# What would cause a sudden, out of character peeing-on-the-floor incident?



## Maggie Girl (Feb 27, 2011)

Our 1 1/2 yo beagle has been housebroke for quite a while and has lived both inside and outside since we've had him. He's been back inside (hopefully on a permanent basis now) for over a week now and other than some separation anxiety issues (that are being successfully worked through, so far) he's been a GREAT inside dog. He doesn't chew up things, stays off the furniture, doesn't make noise, and no potty accidents... until tonight. He didn't "go to the door" to signal he needed to go out or whine or anything obvious. He was in our son's room playing with our boys and suddenly our older son called out that the dog was peeing on the floor and my son's bean bag! :doh. My husband and I were shocked. We scolded him and made him go lay down and cleaned up the mess. (I saved the bean bag, btw!!)

What would cause an otherwise housetrained dog to just do this? Now I've lost confidence in his potty habits and find myself paranoid it'll happen again. Any ideas?


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

First, I would NOT advice scolding him. If he is scolded, all he understands is that you got angry when you saw the pee. It's the same whenever dogs do anything WE humans consider bad: they don't necessarily make the connection that it's inherently WRONG, just that we get angry when they do it. Dogs don't generalize well. The biggest thing is...dogs that are scolded after they've had accidents may try harder to hide the accident next time, so we don't find it, and get angry. That will only cause more problems! 

As far as what could cause an out of character accident? Well, a UTI can cause it. Also, if there was something that spooked her, or upset her, she could have lost control. And, sometimes a dog can pee if they get too anxious or excited.

Also, if you're just now having him back inside, a change in routine can cause some dogs to backslide.

I'd make sure that you increase the supervision, and keep him in your sight. Take him out often, instead of waiting for him to let you know. Basically, go back to basics for a bit, and see what happens.


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## Maggie Girl (Feb 27, 2011)

Thank you for the input. I do have one idea now as to what may have caused him to do this, let me know if you think it holds any water. Yesterday afternoon I changed my younger son's dirty diaper right in that spot. I don't think anything got on the carpet where I changed him, but maybe a trace amount did or the scent was lingering there and caused the dog to want to go there?? 

My only other thought was that he overheard us discussing his upcoming neutering (being done right now, as a matter of fact) and decided to retaliate. LOL ;-)


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Someone may correct me, if I'm wrong, but I don't think that's it. 
It sounds like the dog was in your son's room with the boys, with no adult, right? I'm sure your boys are great, but, kids do sometimes move quickly, without warning, or talk loudly or yell. Also, sometimes, even though we tell them how to interact with dogs, they may get carried away and play a bit too rough. What I'm trying to say, tactfully, I hope, is that the kids may have done something to scare or hurt your dog without meaning to.....
I mean, heck, I'm a teacher, and I see all the time how kids who are friends get carried away when they're playing at recess and can get hurt or in fights... play sometimes escalates.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

He's only been back inside for a week so it's likely that he is still adjusting to the house and your routine. He probably forgot about letting you know when he was playing and all riled up with your kids and just went in their room. 

For the first few weeks of being back inside, I'd make it constant supervision or a very scheduled day- potty breaks every hour or two, after rough play and sleeping, etc. so that he remembers outside is for pottying and inside is not. He just needs a refresher.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

About a month ago, Toby peed on the floor. . .no warning, just whiz. I was looking right at him! He seem mortified but looked like he couldn't stop himself. I didn't say anything, just let him out. I kept an eye on him in case it was a UTI or anything else that warranted a vet visit, but no odd incidents since. I suppose sometimes these things just happen? I mean, it can happen to humans, too . If there are no repeat incidents, I wouldn't worry about it.


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## Puptart (Jan 25, 2011)

DJEtzel said:


> He's only been back inside for a week so it's likely that he is still adjusting to the house and your routine. He probably forgot about letting you know when he was playing and all riled up with your kids and just went in their room.
> 
> For the first few weeks of being back inside, I'd make it constant supervision or a very scheduled day- potty breaks every hour or two, after rough play and sleeping, etc. so that he remembers outside is for pottying and inside is not. He just needs a refresher.


I know when we first had Taz and Gizmo, Kodi, who has been potty trained for over a year now, Kodi all of the sudden just whizzed on the floor without warning. No leg lift or anything. At first we thought he was just marking his territory but then we noticed streams of blood in his urine. We took him to the vet and they did an ultrasound and urine test and found that there was alot of blood in his bladder. The doctor didn't know what had caused it but suggested that it could be due to the stress of the puppies. He put him on pills for a week and then Kodi was fine. He hasn't had any trouble since. 

Just keep an eye on him a maybe let him out a little more frequently than usual to make sure he doesnt have an accident.


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