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Dog peeing in front of me (indoors)...on purpose?

272K views 55 replies 27 participants last post by  cshellenberger 
#1 ·
So this morning I took my dog out as usual, expecting him to pee and poop (same as every morning). When he's done, he usually pulls me towards the door to go inside, letting me know he's totally finished. But this morning, he wouldn't pee. He kept pulling me towards the door, like he was done, but I made him stay out longer, cuz I knew he hadn't peed.

Well, eventually I just gave up, he obviously didn't have to pee, so I took him back inside. (Now, just to give a little background, my dog does have problems w/ the occasional piddle around the house, but its usually just little bits here and there, or a small line on the carpet, like it just came out while he was walking. He hasn't flat out peed inside since I first got him back in October.)

So I was in the bathroom, with the door open, and Copper likes to sit in the hallway and wait for me. He was out there, playing with a toy, when all of a sudden I hear him peeing. I turn around and he's right there, squatting, taking a piss on the carpet...staring up at me the whole time.

So, I punished him (I caught him in the act!), and instead of taking him on a car ride as i had planned, he had to stay home alone in his kennel.

Then, tonight I was sitting on the couch, and he walked over right next to my feet, looked up at me, and squatted and peed again. RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!!

What is this? Some sort of dominance thing? I don't get it...he always gets punished for using the bathroom inside, so why would he seek me out and do it right in front of me rather than go into another room and try to hide it? I don't get it, and I don't know what to do.

Like I said, he hasn't just flat out peed in the house in a long time, but he does piddle a lot and I've often wondered what the deal with that was, as well. He still poops inside from time to time, as well, and none of it makes sense because he's good about letting me know when he has to go out...sometimes he just doesn't do it.

I've had many dogs in my time, and I've NEVER had a dog with bathroom issues like this one. :confused:

(Not sure if breeds make a difference in this sort of behavior, but just in case, he's part chihuahua and part Basenji)
 
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#31 ·
Well, you have one answer (smaller crate).

The other answer is a differnt cleaner. You need to use 'nature's Miracle' or another such Enzyme Cleaner. You can get it at PetSmart or you can Get it at Omaha Vaccine on line.

What it does is break down the doggy doo and pee smell so they don't get the idea it is OK to pee or poo there cuz it still smells "right."

Been there and done that with dish soap, chlorox, woolite.. Oh I have quite a list. LOL
 
#32 ·
I use to use Nature's Miracle, when I first got the dog. We figured it wasn't really working at getting rid of the smells, because the dogs were still peeing all over the place, but it was probably more the issue of the dogs getting use to eachother and just marking their territory.

It's just SOOOOO incredibly frustrating, because I have had multiple dogs in my lifetime and NEVER had issues like this. We never crated our dogs (they just knew where they could and couldn't go) and they never pottied inside except for one incident where one of them got bad diarrheah in the middle of the night. They were such good dogs.

I'm seriously ready to start over w/ a new dog, cuz I'm sick of this. :(
 
#35 ·
Bella5:

I did not see where rvamutt suggested YOU hit your dog (he mentioned his neighbor?) and I believe that Jamiesuzanne is the one who brought up getting rid of her dog and replacing it with a different dog (and for the problem stated, that is not the answer as the problem is common to the business of housebreaking).

Actually, I never thought you hit your dog, but your over defensive stance now makes me wonder about that?

Mostly what I truly questin is not you or the OP's fitness to HAVE a dog, but the inability to understand that dogs do not hold grudges, get mad and get even and all the rest. Those are human things and dogs are dogs and humans are humans and human kids are not dogs and dogs are not human kids.

When we anthropomorphise dog behaviors, especially behaviors we don't want, we do a great disservice not only to ourselves but to our dogs. Real dogs are not the ones as portrayed on TV with human thoughts, human language in their minds and human emotions such as stubborn, vindictive etc.
 
