My Dog Piddles on My Son’s Bed
Question:
Dear Ann,
I have been reading your journal on different peeing dilemmas and I have a situation that I would greatly appreciate your insight on. I have a 2yr old neutered Boston Terrier. Whenever he disappears from our sights he goes into my 6yr old son’s room and piddles on his bed or his bookshelf. If he does not get my sons room he piddles on my guest bed. I cannot fathom what the attraction is to these two rooms, he certainly does not do it on his bed. I have tried taking him out to potty more often, keeping an eye on him at all times, I have laundered all the bedding and carpet with different neutralizing solutions my last resort has been to block off the rooms, which
is very hard. Especially my son’s room since he is in and out constantly. What can I do to change his behavior?
Thanks,
Michelle
ANSWER:
Hi Michelle,
This is an interesting problem and surprisingly common. My guess is that he is marking his territory and since the guest room and your son’s bedroom have the most amount of traffic and strange scents, those are the rooms that need marking. There are two ways I would tackle this problem.
The first is to retrain him (pretty obvious, huh?). I am at a bit of a loss for the best method however. Does anyone have any suggestions for Michelle on how to retrain her Boston not to pee in these rooms? Following him when he wanders off and spraying him with a squirt gun when he raises his leg would be effective but it is hard to sneak up on a dog – that hearing of theirs does us no good whatsoever. The other option would be to get a remote citronella collar. These collars spray a squirt of lemon oil into their face when you hit a button. Most often used to control problem barking, these collars also work for other types of aversion training like inappropriate urinating. Depending on where you live, some pet stores rent the collars. Make sure when you ask it is for a remote citronella collar, not one that is noise activated – those are strictly for barking.
The other way I would tackle this problem is to get him a doggy diaper. I know, this is not actually fixing the problem but since it is impossible to monitor him or keep the doors closed at all times, at least if he lifts his leg on the bed, the only thing he will get wet is himself. Buy a few as you never want to leave a wet diaper on your dog because of urine burn. These bellybands are made for incontinent dogs but they do offer a bit of aversion therapy for dogs that mark in the house. They do learn that if they are wearing one, the are only going to get themselves wet if they try to mark their territory. This is a simple band aid only, as soon as he is not wearing one, he will know he is clear to pee as much as he wants.
Does anyone have any better suggestions? I don’t feel like my suggestions are all that helpful!
Ann
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I think the spray bottle or citronella remote trainer would be effective if you use them whenever the dog tries to enter your sons bedroom or guest rooms. Just go ahead and make the entire room off-limits to him. Spray him whenever he tries to enter the room. You’ll probably have better success catching him doing this then waiting to see if he tries to pee on something.
Also, aren’t there scent sprays that dogs dislike that you could spray in the rooms? Maybe the dog would avoid the rooms entirely if he didn’t like the smell. Citronella, maybe?
I don’t know if the dog is just lifting his leg along the side of the bed or if he’s jumping up onto the bed but if he is jumping up on the bed and peeing on the top of the mattress, you could try laying a sheet of waterproof material (like Gore-Tex) under the top blanket. Then at least all you’ll have to clean is the blanket.
Hi –
I read your question and was wondering if anythng has improved. I have a 4 yr bulldog (not neutered) who is peeing on our bed and on the couch. We are at our wits end – just hoping to hear of a solution that works. We’re taking him to the vet to rule out any type of infection.Then we’re having him neutered. Good luck to you!
Lyndalu