AND GRANDSON MAKES 4

Question
I'm writing on behalf of my in-laws. They have a new grandson, my nephew, and it seems to have upset their 3-yr-old cocker spaniel. They've had the dog, Diego, for about a year and a half. His previous home was a daycare (we don't know how he was treated there). He was completely house broken before the grandson came along, and wasn't too bothered by the grandson initially, but once to child started crawling, Diego started urinating in the house, sometimes on a daily basis. This continued for about three weeks. My in-laws changed his routine a bit so he spent a little more time in his kennel and went outside at very specific times throughout the day, with treats to reward him every time he went to the bathroom outside. This seemed to help immensely. Then last week, the grandson spent two afternoons with grandma, and Diego started peeing inside again. He even peed on the couch. The child does not hurt or pester Diego in any way. They are closely supervised when together. Diego also does not hurt the child in any way. He sometimes sniffs the child, or leaves the room if the child starts crawling towards him. Other times he sits right nest to the child without a problem. Grandma is about fed up with Diego's behavior and not sure if she wants to keep him. She and grandpa left yesterday for a prior-scheduled vacation, so the grandson and his parents are dog- and house-sitting for the next week. If there are solutions for Diego's problem, we would like to begin working on them while his owners are gone so that he will hopefully be able to give them some hope of improvement when they get back. Please give us any help you can. Thank you.

Answer
Hello CJ;
I would recommend that you go to a Specific Behavior specialist, to see exactly what is happening in your equation when it does!
Starting off with an older dog is a very difficult equation at best,
You will find that the imbalance can be a simple cause, but, unless you have an expert to watch what is going on, it is too difficult to analyze from a far.
I would tell you to crate, or put him better yet in an outside "Exercise" area when the kids arrive.
This way at least she has control.
Best regards,
Melissa