QUESTION:
I have a mixed breed (Labrador, Collie and Dalmatian) aged 2 yrs and 4 months. The last week he has taken to urinating indoors when left alone. He will pee four to five times around the house whether he’s alone for five minutes or four hours. Being alone at home isn’t new to him, so I am wondering why he’s started doing this. It’s tiresome to have to mop the floors everytime I have been out.

ANSWER:
When adult dogs suddenly begin to urinate indoors it’s usually cause by a health problem or some other problem. I usually recommend having the dog checked by a vet in cases like this, to be on the safe side. I’ve had several dogs with the same problem in training, and each time the problem has had different causes. Thus, it’s impossible for me to say exactly what is going on with your dog.

What strikes me, is the dog’s age – he is just about to reach maturity, meaning that he is becoming aware of the “ladies”. The most likely cause may be that there are bitches in heat nearby. If you live in an urban area there’s a possibility that this is the case. If this is the case, you will run into the same problem every time some bitch nearby is in heat. One possible solution is to neuter him. Chemical castration to begin with, to see if the indoor peeing is sexually related. Another possible cause is stress due to recent changes in the dog’s life. Heart rate and temperature rise when the stress level rise, and the level of stress may rise as a result of changes, insecurity, too high demands, excitement (bitches in heat), and a lot of other things. (The medical reason that stress and urination is connected is that the production of ADH in the brain decrease during stress. ADH is the hormone that helps the kidneys to hold water.) Other possible explanations may be: he has reached an age where he will begin to mark territory, especially when there a lot of people/traffic outside the house, and especially when he’s alone. It’s probably a temporary problem, but it’s likely to return at a later time. Scolding such as “No!” will only help while you are present.

I suggest that you contact a dog behaviorist, who is likely to be able to help you figure out what is going on. Other efforts I suggest, are: Chemical castration to see if it has any effect to neuter him, complete medical check-up if the problem continues. In the worst case you can get a crate, get him used to staying in it, and eventually let him stay there while you are away. I’m not too fond of too much use of crates, but as long as you never let him stay there for more than a few hours every now and then, it may be a good solution. Also, make sure you don’t reinforce the problem by scolding him, making it a big issue by pointing and saying things like “Look what you’ve done!”, and similar things. See if you can ignore his accidents altogether. The only times you can actually say something to him, is when you see him lifting his leg. After that it’s too late no matter.

Turid Rugaas