My dog retaliates when my husband leaves town.

Question
The two are very close but he travels for work and when he leaves she starts doing her business in my house on my best carpet.  I am ready to ship her out!  WHat can I do to stop this behavior?

Answer
You are going to have to invest some time in her.
Having a good pack structure reduces such problems.  The dogs see all the
people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in
the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members
outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by
reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class
or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with
a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  Time you spend drilling her in obedience will lessen her missing your husband.  As you praise her and maybe give her treats, it will help her to bond to you, which will also lessen the problem.  It is important to go through this some more even if now her butt hits the floor the instant you say sit.  If she knows obedience, and you find it boring, maybe teach her tricks instead.  It is about spending time with her, and her being subject to your will.  

When he isn't around, she needs to be under your watchful eye, in a crate* or outside.  You may also want to close doors or block access to rooms you don't use as much with a baby gate or something.  Keep her in the kitchen or where you are working, not your nice living room.  Sometimes a short length of chain or leash works too.  Even leash her to you.  Dogs usually sniff around to carefully select just the right place before eliminating.  Watch for that, because for corrections to be effective, you must catch her in the act.  When you do, apply what ever correction works best for you.  Catching her in the act of fouling the carpet calls for stronger corrections than the
otherwise effective "Bad dog!".  When it misbehaves, throw it on its back, and
growl "Bad dog!" right in its face.  Hold it down until it lifts one back leg
to show submission.   If she is smaller, you can pick her up with your hands behind her front shoulders and hold him up with his back to you.  Keeping her far enough away to keep her head from smashing into your face, hold her until she stops struggling and relaxes.   Others like the squirt bottle.  Fill it with water and a little vinegar or lemon juice.  Give it a squirt in the face as soon as it misbehaves.  Dogs hate that.  Do not let her out of sight, loose in the house, and have something terrible happen to her, if you catch her in front of you.  

*Other dogs may not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with.
Still your house and dog will be much safer with the dog in a crate when you are
away or can not watch it.  The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house.  It relaxes, it
feels safe in its den.  It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water
and relieving its self.  Dogs that have been crated all along do very well.  Many
of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open.  I think the
plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling.  They are harder
for dogs to open too.    Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered
with something the dog can't pull in and chew.  Select a crate just big enough for
the full grown dog to stretch out in. Leave it some toys.  Perhaps a Kong filled
with peanut butter.  Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up.  It
will do fine without even any bedding.  

If the dog hasn't been crated all along, start out putting
the crate in one of its favorite sleeping spots.  If you have able to trust the
dog with a cushion, blanket, or bed, put it in the crate.  Next, put its toys in,
maybe treats too. Feeding the dog there is a great way to convince it the crate
is a good place.  It is also a great way to maintain order with more than one dog
at feeding time.

You are not perfect.  She may be very determined and evade your vigilance.  You will still need to do some clean ups.  Clean up accidents promptly. I mostly keep the little
puppies out of the carpeted rooms. Still I need the can of carpet foam
sometimes.  First blot up all the urine you can with a dry towel.  Keep moving
it and stepping on it until a fresh area stays dry.  A couple big putty knives
work well on bowel movements.  Just slide one under it while holding it with
the other.  This gets it up with a minimum of pushing it down into the carpet.
This works with even relatively soft ones, vomit, dirt from over turned house
plants, or anything else from solids to thick liquids.  Finish up with a good
shot of carpet foam.  Note, do not let the puppy lick up the carpet foam.
Once the dog is reliably housebroken, your carpet may need a good steam cleaning.

Some people advise carefully cleaning all trace of an ''accident'' with emzyene cleaners to keep the dog from coming back.  You can do the best with the carpet cleaner, and then carefully watch her is she get near the spot.