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I have been around dogs my whole life but the honest truth is that I am not terribly dog smart.  I have learned from some mistakes and feel that I can really be a great owner for Brutus despite not knowing everything.  Still, I knew I would be hitting some road blocks from time to time, and here I am! 

Brutus has been sleeping in our kitchen at night as it seems to be the most safe place for him.  Each time we have left the gate open for him, he goes into the livingroom at some point during the night to use the bathroom, but then returns to his kitchen/den where it is safe and sound.  He does not whine to be let out and does not tell us when he has to go potty during the day or night.  I have assumed that he was not potty trained and was left outdoors all the time in his previous home.

So, a 1 1/2 to 2 year old 130 lb Brutus thinks the livingroom is his potty place which isn't too much fun for me since it's carpeted in there.  We let him out several times at night before bed and then my hubby lets him out first thing in the morning when he gets up (around 6am.)  Some of you may remember my last post - Brutus jumped the baby gate while we were on a day trip and had the runs all over the livingroom floor.  Last night in the middle of the night sometime, Brutus jumped the gate again and went poop on the carpet - still a bit runny from his upset tummy the other day but it wasn't a mass explosion, thank goodness.  This afternoon I went out front to rense off the pooper scooper, after using it to scoop grossness out of the carpet this morning from last nights episode.  Brutus saw that I had left the front door open and he jumped the gate and came out front.  He was so nervious/excited that I had left his sight that he peed as soon as I got him to casually follow me back into the house. 

Brutus has been really, really wound up after our leaving for that day trip, even though we came back the same night.  I'm wondering if the pooping in the livingroom behavior is related or if he is just getting comfortable enough to start showing off some of his new tricks (like jumping the gate or eating my socks for fun ).

So far we have just opted to completely ignore Brews behaviors, especially when he seems to get phobic.  I just let him have his panic attack without acknowledging that it's there and this has seemed to allow him to calm down quickly.  Still, we can't have Brutus using our livingroom as a toilet.  I have been praising him whenever he goes outside and make a big deal whenever I find him standing by the door even if he doesn't actually go potty when I let him out, and he likes this attention.  I'm just not sure what else to do.  We would love to have him sleep in the bedroom with us at night but to date he has been pretty spooked about being locked in the bedroom with us.  I feel really anxious about the idea of crating him at night though I'm not sure why.  I guess "caging" a dog is just a really odd concept for me, even when they seem to like it.  Thoughts, suggestions?     
-Anna

Yesterday was an amazingly crazy day.  We have been taking Brutus to the dog park several days a week because it has really helped to improve his fear issues.  In fact, up until last night he was starting to branch out and was becoming super friendly with even people he had never met before.  The submissive peeing has not been a problem for almost 2 weeks now and we are really, really proud of our big softy dog.

Yesterday my husband and I had to made a day road trip down to another part of the state to do a home inspection for a couple of macaws we are going to adopt out.  We got up early and let the dogs out and then let Brutus back in because he seems more secure sprawled out on the tile in our kitchen.  We left and wouldn't return for about 10 hours.  Brutus has proven to be able to hold it for quite some time, so I wasn't too worried but worst case we might have a little mess to clean off the tile when we returned. 

When I walked in the front door carrying my sleeping one year old, all the lights were off but my sense of smell was suddenly horrified.  Dog poop.  And not just regular dog poop, either.  Baaaddddd dog poop.  Oh well, I thought.  Brutus is in the kitchen, I'll just clean it off the tile when I set the baby down.  Our two year old son ran in the door after me and started playing with his toys in the livingroom in the dark.  When I walked back through to go to the kitchen (about 20 seconds later) and turned on the lights I noticed a giant Brutus cowering in the corner of the livingroom.  It wasn't until then that I saw all of the giant cow pies all over the livingroom carpet - and Gabe was running around in them, stomping.  There was also a giant sopping puddle in the same place where Brew had submissive peed in the carpet earlier when we came home one of the first days we had him.  Brutus had jumped the baby gate, or kicked it open somehow to get into the livingroom.  I was too speechless to say a word so instead I just got a bucket.

The night before last I made the mistake of letting Brew lick up some extra beef grease I had from cooking filets.  This probably upset his tummy and it looked like Brew pancked when he realized he needed to go outside NOW.  Did he jump the gate because he had to go potty and came looking for me, hoping that maybe I was home after all or did he jump the gate for fun and then upset himself so badly that he couldn't get back into the kitchen that he got the runs? 