#36 ·
Okay, the only reason I posted what I said originally was to let jamiesuzzane know that they are not alone. You guys all told her do this or do that without always listening to what she was saying and this had just happened with my puppy so
i wanted to say hey, I feel for ya look what happened to me. When I said that Bella was "pissed" at me it was more for the pun. Yes, upset would have been a better word to use but we though it was kinda cute. Yes it was frustrating to have to clean up a mess every 5 mins - I'm not kidding about the 5 mins, where does she get all the pee?? but we were NOT MAD. She was definitely "upset" or "out of sorts" for a few hours that night but for all of you to imply that I am a bad owner is ridiculous! For one little post you are all reading WAY too much into it, and yes rvamutt said, "This is the kind of person that hits your dog", and "Please get rid of your dog". So I got upset? Hell yes! But now I'm "overly defensive" and therefore guilty? Huh? And when did I say that a dog holds a grudge? Relax, I can assure you all that I have the best of intentions with my dog, we love her dearly but know that she is, in fact, a dog.
 
#37 ·
It sure can be frustrating when a dog does pee on the floor that much!

Your explanation is understood (now). Sorry for the misinterpretation..

There are a lot of people who SO believe dogs hold grudges, get angry, do things to spite their owners etc. and as a result of people holding these views, there is a lot of dog abuse and I think we all want to abbreviate abuse of dogs. Some of the ways dogs have been treated in the past and even today can be pretty atrocious.
Those of us who are, or who have worked in shelters or rescues see it first hand to this day.

Keeping that in mind, I think we all can get a bit testy if we get the sense from words in a post on a forum seem to be pointing to that direction.

so, now that is all cleared up, how is your dog doing? :)
And, BTW, it seems when a dog is peeing they can have gallons and man..if they get loose poop.. well, we know how much goes IN the dog cuz we feed them.. but just look how much can come out the other end! Do they have a secret pouch for extra or something?????
 
#38 ·
Thanks, I appreciate it and agree completely with you. Having rescued a 100 lb severly abused dog ourselves, I think that's why I got so offended to begin with.

Bella is doing great, my three kids are remembering to pick up their toys now so that Bella doesn't chew them, it's fantastic! hehehe! Seriously though it had been a few years since we had a dog (Copper went to the "big farm in the sky 4 years ago) and I forgot just how wonderful it is to have one. She fits right in and I think that my 3 year old and her get along the best because they seem to be the same "age". They're great buddies! She is sooo smart, I can't believe how easy it has been to train her.

Have a good one!!
 
#39 ·
Just to clarify...

I am NOT getting rid of my dog. I was simply saying that I was so frustrated with him that I was ready to throw in the towel, but I didn't actually say I was going to do it.

Believe me, every time the thought really crossed my mind, I felt bad about it. I love my dog.

But he has been a lot better lately, it seems those incidents were rather isolated.
 
#40 ·
And yes, I'm feeding him once a day, in the evening when I get home from work. I don't have enough time in the mornings to feed him and then wait around for him to go potty again, so I just give him a little water and that's all.
This may well be part of the problem, because being fed once a day does not work as well as twice a day to keep a dog regular (as in when they have to poop). I keep my dogs on a feeding and exercise schedule, and can tell you almost to the minute when each one will have to poop. I live by myself, so I need to know, so I can get home in time. When I started work at 8:00am, I got up at 5:00 am, so my dogs could eat, and get in some exercise. Morning meals were always dry kibble, because it takes longer to digest, and they could wait until I got home. The getting up earlier was to see to their needs, and to make sure that they eliminated the previous day's dinner.

I've had dogs of my own over a span of 55+ years, plus fostered many more. I can tell you that dogs do not pee or poop in the house out of defiance, or to piss you off. They do it because they have to go, and, they do not have a clear understanding that the house is off limits for peeing and pooping. I've had dogs who seemed to have come already housetrained, and dogs who took longer to learn. Those dogs I tethered to me while they were out've the crate, so I could tell by their body language they had to go and could rush them outside. I know it's frustrating, but take a deep breath and relax. Go back to square one and pretend you just got the dog, and you're just starting to housetrain. Be consistent, persistent, and patient in your training. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised in a short period of time.
 
