able to solve your issues

 

Guys, as far as I understand you know much about treating dogs. What's your take on dog food for yeast infection? I read about it there. Is it really a thing or not? My dog has this issue and hopefully, it won't be that severe due to such food.

 

I love dogs

 

I madly adore my dog! This is Stezz. My dog is 4 years old, breed Lagotto romagnolo. Representatives of this breed have a pleasant character: they are open and very sociable dogs. They treat all family members with love, but number one for them is still the owner. The Italian water dog perceives strangers calmly, although with a grain of salt. Aggression and cowardice are considered defects in the breed. Therefore, it is important to conduct timely socialization, to introduce the puppy to the outside world and people. Italian water dogs quickly adapt to any conditions, but they just need the adorable owner to be nearby. The key to a happy life in Lagotto is care and love. Therefore, lonely business people are not recommended to have representatives of this breed. With a lack of attention, the pet will begin to feel sad, yearn and be naughty.

 

Most likely you need the services of dog trainer. I had a similar problem with my dog. He didn't always follow commands and sometimes behaved aggressively towards other animals. I found a cool application where I can quickly find all the services I need in my area, so in the timeviewer I found a professional animal trainer and met with him for a consultation. He answered all my questions and told how I can correct the behavior of my dog. It really helped me. I think that your dog will also quickly figure out what not to do.