We will likely never know for sure but he has been a basket case since the event.  Last night he bolted when he realized that we had discovered the mess.  I didn't say a word to anyone about the mess, including Brutus but routinely let him back into the kitchen, bent down and told him how sorry I was that he didn't feel good and that we weren't home when he needed us.  That seemed to calm him, as it is usual for me to bend down and tell him something sweet when I come home.  He responds by putting his big fuzzy mitt on my leg and gives me a little "I missed you" smile.  I let him outside incase he had to go potty again but he was terribly wound up again by the time he came back inside and went to hide.  This morning when I got up to let him out, he was super jumpy and seemed afraid of me.  My poor guy!  Hopefully the trauma wont last him too long, though he is likely still not feeling very well.  I just hope acting like the mess wasn't there will help him to realize that he's not in trouble. 

I ended up steam cleaning carpets until 5:00 in the morning.  We don't have a steam cleaner but I have one of those Spot Bots with a hose attachment and I just soaped and rinsed a few inches of the carpet at a time.  Yikes!  I I think I'm going to see how brutus feels about being left out when I go out from now on.  I work at home so I am rarely gone for long - and maybe this is part of what upset him so badly.  He thought we had left him for good, like his last owner did. Poor baby.


Anyway, I was hoping someone here could empathize with what happened.  I am truely amazed that today the carpets look almost like it hadn't even happened!!!  Vinegar and then Tide with color safe bleach makes an excellent carpet cleaner. 
-Anna   

   

When I let Brutus outside and he doesn't have to go potty, he has been making a bee line for the side of our house.  I went outside to play with the dogs earlier this afternoon and discovered why!  Brutus has made himself cozy in his very own doggy den.



Here is a photo of both Penny and Brutus so you can see their size difference.  Penny is a little bit bigger than a pure bred corgi.



These two are getting to be best buddies and follow each other around.



While I was out there with them, Penny asked Brutus to play!


This is something I don't think Brutus has been comfortable with to date, as he is still adjusting to his environment but he surprised me and let his inner puppy lose!



Brutus and Penny aren't the only ones who are best buddies.  Someone else is completely in love. 



-Anna

A little over a month ago we adopted the most amazing dog in the world!  His name is Brutus and he is a great pyr, wolfhound, st bernard mix.  In his previous home, Brutus was left outside in the yard with 5 other dogs and he seems to not have very strong people skills.  He is very comfortable around other dogs but is very skittish with people, even some people he has gotten to know.  I am forming a really special bond with him and he really adores me and wants to be near me - so I think this is certainly a start.

A few days into having him home, Brutus started doing submissive peeing whenever we insisted that he do something or go somewhere that made him nervious.  We learned quickly that if Brutus is going to do something, it has to be at least part his idea.  He responds some of the time when I am kind but firm with him - assertive I guess is the right word.  I can sometimes get him to follow me into another room or outside if I just get up casually and annouce "come on, Brutus, we're going now" without making a big deal about it. As soon as Brutus feels he is getting too much unwanted attention for anything, he panics and tries to run away.

Let me give you an example of the submissive peeing.  The other night my parents were over for Halloween.  we went out with our kids and left them home with the dog.  Brutus was "hiding" in the kitchen but eventually got brave enough to go investigate the company.  As soon as he got up and my parents saw him, they made a big deal over him approaching, calling his name and telling him what a good boy he was.  Brutus stopped in his tracks, peed, and then ran away.  At first Brutus became very easily overwhelmed by us when we would come home because I would always greet him with enthusiasm.  After cleaning up several large doggy puddles we decided it might work better just to let Brutus adjust to us being home again for a while before showing him attention.  This worked beautifully and now Brutus approaches us when he is realy for attention of any kind.  I know he does want attention, because he wanders over frequently for a little scratch and to put his big paw up into my lap.  (What a lover.) 

Does anyone have any advice to help correct this behavior and build confidence in Brutus that people are safe?  We have another dog and Brutus has done beautifully when asked to go to the car or go for a walk or go into the other room (he hangs out mostly in the kitchen) when our other dog is so willing to cooperate.  We are looking for any tools we may be able to use to better this guy's life.  He is a sweet heart and a big gentle giant and I am really confident that we will be able to better his world.
-Anna