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

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?

— Corinne, Centereach New York

Dear Corinne,

Usually, I would say follow your vet's advice. But you're treating a problem that isn't present in your cats and may never be. Yes, male cats are prone to crystals in the bladder. I had a cat more than 20 years ago who had this problem. But my current male cat of seven years eats a regular diet and hasn't ever shown any signs of developing this problem.

Once cats have grown accustomed to a particular food, they can resist switching to another. So, if your cats don't have urinary problems, stick with the food they love. You can always change it again if one of them develops this health problem. However, if your vet really wants your cats to be on a urinary tract diet, there are many other urinary cat foods on the market that might appeal more to their picky palettes, including one by Blue Buffalo that's available in wet and dry food. Why not give that a try?

Dear Cathy,

Our cat loves her scratch box and will sometimes sleep in it. On occasion, she pees in it. Her litter box is cleaned daily. How do we stop this behavior?

— Patricia, Smithtown, New York

Dear Patricia,

Sometimes, cats may not like a closed litter box, the location of the box, or the type of litter being used. Pay attention to see if she looks nervous when in the box or if she smells the litter and then walks away.

If she seems nervous, consider removing the lid (temporarily) and/or moving the entire box to a different low-traffic location where she might feel safer. If she smells the litter and walks away, she may not like the scent of the litter. Try using an unscented litter. You also can purchase a litter box attractant, available at the pet store or online, that you can sprinkle in the litter box to help lure her back. Let me know if these things don't work.

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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)