Behavioral

Question
Today I came home from a golf outing to discover my 6 yr. old male Keeshond urinated right in the middle of MY bed. My son insists he walked him and that he "did both". This dog is extremely well-behaved, docile, no behavioral problems whatsoever.He rarely, if ever, even has an accident in the house. He just had his annual check-up and he's 100 healthy. I had been very upset and crying for the past four days over a break-up but I wasn't even home today. Could that have had something to do with it? How can I make sure it doesn't happen again?

Answer
Toni-

I am so sorry you've been having a rough couple of days!  I'm sure finding a big urine spot on your bed didn't help matters. Lets explore a couple of reasons why this might have happened.

1) Medical- it could be a UTI, a kidney stone, a change in water or food, or something more serious (Although very unlikely). When you say he had his annual, was it just the usual HW check, physical examination and fecal, or did you do a full blood panel and WBC? Because without doing a full bloodwork (not that I think that is necessary every year) you can't really say he's 100% healthy. Neither a UTI, a small kidney or bladder stone, or a thyroid or diabetic situation would come up on a typical yearly exam. However, medical is the last thing I'd like to look at in this situation, because without other symptoms like listlessness, going off food/water, weight loss, pain, irritability etc, its really not incredibly likely.

2) Accidental- it may have really just been an accident. Perhaps he didn't get to completely empty his bladder outside. Or, if he is un-altered, perhaps there is a bitch in heat somewhere in the mile and a half radius he can smell, and he is acting out because of that. You also mentioned "he rarely, if ever has accidents in the house". Maybe this is just one of his rare accidents? Again, not incredibly likely but possible.

And 3) and most likely in my book, situational anxiety urination. Believe it or not, your dog is incredibly tuned to your emotions, and your schedule. When things go wrong, our pets know it just the same as we do, and they respond in turn. If you have spent the last four days crying, upset and despondent, your dog may be very confused and think he has done something wrong, or might be frightened and think that the change in his normal routine might be a sign that things will change drastically for him in the future. Anxiety urination is just what it sounds like- he doesn't understand the situation, is anxious about the change in his routine, and has resorted back to innate behavior. Maybe his home doesn't feel so much like his "den" anymore. There are many theories of why this happens- attention, spite, depression etc. No matter what, it can be resolved in the same way. Do what you can to give the dog back his routine, or quickly establish a new routine with him. Have a heart to heart talk with your dog- I know that sounds ridiculous, but its therapeutic for both you and your pup, since its really amazing how much animals read from our emotions and body language.

If after a few days his behavior doesn't begin to go back to his normal self, and he is still urinating in the house, its time to schedule a consultation with your vet to explore medical options. Good luck, and I hope you and pup feel better soon!