[Mosnowman]

I have a 7 year old neutered male that is of course he best trained dog in the world!

For the past several months he has decided to start urinating in the house which is totally out of character for him. I could count on one hand the times he as done that in he past. I take him out in the evening before bed and he always does his business. He is doing this at night when we are all in bed. He is at home all day with that "urinating" area closed off and he doesn't urinate anywhere else in the house. I have a steam cleaner that I use to rid the area of scent. I just can't figure out why he is doing this after years of house broken behavior? He is being sneaky about it and that is why I don't think it is a health issue. He is in good health. Any suggestions?

 

[Stosh]

He might have a urinary tract infection

 

[Emoore]

Time for a trip to the vet to rule out medical causes!

Have there been any changes in your household or schedule recently?

 

[Rerun]

Definitely check for a UTI

 

[ZAYDA]

What they said.. Sometimes though boys feel the need to mark their turf. Have you had any 4 legged visitors that may have dribbled here or there.

 

[Lin]

Most likely UTI as has been said. Especially since its happening at night, sounds like something is causing him to not be able to hold it all night long.

 

[Denali Girl]

I agree with all that it's probably a UTI, but with that being said, I had a Boxer that devoloped a "divot" in his urethra. Not too sure if divot is a good word but it was something like that. It held urine in this divot and would start to burn after a while. Through months and months of trying to figure out what this was and why it happened, my vet said when his Ph levels rose, it would burn and make him pee?

I'm sure this has nothing to do with your dog but I just thought I would share.

 

[Mosnowman]

Thanks!

I'm going to make a trip to the vet....UTI sounds reasonable. No visitors or schedule changes so that makes the most sense! Thanks so much guys and gals!!!

 

[PaddyD]

I would be surprised if it is a physical problem. He has picked out one spot for a reason. If he peed elsewhere then a UTI might be the problem but he doesn't. So keep him from the place where he pees. Try to think of a reason he chose that one spot.

 

[Mosnowman]

Update:

Well he checked out clean...no UTI etc.

Here's what I did for the next step because I know my dog is the smartest dog in the world! I blocked him from that area of the house at night to see if he would pick up this bad habit elsewhere and he has not! I truly believe he probably got an urge in the middle of the night and thought this spot was the most reasonable to do his business in hopes of not getting caught. After blocking that area off he has yet to pee in the house again despite the current frigid temps. I was wondering if he is smart enough to know that it is a lot more comfortable peeing in a 70 degree house than out in the backyard where the wind chill is 2 degrees!

In any event problem solved and Rocky is officially out of the dog house....

 

[gsdraven]

In any event problem solved and Rocky is officially out of the dog house....

Glad to hear it!

My 1yr old male does something similiar.. if he has access to the downstairs at night, he will pee but only in one spot (he mostly pees in one spot outside too) so problem solved with no downstairs access which also cuts him off from the water bowl so he doesn't have a full bladder.