Bit of background info, the Boerboel bitch and the English Pointer bitch got into a nasty scrap a few weeks back, and to prevent a re-match I have radically altered the sleeping/walking and playing routine, I now have both the pointers in different parts of the house while we are out and at bedtime, leaving the Boerboel bitch crated and the Boerboel pup crated, the third boy has the whole of the kitchen as he is the primary guard dog.

In recent days two major changes have happened with the 16 month old boy, (the uncrated one), firstly he has JUST started to cock his leg, up until now it has been puppy squats, but more alarmingly, he has become really destructive while we are out but weirdest of all, he has started peeing right in front of us without any attempt to whine, scratch the door or give any indication he wants to 'go', he literally, like a brewery horse stands 4 square in front of us and just goes! the only time he he does this is when we have come home from work/college and they have been on their own for about 6 hours, we rehomed him as one of our bb bitches litter sibs 5 months ago, and while it is like an army manoevere managing five dogs, this problem is brand spanking new, the only other change in their routine is my daughter has just returned to college after a long summer vac, any ideas??

Thanks
Tracey

Tracey, What exactly do you mean by destructive while you are gone?

Are you taking this guy outside immediately upon getting home and how much exercise is he getting?

Five dogs, correct?

What kind of zoo do you have there!!!!
A 16 month pup with guardian duties?
Some bitch having a litter not long ago? What happened to the litter, they still around?
Some dog or another being rehomed?
You people are busy with school AND work?
Where do all the dogs fit into your lives?

You're pulling our legs right, you have a puppy mill going on there. Don't ya?

Randy, tell it like it is. Dan

For those of us with simple minds can you outline the dogs, breeds and ages?

I am thinking, if I get it right that the 16 month old is the oldest BB.>??? If so you have three BB all coming into or in the next year becoming mature. If that is the case.....this is just the beginning of your nightmare.

 Quote: randy allen

What kind of zoo do you have there!!!!
A 16 month pup with guardian duties?
Some bitch having a litter not long ago? What happened to the litter, they still around?
Some dog or another being rehomed?
You people are busy with school AND work?
Where do all the dogs fit into your lives?

You're pulling our legs right, you have a puppy mill going on there. Don't ya?

I found it helpful to go back and read her initial posts. You will still freak out a bit however, but at least you'll have the background.

Five dogs is INSANE in this environment, which prompted my "how much exercise is this dog getting" question in hopes of leading the discussion to "none - we are pretty busy" which would then lead... etc...

The background to the dogs is I have 2 English pointers, aged 6 and 7, both neutered, the Boerboel background is we got the bitch originally July 2009 and then the youngest pup January 2010, and the litter sib to the original Boerboel, the one with the immediate issues, was given back to the breeder when the original owners split up, he moved overseas and the wife said the dog, who was then 9 months old didn't fit in with her schedule, the breeder contacted all the people who had wanted a pup from the original litter, (these were people who wanted a big guardian breed rememeber) and no less than 5 people took him then sent him back to the breeder within a week because, among other things, he kept 'following them around' and one said he drooled on her friends skirt and that was unacceptable, at this point I said enough already, and we took him, that was 5 months ago and up until now, no problems.

They all get 45 minutes road walk in the morning, and an hour off road after work, I changed my working hours to enable me to get home at 3, my son comes straight from work at 4, and my daughter is home 3 days a week day time as she studies and works, and her working hours are at the weekend when I am home.

I realise that a house with 5 dogs isn't for everyone, but I am not a breeder, have all but one neutered, and as I am recently divorced I don't have to divide my time with anyone and spend all my time with the dogs.

The damage that was done was him taking his sofa bed apart, quite succesfully as it happens!

Hope that answers some of the questions, I am always open to suggestions and advice, thats why Im here!
Regards
Tracey

And the 'pup' with "guardian duties" (sic) is a ten stone 'pup'!

Ok, (just so you know, I have no issues with a multiple dog home as I am in a similar place in my life)so, the boy that is doing the 'brewery horse' thing (nice visual - I laughed, I can picture a hairy horse just going lol). He is how old? I am wondering, since he does this right in front of you, can you catch the urine in a cup - oh, what he's a BB, right? Get a large bowl lol, take the urine to a vet to screen first for a possible UTI.
Once that is ruled out, I would definatly start the housetraining thing over from the beginning. Crate, tether, out every 3-4 hours if possible. I had a male(intact) that as he hit maturity, he started having 'accidents.' I think it may have been a hormone overload. The urine smelled extremly strong, but tested normal except for a high sperm count (yech!). We chalked it up to hormones and tightened up a bit on housetraining practices again. He has been fine after a month or so. I wondered if part of it was the neighbor's bitch in heat again. Now that she has puppies - again. He is fine. I plan on noting what his reaction is when she comes back in. (That poor, poor girl!).

As far as the sofa - that's why God made crates. I couldn't live without mine. Although, they are getting to be all over the house.......

Best wishes!

Hi Lisa

I get what you mean about the possibility of a possible infection, and the wee does have a strong smell, I had him neutered as soon as we took him in, purely because the youngest pup is remaining intact, so he was neutered 5 months ago, but I know it can take time for all the testosterone to leave the system, he hasn't peed anywhere else or at any other time, i.e. he never cries to go out in the night so has good bladder control, but you are right, it certainly won't hurt to have a sample tested, regarding crating, it came to light very recently the original owners crated him pretty much round the clock, (great owners they were - NOT!) and when I tried crating him he freaked, again, he has never destroyed anything up until now, my own thoughts are either dominance issues, or because of the change in sleeping arrangements after the girls got into a scrap, it has unsettled him, plus, my daughter was home for 3 months while college broke for the summer and he was used to having her around all day, but maybe I am way off the mark, which is why I thought I would ask you guys, I have had dogs all my life including Boxers, so I am not new to the large guardian breed types, but I am always learning and this board has such a wealth of experienced and straight talking people I thought I would ask the question here first, thanks for your reply, and finally to answer your first question, Kaiser is 16 months old.

Kind regards
Tracey