8 year old male jack russell still peeing inside

Question
My jack russell is 8 years old.  Obtained him from an adoption agency at the age of 2 so we have had him for 6 years.  Within the first week of having him he began marking the house.  Correction tools we used:  crating no luck.  He bit anyone who tried to put him in there and cried until he came out.  Containing him in a room.  No luck.  He will either pee on something or scratch a door and tear at the carpeting.  I realize that jack russells need attention, but even when I am home I don't know what possesses him to decide to tear apart my bed comforter, a blanket or the pillows in the living room.  I have gone through 5 bed comforters so far.  If I purchase anything new; be it a refrigerator, entertainment center, new shoes, he has to mark them.  We go for daily walks and he pees on every blade of grass until he has no more pee but continues to mark everything.  Now I am making him sound terrible which he is sometimes but I love him to death but I am extremely tired and have run out of patience.  I refuse to let this behavior continue in the new house I am moving into.  Help.

Answer
Hi Ann

Is he neutered? If not, that is the first step you should take to calm the urinating in the house down. Secondly, the smell of the urine is so strong to dogs noses - they can smell it even through cleaning products.  It's imperative to use a specially formulated product that removes urine smell. I use "Urine Gone" and you can buy it online. Every single thing has to be immediately cleaned or he will continue to use that same spots over and over again.
He is a male, and males mark their territory, it's something that is in their genes from ancestry.
8 years is a little old to be starting house training but it's definitely worth a try. You'll have to regress back to puppyhood - and take him outside every hour. Praise him like he's the king of the world when he "goes" OUTSIDE. Give him a treat, act like a fool, be overly excited. You have to do it over and over and over until he "gets it" that peeing outside REALLY makes mom happy.
If he pees in the house, it's useless to correct him UNLESS you catch him in the act!! Dogs can't put two and two together unless there is an immediate praise or correction. Locking him in the crate after he peed an hour before does absolutely nothing except confuse him. If you catch him in the act, then you yell NO!!! and immediately take him outside to show him this is the place to go.
Make sure you take water bowls up and off the floor after dinner so he will not have to go throughout the night.
About the tearing up of your belongings - he is simply bored out of his mind. Your right Jacks need attention, but even moreso they need MAJOR exercise. If you aren't taking him out for runs or walks at least two hours a day, then he is not doing his "jack russell job" - and he will find other ways of dispelling the pent up energy (ripping stuff apart). If you have a treadmill, you can put him on it and give him a good 30 to 45 minute power walk if you can't take him out. You'll notice a big difference in his behavior when his need to burn energy is satisfied.
Best of luck to both of you!!!  Take care.