#41 ·
I know this is an old thread, but my dog is having a very similar issue and no one seems to address it. I know that dog's supposedly don't purposely pee inside out of anger, but I honestly cannot think of another reason because my dog, a golden retriever who is 1 year and 9 months old ONLY pees inside when he's "mad."

I WILL say that although he was very quick about picking up most of his training, potty training was his worst subject. We followed everything that it says to do, we always praise him when he goes outside, we never punish him when we don't catch him in the act, even when we do catch him in the act his "punishment" consists of saying "no" loudly and then escorting him outside. Normally, he barks at the door when he wants to go out and we don't have any issues.

Sometimes, however, he goes "mental" and if we are not paying enough attention to him (by his standards), or getting his ball for him when he's purposely put it under the couch/table (and yes, it IS purposely... if we give him a ball and leave for a few hours, he still has it when we get back but if we're there, it's under the couch/coffee table every two seconds and he has a hissy fit until you get it out for him) he'll walk a few feet away from you and then pee on the floor looking right at you. He just did it again tonight and luckily I caught him in the act... though I didn't surprise him enough to make him stop peeing because there's a nice trail from the original pee spot to the top of the stairs. I really don't know how to handle it. We run him everyday (sometimes twice if he's particularly energetic) in the parks by our house (and yes, we mix it up so it's not the same run everyday) because if we don't, he's an a-hole. We never hit or punish him (except the occasional roll him over on his back to show who's dominant, etc. if he's being a jerk). My family has always had dogs and I will admit that this is the first time having one "on my own" (me and my husband), but even my parents (who have trained many dogs) say that he is a very sweet dog but he is stubborn as hell.
It's so bizarre because we have so many people at the park tell us how well behaved he is off the leash and he's very friendly with everyone: adults, kids, dogs, cats... but this "angry" peeing is driving me nuts! It won't happen for months and then he'll do it 2-3x in one week, then nothing for months again. And it's ALWAYS when he's being a ******bag and we're not giving in (like it says in the training books).
 
#42 ·
I know it's old but hopefully the issue has been taken care of. I believe one of the reasons she had such difficulties is that it was a toy dog. Toy dogs are notoriously more difficult to potty train than "regular" sized dogs.
 
#43 ·
kittywings - What do you bet that if the ball rolls under something when you're not there your dog just gets it himself? Or maybe he just doesn't play with the ball much when he's alone. One thing that's for sure is that he has trained you to get it for him when you are there by making a fuss until you do it. His reward is getting you in on the game and getting some attention (even if you're not happy about it). How about redirecting the dog with another toy and just getting the ball and putting it up when it rolls under something? You might also try waiting him out every time until the antics stop before you get the ball for him, or only playing with that ball in places where it cannot roll under things the dog can't get under himself.

As for surprising your dog enough to get him to stop peeing, good luck! I know I can't stop usually once I start even if I'm startled. Heck, sometimes when I'm startled it makes me need to go more! LOL Your dog doesn't sound like an "a-hole," "****** bag," or even mad; he actually sounds very intelligent and full of energy. He doesn't need to be rolled on his back and really shouldn't be even when he's "being a jerk" because alpha rolls are dangerous and generally cause more harm than good to a dog's psyche. We humans can't roll a dog the same way a dog can roll a dog so our meaning is lost in translation. I'm sure if you really think about it you don't really want to "dominate" your dog anyway and you shouldn't have to in order to live happily with him.

To me it sounds like your puppy has simply been granted more freedom than he's ready for. I suggest more crate or puppy proofed room time when you can't watch him, and more supervised play when you can watch him.
 
