Emily's Question

[Elyse Orecchio]

Hi Trish,

Here is another member question who couldn't make it and asked me to post for her.

After being in this apartment for 3.5 months my dog, 2 y.o. springer spaniel, started having accidents inside, just urinating. It was once a day for 4 days and now it's stopped. The first day it happened we think he was scared that he was in trouble. The second day we had a family member's dog over (one he had never met before; we had never had another dog in our apartment, and he has never had a doggy playmate other than the two older sisters that he grew up with). The third and fourth days were just random urninating. And they were puddles, not just dribbles. Was this because there was another dog in his home? Does this mean we can't get another dog?
-Emily

[Trish McMillan]

Hm. Any time there's a behavior change in an adult dog I like to get them checked out by a vet. Certainly dribbles are more likely a sign of a bladder infection than are puddles, but it's worth ruling out physical causes first.

It seems there have been a lot of changes in this dog's life lately and perhaps he's just a sensitive sort and this makes his bladder a little more active. Certainly lots of dogs are more likely to urinate when they've been running around playing.

If he's leaving big puddles, perhaps just taking him out more often will help (especially if you know a dogfriend is coming over.)

If there is no medical cause for an adult dog's housetraining lapses, I'll usually just tighten things up a bit, treat them a little more like a puppy, more supervision, baby gate them in the kitchen when I'm away, more frequent walks, maybe even start giving treats for elimination on walks, until their schedule's back to normal.

Hope this helps!

Trish