Hi andrea, thanks for your question. I think you have two problems here. First of all from what you describe here I would say that your girl has dominance issues.
Currently your dogs is unsure of her position in the pack because she doesn't identify anyone as leader. She is therefore adopting various aspects of the dominant role herself. Because she thinks of herself as leader of the pack she thinks she has the right to pee on the beds of lower members such as yourself and your sister.
Following the alpha dog training will definitely help show her her position. It is important to remember the key points of dominance.
In a wild dog pack the dominant pack member controls :
-access to food
-access to favoured sleeping areas
-any interactions with lower pack members
-access to favoured items such as toys
In order to show your dog her position as bottom of the pack you and your whole family can take advantage of these keys points. For example
1) The dog must be the last to eat at every meal and should never get treats from the table.
2) She should never walk through doors before you. A good way to practice this is to walk around the house and make her sit at each doorway and wait.
3) If she is lying in the hallway or anywhere you have to get past make her move.
4) When you arrive home completely ignore the dog for 15 minutes. Don't look at her, talk to her or pat her. After this go to her and give her some quiet attention only as long as she is relaxed and calm.
Only interact with the dog on your terms. If your or someone else is petting the dog or playing with it and it becomes badly behaved immediately remove your attention from the dog by either removing yourself from the area or moving the dog to another area. You should do this without displaying any emotion such as anger just be a calm but decisive pack leader and the dog will appreciate knowing where it stands. Similarly you can assert your dominance by not allowing access to beds and couches or by only bringing out favourite toys when you want to play and removing them when you are finished.
The second issue I think your dogs is confused about it where exactly is appropriate to toilet. I recommend picking a particular area where you want the dogs to toilet and where they have access to at all times. Once you have an area its time to start re-toilet training. Continue to take your dog to the toilet spot as soon as she wakes up in the morning, after every feeding and before bed as these are the most likely times a dog will need to go to the toilet. Also put her in the toilet area every hour while they are inside the house with you during the day. Praise them for toileting in the area everytime you seem them use it.
As well as putting her on the toilet spot before bed establish a routine where they are exercised daily as this encourages toileting outside and improves general well being. Continue to work with the crate. Place her favorite blankets inside and allow the dogs to associate the crate with quite rest. The crates will then be her personal quite space and this will make her unlikely to urinate in it. This means you can put her in it at night and protect your house from accidents at night.
Establishing your self as pack leader and a good routine for toileting and bed time should help your dogs know their place in your household and respect you and your floor. Let me know if you need any further assitance with your dogs.
|