#44 ·
I guess I could be a little more clear: we used to get the ball for him, but because he puts it under the couch/table every two seconds we stopped doing it until he calms down. If he was able to get it, he would... here's what happens: he's chewing on his ball, he moves to a place where it can easily go under something it either goes under on "it's own" or he PUSHES it under and he starts to cry, then he comes up to us and cries. When we ignore him, he goes back to it and cries more and freaks out trying to get it out from underneath (he goes at it pretty hardcore- you wouldn't think a dog of his size could be that flat to the ground). When this doesn't work, he starts barking this really high pitched sharp bark that makes you have to plug your ears. We still ignore it. Sometimes we'll get the ball and put it away at this point (he never gets the ball at this point because we don't want to reward his brattiness), sometimes he'll calm down after we put it away. Sometimes he goes back to where it was and looks under to make sure it's gone. Even if you get another ball for him (to distract him from the 1st ball under the couch), he'll put that under after 2 seconds and freak out until there are no balls under the couch/table. It's when he's in this "mood" that he'll go onto the carpet, look right at you and pee. This is the only time he'll do it, when he's been throwing some kind of tantrum. Also, I HIGHLY doubt that he just doesn't play with the balls when he's left alone with them... he's OBSESSED with balls. You can take him for a walk with no leash (not that we do) if you have a ball it's like an invisible leash on him.
Another time he had a tantrum-based "accident" was when my husband and I were in our bedroom with him and he was being a brat (he had just come in from outside), so we put him outside our room and shut the door for about 5-10 minutes so we didn't have to deal with him. Well, it sounded as if someone was trying to knock down the door with a battering ram, but we ignored it then once we didn't hear anything, my husband opened the door and said "WHAT ON EARTH?!!" The dog had peed AND pooed right in front of our door! Two nights later, I was making our bed and he was being a bit of a jerk, trying to get on the bed, etc. and I had to tell him "NO" a few times, he walked into the other room and all of a sudden I smelled something and he had peed and pooed in a different spot, but not TOO far from the other area.

What I don't get is that he normally barks at the door to go out, or gets our attention and walks in that direction, if he has to go. We can leave him in the house alone for hours and he has no issues, he ONLY goes to the bathroom inside when he's being a brat.

I just don't understand it... I've followed all potty training recommendations to the letter, but he just doesn't get it. He picked up everything else so quickly! I'm starting to think that he must have us bugged, because any time that we say either to each other or friends/family that he's really mellowing out, etc. he pulls some sort of stunt immediately after it's said!
 
#45 ·
It sounds to me like he gets stressed out by the whole thing and just can't hold his pee. But that's just me... I don't believe animals do things out of spite - they are innocent creatures and it's not fair to put such terrible human emotions on them as spite, anger, revenge, etc.
 
#51 ·
After fostering several puppies and adopting my last foster puppy, I firmly believe that housebroken dogs can purposely pee or poo in the house out of SPITE.

I have had my current dog for several months. He has been very obedient and completely housebroken; he had never peed or pooped in the house until today, and I believe 100% that it is out of spite. My dog is a picky eater. I usually cook for him, and he lovesss his homemade dog food. However, today, I ran out of homemade dog food, did not have time to make some, and gave him some commercial kibble instead. He gave me a dirty look and refused to eat for a while. When he finally ate some, he was so upset that he deliberately went upstairs to look for me in the living room and peed right in front of me, right in the middle of the living room. SPITE is the only explanation for this behavior.
 
#52 ·
Sounds like one little intelligent but sassy pup=-) I know it can be annoying at first but because we have such bright dogs we'll have to teach them appropriately that this behavior is not ok. I do believe in your case this was indeed spite. However I just wanted to make sure we all know how to differentiate between spite and the possibility of a bladder or fecal medical problem as well. I just don't want any sick pups getting punished for being sick. As I said before though it does sound like he was a little PO'ed. I would suggest to either make sure you don't run out of the homemade goodness again or to train the beast that he/she won't ALWAYS have his/her way. This is what I've done when Phoebe was acting out as I mentioned in my previous post. I did not reward her with giving her what she wanted (which is why she was acting out) I would take w/e it was she wanted away and put her in a crate for a half hour (just long enough for her to get the point and to figure out that acting out would lead to nowhere but her crate lol =-) However their are many other techniques that work well and can be found on this forum or basically all over the internet. Hope this helps, peace man
 
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