peeing on b eds

Question
Madeline, thanks so much for your promt response.  The puppy (Lucy)
has only eliminated on the beds 3 times, once my daughters and twice
our bed.  This has happened twice before the spaying at about 6 months
old and once after the spaying which occured a month ago.  Last night
she was chewing a bone and just went over to the dog bed and urinated.
on it.  She did n ot go to the door like she usually  does. We were home
all evening watching TV, so it was calm and quiet.
We were wondering if this is a dominence behavior since she tries to
dominate the older dog .  Hope this addtional information helps.

Sue
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
We have a 10 year old and 7 month old Brittany.  They get along well.
The seven month old will occasionally pee on my daughters bed, my bed
and the older dogs bed. She will pee on the dogs bed right in front of us!  
She is house broken with very few accidents in the house.  We keep her
confined to the kitchen and family room.  She was spayed a month ago,
and this happened before she was spayed as well as after.
Any help in how to correct this problem is appreciated.

Sue
-----Answer-----
Hi Sue,

There may be several reasons for your Brittany to be eliminating on the
beds in your home, both human beds and the other dog's bed.  First,
having been recently spayed, if Brittany was near a heat at the time of
the spaying, then some of her internal organs may be swollen, affecting
the bladder.  This is a temporary situation during and after a heat, or a
spay that took place close to a heat, and may be contributing to your
dog's more frequent urination.  Unfortunately, she has chosen spots that
are inappropriate to urinate on.  However, you say that Brittany had the
problem before she was spayed, and I don't know how long before she
was spayed she had the problem.  Again, if it only happened close to the
spay and near a heat, that would be telling.

However, if the problem was occurring long before the spay, it could be
that your Brittany, at six months of age and earlier, was not completely
housetrained.  It also appears that she has developed a preference for
urinating on the substrate of beds, which are soft and cushy and have a
feeling that she prefers to eliminate on.  

You write that you keep her confined to the kitchen and family room, but
apparently there are times that she is not in those rooms and has
freedom of your home and access to the beds that she urinates on.  My
advice would be to not let her continue having free access to all parts of
your home, confine her to the two rooms you mention, and monitor and
supervise her strictly while you are home so that you can be alert to
times that she may need to go out, and so that if you 'catch her in the
act' of urinating in an inappropriate place, you can interrupt her (usually
clapping loudly or rapping on a wall works), and then whisk her outside
to do her business where it is appropriate.

Occasionally, urinating on beds may indication some type of separation
distress (anxiety or excitement by the dog when the owners are not
home, and the dog seeks out the strongest scent of the family, which is
usually the beds).  You need to assess if there may be any separation
distress or anxiety going on, and if the urination happens only when the
family is gone, this may a clue.  There's not enough information for me
to know exactly what's going on, but I have made some guesses as to
what may be and offered some suggestions that I hope may help you.  
Although you say Brittany is housebroken, apparently she does not seem
to be fully housebroken.  Also, when you write that she urinates right in
front of you, you don't say whether this occurs at times that she's very
excited (such as when you arrive home),or may be anxious (such as
when you're about to leave).
If you pay stringent attention to Housebreaking 101 and, after a month
or so don't see any improvement, or the problem becomes worse, I
would recommend seeing your veterinarian to see if there's an
underlying medical condition that might be causing the (what may be
excessive - I'm not sure) urination. You might also want to seek the in-
home services of a trainer/behaviour expert to help assess whether the
urination might be a sign of separation issues, or over-excitement.

Best regards,
Madeline, NY-NJDogTrainer

Answer
Hi Sue,

Your dog's behaviour is likely not due to any 'dominance' issues.  Dominance and what it means is way overused and often misunderstood by the general public.  To find a dog that has true dominance issues that replicate in daily life with great frequency is very rare.  It is more likely that your dog's issues can be resolved with better management and supervision, and adherence to a potty schedule.  If you think there may be something else going on, or need in-home help, it might make you feel better to have a few visits with a dog professional.

Best of luck!
Madeline