4 month male golden retriever

Question
QUESTION: Our puppy has been doing well with house training until the other night.  I had given him and out 4 year old golden bones, and Copper came over to me after, picked up his leg and urinated on my foot. I didn't scold him, just over reacted to my husband to clean it up!  Since then, he has been urinating in the house, when we have been playing with him, at first we thought he was forgetting to ask to go out, but he can hold his urine longer than he is.  Apparently there is some emotional urinating going on, not sure what to make of it.  He is our 4th Golden, and we have never experienced this kind of behavior before.

ANSWER: For a four month old puppy to be lifting his leg is quite unusual!  Are both his testicles descended?  Have him neutered asap.

Reinforce your puppy's house training EVERY DAY and EVERY TIME he goes out.  Even a puppy that is very well introduced and reinforced to appropriate elimination can have, and often many do have, "accidents" into the 9th month of life.  Whatever prompted your puppy's inappropriate urination on your shoe (appears to be a marking event but this dog is awfully young for that), because of his age he may have lost any conditioning he has to appropriate elimination.  REINFORCE IT.  You MUST go out with him on a fair schedule (especially BEFORE and AFTER play time).  Do NOT expect him to be able to contain himself as your four year old Golden can; that is simply unfair.  Reward and praise every appropriate elimination he makes outdoors; bring this behavior to the attention of your veterinarian and have this puppy neutered; if you must resort to belly bands, there is nothing punishing about them.  They prevent indoor urination.  But do not, repeat not, expect this very young dog to be able to contain his urine for more than a few hours at a time.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks for your answer,  to clarify, before he lifted his leg, we asked him to go out, and he went out and did not pee, the other play times that he peed, he only was holding it about 20 to 30 minutes.  He does hold it for 10-11 hours at night.  I will call our vet tomorrow.  It is just very unusual behavior.  And yes, I think his little testicles are decended.

Answer
Well, given that he didn't pee, he most likely had to.  Because a puppy this age can hold his urine for 10 hours overnight does not mean he can do so after an exciting play interaction or at any other time during the day.  I think this was a normal house training incident; but have him neutered anyway, because at this young age for him to be lifting his leg tells me he came from a heavily male populated litter, his testosterone is high, and neutering him will prevent hormonally related problem behaviors.  Reinforce his housetraining.  Wait at least 15 minutes with him outdoors, give him that time frame; at his age, he has really yet to learn that outdoors is meant for elimination.  Many dogs confuse the purpose of outdoors and this is normal, given the enormous stimuli presented them outdoors.