Golden puppy pees elsewhere despite being housebroken

Question
QUESTION: Hi, my wife and I have trained our dog (a 5 month Golden of English and Australian origin) painstakingly to pee and poop on newspapers, and he has done well thus far.

However, in recent days, he has taken to peeing everywhere. Pooping is still on newspapers, but it seems like he is holding his pee till his bladder can't take it anymore and he lets go, in one big flood, non-stop. And in other places but the newspapers. It doesn't seem like marking (because of the quantity of pee) and he does not raise his leg up to pee.

Please help, my wife is going crazy with this and he is not neutered yet. We are not sure if that will solve the problem since the places he pees extensively on are other parts of the floor, not certain objects. Help!!!
ANSWER: The first thing I'd do would be to have the vet do a urine culture to rule out an infection or other health issue. If it hurts to pee, that could explain why he's holding it and holding it until he just can't hold it anymore. I know when I have had a UTI in the past, I didn't want to pee, either, because it felt like razor blades!

Neutering him will help prevent marking behavior, but you need to do it soon, because he will soon be sexually mature and those hormones will be raging! A dog does not have to raise its leg to mark. My almost-2-year old intact male German shepherd doesn't always lift his leg to mark - an example would be when he marks over top of where one of my other dogs has already peed. He will lift to mark trees, posts, etc., but just because a dog isn't lifting his leg doesn't mean he isn't marking.  I do not believe your pup is marking, yet, though, for the same reason you stated (quantity of pee).


Could you explain your daily routine with him, so I have an idea of when it is he's pottying inappropriately, and when he is doing what he's supposed to? What do you or your wife do when you catch him in the act? What about if he does it and you don't see him?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much! Well when we wake up around 7 in the morning he will have peed/pooped on the newspapers. Then normally he will pass urine easily, even 3 times per hour in small amounts. Pooping 2, 3 times a day is normal, and we feed him at 7 in the morning and 7 at night. Peeing is around 4, 5 times a day.

Now it seems after the morning pee on the newspapers he is holding his pee, and just letting go when he can't take it anymore. He lets rip over the carpet, the kitchen flooe, the living room. Repeated attempts to coax him into peeing on the newspapers fail. Just recently when we brought him down to the field did he let out the floods.

What can we do to rectify this behavior? Must we bring him for a check up for that? Sometimes he can be such a darling and does his business on the papers, sometimes he can really be a pain in the head.

Please advise, thanks!!

Answer
Yes, I still think an infection needs to be ruled out, but I don't *think* you have to actually take HIM to the vet. I think you can take a urine sample, but you'll need to call them first to be sure.


It could be that he doesn't want to soil on the papers more than once. My aunt's dog is like that; he will pee on the puppy pads one time, and one time only. If he has to pee or poo again before she has replaced the used pad with a new one, he'll go somewhere else.


I have to ask: is it extremely important that he be trained to go to the bathroom inside, on papers? I've found that paper training a dog, or otherwise teaching the dog to go to the bathroom in the house, can be very confusing to the dog because sometimes they are praised for it and sometimes they are scolded for it. They can't really discern that they are supposed to potty on newspaper, but not on the kitchen floor. I've always had better luck teaching dogs to go to the bathroom outside, and teaching them that going potty inside *any* building is a no-no. This seems to be much more clear to them.


Is he home alone during the day, or is someone usually there with him? I would recommend that he be confined in some way if you are not there and able to watch him. Either keep him in a crate, or confine him with an exercise pen with newspaper on the floor so that if he has to go, he will have no choice but to go on the paper. Do not put newspaper in his crate if you choose to crate him; the point of crate training is to teach the dog to hold it until he's let out of the crate.

When someone IS home and able to watch him, either let him drag a leash around, or keep him tied to you so that as soon as he starts to go to the bathroom inappropriately, you can immediately stop it with a sharp "Eh eh!" or "No" and get him outside or to the papers (one or the other) immediately.