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My Pet World: Why does my dog pee on the floor at my son’s house, but not mine?

Cathy M. Rosenthal, Tribune Content Agency on

Dear Cathy,

I have a two-year-old Shih Tzu Pomeranian mix trained (to go outside) since he was five months old. When he is at my son's house, he pees and poops on the tile floor. He does not pee or poop in my home. He goes out the puppy door as he was trained to do. My son has a puppy door also for his five-year-old female lab. Both dogs get along well and play together. Why does my dog pee and poop in my son's house and not mine?

— Joann, Las Vegas, Nevada

Dear Joann,

When you teach a dog to "sit" in your house and then take him for a walk and ask him to "sit," he may not do so. That's because it's not just the repetition of teaching a dog to "sit" that makes him sit, but training him to obey that request every time you ask. It's essential to introduce him to the "sit" command in various locations inside and outside your home so he learns to sit whenever and wherever he is asked.

The same applies here. When your dog is at your son's house, it's a new place, and the excitement of another dog may be throwing him off his game. Use the same methods you used at your house to teach him to use the doggie door at your son's house.

 

In addition, you also can add "scent training" simultaneously if it's slow going. Rub a hot dog on the doggie door at your house to leave a scent. Then, do the same at your son's house while incorporating your other training. If he goes through the door at your house with this scent, he will likely go through the door at your son's home because the smell will be the same.

Dear Cathy,

We adopted two male cats. As we already had a female cat, we fed them the same food – Blue Buffalo indoor cat, salmon flavor. It's a high-quality food, and the boys love it. I read about male cats having issues with crystals in the bladder, though, and spoke to my vet, who recommended a urinary tract cat food by a different pet food company.

I have been feeding it to them, but they really don't like it. I feel like I'm wasting my money by giving them food they don't want to eat. Should I just forget it and give them the high-quality food they love? Is there a liquid I can give them in place of the wet cat food they don't like?

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