9 mo. cockapoo

Question
Angie my cockapoo sleeps with me. I'll take her outside right before bed. When she gets in my bed she'll dig on my blankets as if making a bed for herself and then all of a sudden just pee's.  What's up????

Answer
This might be a rank opportunistic statement and it may also be the result of very poor hygiene in your puppy's neonatal environment (meaning the whelping area was not kept clean) or an indication that your dog is not eliminating totally during its last outing, and even a symptom of underlying physical problem. It's fairly normal for a dog to dig in blankets as it is a normal nesting behavior in canines.

If this is marking behavior, you need to make certain corrections to the dog's interaction with you.  Be sure  your dog is sufficiently urinating before bedtime in your sight, and remove water from this dog at an appropriate hour (four hours before last outing for urination), thereby limiting the amount of urine available.  Then change your dog's sleeping arrangement.  Make her sleep in her own soft bed in another part of your home; within two weeks (at your pup's age) this will eliminate any rank opportunistic component to the urinating in your bed.  If your dog persists in urinating on her own bedding in another area of your home, then this is most likely a behavior leftover from her neonatal environment but it might also be a sign of cognitive dysfunction or even disease, so a trip to the veterinarian is required.  Give her the next few weeks to see if changing her sleeping arrangement does the trick.  Using doggie diapers can short circuit this behavior because the dog will not like being 'stuck' with its own urine overnight (in the diaper).