If you’ve had an animal in your care, you’ve probably dealt with cats urinating
outside of the litter box, or dogs “forgetting” where they are supposed to go to
the bathroom. So many of you contact me for help with problematic bathroom
habits of your furry family members and believe me, I understand.
When dogs have been doing their “business” inside the house, or cats having
been going to the bathroom outside of the litter box, it is first important to have
the animal seen by a veterinarian. Once any medically related problem has
been cleared, we can then work to get to the root of the problem.
The interesting thing that many don’t realize is that potty problems are often
multi-layered issues that are presenting themselves in a very blatant and
frustrating way.
“I’ve been afraid I would jinx it, but Roy has been using a puppy pad to
urinate. He still leaves poop on the floor, but it is dry and easily cleaned
up. He’s only made one mistake recently and that was because I failed to
replace the pad in the place he is used to. Hooray. Hope he continues.
Thank you for your help!” Molly
I was thrilled for Molly, who sent me the email above following a distance
animal communication consultation. However, while she was just so happy
that he was no longer urinating on the floors, it didn’t occur to her that more
be done.
When animals have been displaying behavioral issues related to the
bathroom, it can be a multi-layered issue.
For instance Roy’s initial surface
response to me was the reason that he would go to the bathroom in the house
was because, it was his house.
Pretty simple. Right? Well, as an experienced animal communication expert,
my goal is to find out what this really means and how to correct it.
Roy first mentioned that the cats go to the bathroom in the house and so why
shouldn’t he? But even more relevant was, understanding how vulnerable Roy
felt went he went outside. Roy explained that he really felt his stature played a
part in this as he is a small dog.
The heart of all of this, however, lay in the
past. Roy’s history was not known by Molly, who adopted him from a local
shelter. Roy showed me parts of his previous life which included being in the
home of an elderly person who did not take him outside on a consistent basis.
He came to Molly’s home as an older dog, where two other dogs already
resided. So this was somewhat of a “teaching an old dog new tricks,” situation.
That combined with multiple moves, contributed to confusion and a lack of
confidence for Roy.
Not the end of the story!
As mentioned, Roy had been using a puppy pad
inside and his person didn’t expect much more. I helped Roy’s person nderstand that
there was more that could be achieved with a little bit more work. Roy’s person
was ready to take the next step towards helping Roy to urinate outside. It turns
out that Roy needed a special “spot” outdoors. Simply letting him outside on
his own in the fenced in backyard wasn’t clear enough. I could tell that if Roy’s
person took him out and brought him to a specified potty spot, it would help
him greatly. Molly took the homework she was given, to take Roy out on a
leash, show him one particular spot where he should “go,” and then praising
him when he was successful. This took a few tries and there were a few mess-
ups along the way, but within a few weeks, Roy and Molly achieved complete
success!
See how getting to the heart of the matter helps to free an animal to
make those changes.
As in most endeavors, success requires “homework.” It
can often require patience and perseverance to achieve the end goal, although
sometimes change happens seemingly overnight. All animals are different and
that is why I work to identify the exact reason for what is specifically causing
your pet’s problems. Taking the time to understand what is truly behind your
animals’ behavior is the key component to making change happen.
Work with Anne to help your pet achieve success
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