Dog Peeing at Night

Question
We have a 4 1/2 year old yellow lab who still pees on our rugs when we are asleep.  Most nights she is kenneled and has room in her kennel to pee, but she never has in there.  The probably is that if we don't put her in her kennel on occasion, she will pee on the rugs while we're sleeping.  We don't understand why she can hold her urine all night when she is kenneled, and not when she is left to sleep on her doggie bed some nights.  Any answers?  She has been doing this a lot during the last year now?  My husband is responsible for putting the dog away before he goes to bed and sometimes he forgets.  I told my husband that I'm ready to give this dog away if this continues.

Answer
If your husband sometimes forgets to shut the dog in her kennel, maybe he sometimes forgets to let her out to the toilet last thing at night too?

Perhaps she can smell the urine on the rugs so thinks they are ok to use - she may think they are acceptable toilet areas as dogs can pick up traces of smell utterly undetectable to us.  If she has never urinated in her kennel she obviously doesn't want to but she may be quiet uncomfortable so will toilet in the night given the opportunity to use a surface she wants to use i.e. the rug.

the answer is to ensure she toilets last thing at night (take her outside and wait with her until she has been) then shut her in her kennel.  Clan your rugs with a biological washing detergent, then wipe them over with an alcohol solution such as surgical spirit (test an area first) to fully remove the smell and enzymes.

When problems arise with out pets (which we choose to have in the first place) it is important to try to solve them, not simply add to the large number of abandoned/unwanted dogs in the world, so please try these suggestions before you give up on her.

All the best,

Lucy