Lack of #progress report on Gizmo's re-#housebreaking

Lack of progress report on re-#housebreaking Gizmo:

        Two weeks without a mistake, two weeks when Gizmo did not urinate in the closet off the master bedroom.  (Now, why oh why does he only have “Accidents” there?  Why did he choose that one spot, amid our clothes, to make small wet spots?)

        During that two weeks, we began to get a bit sloppy – or more trusting – and did not keep him on a leash (or, more politically correct, tethered) for most if not all the day.  He still went in his cage at night and when we went out during the day or evening.

        We carefully watched him for signs that he wanted to go out.  His slightest nod towards the back door triggered an almost-fireman’s leap into action: grab the treats, take him out, wait for him to urinate, offer him a treat as a way to affect his behavior.  Positive enforcement seemed to work a lot better than  shouting at him, trying to push his face in his mistake or attempting to make him feel guilty (“Why are you doing this to us?”).  

        As suggested by readers of this blog, we checked with our vet to see if he had a kidney or bladder infection.  The vet said that his behavior (only peeing when we are away, etc.) seemed to indicate that Gizmo had control of his bladder, which he would not have if he had an infection.

        Then the vet said, “Of course, if you want to, we could do a urinanalysis and a blood test to completely rule out any infection and to establish a base line for future tests.”  MY TRANSLATION: THE VET  COULD DO A LOT OF TESTS, THAT WOULD ADD CONSIDERABLY TO HIS BOTTOM LINE, BUT NOT REVEAL MUCH, IF ANYTHING, ABOUT WHY GIZMO PEES IN THE CLOSET.

        Everything was going along rather well.  Gizmo had returned to being the perfect pet, until…

        There was a small, but oddly persistent “urine“ spot in our closet.  We’re not sure exactly when Gizmo did that (or why?).  We reacted with intense disapproval, meaning we barely looked at Gizmo for about an hour after we found the spot, an action that probably hurt us much more than it did our dog.

        Why do dogs forget their earlier training and what can we do to help them remember?

        “I would recommend to those persons who are inclined to stagnate, whose blood is beginning to thicken sluggishly in their veins, to try keeping four dogs, two of which are puppies.”  Elizabeth von Arnum