accidents in the house

Question
Our 3 year old American Cocker Spaniel has a lot of accidents in the house.  He usually poops on the rug in the living room and sometimes other rooms.  He is the most loveable, gentle male dog we have ever had but his bad behavior has just about ruined my living room run.  We  have no other problems with him but this.  He has not been fixed.  Would that help?  

Answer
Neutering is no cure all, but often results in dramatic improvements in cases like this.  It also reduces his chances of getting cancer and adding to the over population of dogs being slaughtered by the millions.  Training is important too.

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm