My dog is 4 years old. Ive had him since he was 8 weeks. The past 4 or 5 months hes been peeing on the floor EVERY time I leave the house. Hes not super anxious but hes high energy. I exercise him plenty every day. If I'm home with him he can go like 5 or 6 hours without going outside and overnight is never a problem when I'm home. But if I leave for 3 hours and take him out right before I go? He pees. So its not that he CANT hold it. And he definitely knows its wrong. I come home and hes in the corner acting all sheepish. I pull him over to it and scold him and then take him outside to pee and if he does I praise him for going outside. I thought the problem might be a residual pee smell that hes just peeing over but I've moved in the past month and he immediately peed in the new place the first time I left him. Ive tried crating him and it doesn't work he just pees in it. The only thing I think might be related is that recently hes started marking. The first 3 years I had him he didn't mark once outside. His pee isn't dark and smelly but could it still be a UTI? If not why would he be peeing after such a short time alone?? I'm thinking of taking him to the vet. Sorry for the long post. Thanks
Dog doesnt hold his pee when alone
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Yes, the vet would be a good place to start. It could certainly be a UTI. If you can take in a urine sample, that would be helpful.
He probably doesn't really know "it's wrong." He's acting "sheepish" because he knows he's going to get scolded. Scolding a dog for something he did while you're away is not helpful - it's just confusing. It's not even helpful if you catch him in the act.
He probably doesn't really know "it's wrong." He's acting "sheepish" because he knows he's going to get scolded. Scolding a dog for something he did while you're away is not helpful - it's just confusing. It's not even helpful if you catch him in the act.
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Good on you for having him checked by the vet - that's definitely the first step that needs to be taken.
First, make sure you're cleaning the pee up really thoroughly. The cleaners specifically made for pet urine with enzymes to break down the smell are helpful. If he's smelling his past pees, it could encourage him to pee more. Is he crate trained? If he does not have a UTI or other medical issue causing this (and maybe even if he does, for the time being at least) I would crate him in a properly sized crate. I say properly sized because if it's too large he will likely pee in it anyways. It should discourage him peeing and might help him learn to hold it when no one is home. After a few weeks you could try leaving him out and see if he will hold it.
I have a small dog who, at 5 years old, needs to be monitored when it comes to his housebreaking. If I get too lax about potty breaks and such he will revert to peeing in the house and once he does it once he's way more likely to do it again. I go back to treating him like I'm housebreaking a puppy and he gets back on track after a week or so.
First, make sure you're cleaning the pee up really thoroughly. The cleaners specifically made for pet urine with enzymes to break down the smell are helpful. If he's smelling his past pees, it could encourage him to pee more. Is he crate trained? If he does not have a UTI or other medical issue causing this (and maybe even if he does, for the time being at least) I would crate him in a properly sized crate. I say properly sized because if it's too large he will likely pee in it anyways. It should discourage him peeing and might help him learn to hold it when no one is home. After a few weeks you could try leaving him out and see if he will hold it.
I have a small dog who, at 5 years old, needs to be monitored when it comes to his housebreaking. If I get too lax about potty breaks and such he will revert to peeing in the house and once he does it once he's way more likely to do it again. I go back to treating him like I'm housebreaking a puppy and he gets back on track after a week or so.
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