# Dogs Peeing even though house trained



## drake23 (Dec 15, 2011)

hi i have a golden retriever who is fine around the house, but during the day i look after my brother's bully who has taken to peeing when things aren't going her way, even though they are both house trained. The worst part is the retriever has started copying her behavior. I nipped out to the shops in my coat (which they associate with walkies) and left them at home as i was planning on taking them on a long walk when i got back, and they both peed in the kitchen, seemingly out of spite? they had been out in the morning and had access to the garden all day up until i shut the door to pop to the shop. if anyone has any suggestions on this it'd be greatly appreciated!


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Dogs don't pee out of spite. That is a human emotion. Lots of times people assume dogs have the same thought process/reasoning, and emotions as we do, but they don't. 

You say your brother's dog was house trained, as well as your dog. Have you asked your brother if there have been any accidents when the dog is left alone at HIS house?

Some dogs have an issue peeing out of anxiety. It doesn't mean they aren't house trained, it means they lose control, so to speak, when they are anxious. But, it would seem odd for her (the bully) to start this out of nowhere, if she didn't have this issue before. HOWEVER, sometimes, people don't like to admit when their adult dogs have peeing issues.

It's possible that something frightened the bully, at some point, when she was left alone, and now she associates being left alone with something scary, so she pees out of anxiety. It could have been anything, a loud noise, whatever.

And, if one dog pees, sometimes the other may see that area as acceptable to pee in, OR, your dog may have just wanted to put his/her scent in the room, since the other dog did.....

If it is anxiety peeing, a couple of things that might help are giving the dog something to do, like a frozen, stuffed kong to chew on, and also, exercising briskly before leaving them alone, because exercise can reduce stress.


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## drake23 (Dec 15, 2011)

hi thanks for the reply, it's really insightful and helpful. is there any way to help with anxiety in a broader scheme, not just being left alone? as she is a rescue dog from a puppy farm and is anxious around children specifically but can be temperamental with any stranger.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Oh, poor thing. Puppy farms can create real issues for some puppies! The lack of quality of breeding, and lack of quality of care is a poor start to a puppy's young life!

There are things you can do. For instance, for being left alone, you can do some conditioning, which basically would help her learn to tolerate being left alone better. You could start by giving her a kong and leaving her in her "alone" area (crate, pen, etc) for 30 seconds. Then, come back, with no fuss, just let her out. Do this as often through the day as you can. Any time you have a few minutes, do this. After a few days, increase the time you leave her for to 1-2 minutes, as many times a day as you can. After a few days, increase to 3-4 minutes. You get the point. Occasionally mix up how long you live her alone. Sometimes 30 seconds, sometimes 2 minutes. But, very often throughout the day.

Of course, when you have errands to do, or housework, you can always confine her/leave her for as long as you need. But, doing these little short bursts of alone time throughout the day can help her tolerate it better over time.

As for being temperamental with strangers, is this people you are wanting her to meet? Or just strangers you pass on the street? Either way, you can get her attention on YOU by shoving a treat near her nose, and praising her for stopping whatever reaction she was having. So, what we did is, our dog would growl at someone on our walks, I would get his attention with a treat, and say "good quiet!" (Quiet was already a command he knew.) Pretty soon, he'd start looking to me for a treat every time we passed anyone on the street. (Huge improvement for him!)

Gradually, you can start phasing out the treat, and just praise when she can be quiet and calm around people.

You can also get volunteers, friends or neighbors, to toss treats to her as they pass by. Not feed the treats out of their hands, but just toss to him. That way, he gets the good thing, without being too scared. Gradually he may make the connection that people mean he gets good things, and he may be able to greet people politely.

As for kids, some dogs aren't comfortable around kids. Kids usually speak in a higher pitch, sometimes they yell or scream or squeal, they sometimes move quickly and without any warning, and some kids don't have good "dog manners". So, best to give him some exposure to kids from a distance at first, and maybe do the treat tossing with them also.


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## CricketLoops (Apr 18, 2011)

Another possible simpler explanation (although doxiemommy is kind of the potty training expert around here) is that the bully dog needs a quick reminder about housetraining. 

Most dogs learn things very specifically-- that is, as opposed to learning "don't pee inside any buildings or houses, ever, and always pee outside" the dog learns "in my house, i go pee outside and do not pee in my "den" area where I sleep". 

In new environments, then, you have to say "we also go pee outside and do not pee inside in this house, too." 

The first thing that I would do is buy a cleaning product from a pet store that is specifically an "enzymatic cleaner" like, say, Nature's Miracle. This cleans the peed on area but, more importantly, it makes it so the dog can no longer smell that he has peed in that area. Often, dogs like to pee in the same places, so if you don't do this, you will usually get repeat pees.

Then do a refresher housetraining course. Treat the bully like she has never been housetrained and take her outside once an hour or so for a chance to pee. When she does pee, give her a treat and some effusive praise (good girl! yay! you're so smart!). When you're inside, make sure you're supervising her, and if she starts to pee immediately leash her up and take her outside to finish. It's a good idea to leave a leash attached to her to make this easier, but don't leave it on when you can't supervise (or she'll probably chew it). 

Since she already "gets" the general concept of housetraining (pee here, not there) she will probably catch on very quickly and you can go back to a more relaxed schedule. I would also put the golden on this schedule for a while just to remind her, too -- you're already going to be doing it, so why not?


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Let's get this out of the way: A healthy dog who pees in the house is, by definition, NOT housebroken.

It's like saying I'm monogamous, but like to play the field sometimes. Or that I'm a vegetarian, but love a good steak every Thursday night.


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