Touchy situation

[92caddy]

to you all. The best of luck to you all...................

 

[babylady4]

Quote:
We had a yorkie who was completely housebroken; she was an excellent dog all around. Smart, tenacious, and a true terrier (she would get rabbits).

 

[Slinkytoys]

Sorry, don't believe it! My friend had a Yorkie that was a Champion AND an Obedience titled dog. Swore it was totally housebroken. Then we took a black light to her carpeting, boy was she surprised!! They are so small that a lot of the time their owners have no clue about their mistakes. Some won't mess at their own house, but will when away from home......or visit the basement. You can't really blame them; the house area is huge, they are territorial and figure they can mess away from where they usually hang out.
Slinky

 

[CityChicker]

Wow, what a tough situation. Really, if the housebreaking is one of the main issues, I agree that I would try to keep the dog somewhat enclosed in a certain part of the house (or crated as much as possible). As far as outside, I would opt for a leash or a pen for the chickens (or pen for the dog).

I couldn't under any circumstances *ever* imagine making my sister get rid of her dog after losing a husband and a child (not that you are considering that. I am just saying I would rule that out right away if it were me, as I'm sure you have.). It wouldn't matter how irresponsible she was or had ever been, losing a spouse and child trumps just about anything. In fact, I would probably buy her a second dog, butcher the chickens, and feed her chicken soup as long as she needed to face the world again. Just sayin'. YMMV.

 

[babylady4]

Quote:
Hard to miss accidents on hardwood floors.

She always let us know she had to go; with gusto! Even visiting other houses. I think what people need to realize is that they are so little their bladders fill up more quickly than a bigger dog so they need to be let out more often.

 

[blue fire]

Maybe training her dog could be a good therapy for her to get her mind off things and to make a starting point to pick things up. If money is not an issue let her take the little bugger to obedience class, it gives her something to do.

 

[Quadog]

The chickens are in thier run. They do pace back & forth in front of the gate when they see me. The dog is outside most of the day. It is too cold for him to be out all nite long so I put him in our mud room at nite just in case. He seems to be doing pretty good. I feed him in the morning & put him outside. I live in the country so he can be outside all day. My sister is home all day while my wife & I are at work. She has gotten out of the house for a couple days to stay with her friends but the yorkie stays at my house. We are going to have to get het a car & a job soon. My home is only 2 years old & has never had an animal inside untill now. I cringed at the site of the first "accident". My GSD stays outside & hasn't really accepted the new dog. He knows not to hurt him but he doesn't want to play with him either.

 

[EweSheep]

Are we forgetting something here?

Who owns the house? If OP does not want the dog, then he should enforce the rules NO DOGS! Or a problem dog that does not need to be in the house. I would not go against the issues of boundary and make chaos in the household because everyone feels sorry for the dog.

If OP wants to keep the sis' dog out of kindness, then he should make way and make the rules for everyone to follow so they all will be on the same page working with the dog's issues. If no one is doing it, then OP has the right to see what's best for his home, his family and his pets either to kennel him outside with a doghouse and run OR give him away/shelter. So if you want to keep your house looking new, better put your foot down. It is tough love for everyone. Like the mud room, if that is the place that he is allow to make his mistakes while training, do not give any other rooms in the house for any opportunity for him to mark his territory.

Set boundaries for everyone, yeah, they would get mad at you for having a hard heart but you didnt have inside dogs for awhile until now. If you want to keep the dog outside, wait until spring and by next winter he will be adjusted to outside living. Be mindful about getting a heated pad for the dog because I do not think the wired haired dogs have enough sufficent down coat to keep them warm until you can get a dog coat for him.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

A largish dog crate with an area that has puppy pads or a dog litter box would help in training the dog. ANY dog can be trained, regardless of breed; however some breeds learn certain behaviors more or less easily than others.

 

[CityChicker]

Quote:
I don't think most people feel sorry for the dog, they feel sorry for the sister who's husband and child were killed. At least that is my perception. I think the mud room is a great idea. It really is such a touchy situation. I feel for the OP. I can't imagine what I would do if my sister was in the same situation. I really think it would be almost impossible for me to enforce any rules against her or her dog. I remember when my brother's wife left him, we took in several of his animals (all of them but one dog actually) and really had to step in and run his affairs for several months (she cleaned out his bank accounts as well). It was hard even in that situation. I just can't imagine if we were in your shoes and this was the result of the death of a spouse and child.