When I brought Lally home, the first thing she did was jump on my bed and have herself a hearty piddle. It was the start of a very special time in our lives that I like to call… The Great Bladder Mystery.
For the first few weeks together, EVERY time I got home from work, or the store, or anywhere, Lally would piddle on the floor. And I mean every time. Two, three times a day!
In our Vermont days, I lived less than a mile from work. So our schedule went something like this:
4:30am: Alarm goes off. Head outside for a piddle.
10:30am: Come home for break. Head outside for a piddle.
3:00pm: Get home for the day. Head outside for a piddle.
Throughout the afternoon and evening: Piddle breaks.
10:00pm: Last piddle of the day.
I really didn’t feel like Lally was lacking for bathroom time, yet every time I got home from work, she would whiz on the floor. (And then piddle outside, too.) It was very frustrating! So, I called the shelter for advice. They put me in touch with their resident trainer, who offered several suggestions, including a vet visit. The odd indoor piddling could be a sign of a bladder infection. She also suggested the “Piddle Party”. If Lally went outside, I should celebrate it like it was the best day of my life. Hey, any day I didn’t have to clean up pee in the kitchen WAS the best day of my life!
Let me say as an aside, there’s nothing more bizarre than chasing your new dog around the yard with a Tupperware container, trying to obtain a urine sample. Moving on… despite my heroic piddle-gathering effort, no sign of bladder infection.
Some internet research revealed that Lally might just be an Omega Dog. Submissive piddling is one way of demonstrating pack order. Maybe she was just letting me be the Alpha Dog!
So I altered our routine a little bit. Instead of coming up the inside stairs, putting down my stuff, and THEN taking her outside, I started coming up the outside stairs. I’d drop my bag at the door, but Lally would be scrambling down the stairs as soon as it opened. Our greeting piddle could then be done outside.
Within a few weeks, we had no more submissive piddling in the house!