dog urinating in the house

Question
Hi Shawn,

I have a 9 year old Syberian Husky. He has always been a fairly well mannered dog. He has had the odd behavioural problem ie, eating couches, escaping from windows and some peeing in the house, but nothing as bad as I've heard from some husky owners. He has had problems with separation anxiety in the past, which was at one time treated with meds when he was much younger. But for a number of years he's been very good. Lately, the past six months or so he has taken to peeing in the house with quite a bit of frequency. Usually always in the master bedroom. But in the last couple of weeks, he has been peeing in my daughter's bedroom and the hallway too. Typically he would sneak off and do it while we're in the house and no one is looking, but a few times now he has just lifted his leg and squirted right in front of us. Another thing worth noting is that when he does it, there isn't much volume. It's more like he's marking. It's not like he really had to go. I'm wondering if this sounds like it's strictly behavioural (that's what I think)and if so what steps should be taken? Another thing that may or may not be related is that he always got along well with other dogs and in the last year or so he can be very aggressive and has been 2 fights. Any thoughts?

Regards,
Jen

Answer
Jen-

To just skim the surface of this, I would recommend looking into bellybands to prevent him from marking in the house. Its like a diaper he wears around his waist. He can't mark, and when he lifts his leg and realizes he is peeing on himself, its embarrassing and completely deflates his ego.. he eventually stops doing it. You can buy them all over the place on the Internet. Ebay is a great stop!

Now, to look a little deeper- he is 9 years old, is experiencing behavioral changes such as increased aggression with the other dogs, marking behavior, and territorial skirmishes... it sounds like he needs a medical check up. His hormones may be out of balance with his age.

I hope this helps! Good luck with him!