How do I stop my 9 year old male Cocker Spaniel from peeing in the house?

Question

I have a cocker spaniel that is potty trained and has access to a doggie door at all times. Recently he has been peeing in the house and sometimes even pooping. He waits until I leave or am in the next room. I don't know what to do. He is fixed and has been for years. I know he knows how to use the doggie door and will go outside to use the bathroom when he feels like it, but he will go in the house daily to every other day. He has gone periods without any accidents or problems in the past. Please help!! I am so frustrated and my fiance feels he does it on purpose to be a brat. My fiance is upset and wants to punish him, but I don't think that is the answer. It just makes him do it more. HELP!!!!

I have been with my fiance for over 3 years and we have lived together for over a year now. My cocker may be jealous, but not too sure of that.

Answer 1

Take him to the vet. As dogs get older they begin to lose control and he may need some meds. He may also have an infection in which case he will also need meds. If your vet says he is fine than start over with house breaking. He may need a refresher.
Crate train and when she is not in her crate watch her every second. Dogs go through a routine before they eliminate, some sniff, some circle... when you see that pick her up and run outside and say hurry up (whatever you want the cue to be). If she goes outside, praise her ton. Not just a "good dog", throw a party, run around in circles, give her a piece of cooked hotdog.
Obviously you must take her outside often, I would say every hour, but dogs must go after they eat sleep and exercise. Take her out, say hurry up, when she goes praise and go inside.
If you take your eyes off of her and she goes and you don't see her doing it, that is your fault, do not punish her because she will not know why she is in trouble. If you catch her in the act, make a loud noise to stop her and rush her outside. Praise her after she goes. Don’t smack her if she pees in the house, she may just try to hold it forever and develop bladder problems, something you really don’t want. Don’t correct after the fact. If the dog is corrected after the fact, it will not connect the correction with the behavior, and will begin to think that corrections are random, and that the owner cannot be trusted. This results in a bad relationship and a dog that does not connect corrections, which are believed random, with bad behaviors even when they are applied in time. When she does have an accident, be sure to clean it up with natures miracle or something made specifically for urine stains or she will go back to that spot to eliminate again.
I cannot tell you how helpful a crate has been in housebreaking my puppy. He has never had an accident in his crate and when I get him out of his crate we go directly outside (I carry him) and he pees.
I do not recommend pee pads or paper training. When you use pee pads, you are teaching your dog to go potty in your house. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my dog peeing anywhere in my house, pee pad or no pee pad.
http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm...
http://www.perfectpaws.com/crt.html...
http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/crate.htm... http://www.clickersolutions.com/blog/blog07.htm

Answer 2

Cocker Spaniels can be very territorial and jealous dogs. If your fiance recently moved in with you, that's probably why he's doing it. If you make a big deal out of it he will have "accidents" even more. Remember, he had you for 9 years! Give him extra attention daily and hopefully it will end soon. DO NOT rub his face in it or yell after the fact-it just makes things worse. If you are extra busy planning your wedding he probably senses that also and longs for more attention. Try to do special things with him (just the 2 of you at first) and see if it improves. Don't forget him in the course of all the plans!!

Answer 3

Punishing your dog won't help. When he began peeing in the house, what was going on as far as your routine? Is he upset or anxious about something new? Has his health been checked recently?
Now that his scent is in your home, he'll continue to use those areas as his washroom. Partly out of instinct, and partly out of habit. To curb the instinct, you need to remove all stains and smells. Use a product called "Nature's Miracle" from the pet supply store. Use according to directions ONLY! Vinegar, household cleaners, bleach, etc DON'T WORK! To curb the habit, he needs to have access to those areas stopped. The easiest way to do this is supervision..AT ALL TIMES. If you don't have a doggy crate, you'll need to keep him leashed to you at all times until he re-learns his bathroom rules. In order for this to change, he must NOT be left alone for any period of time unless crated !!!
This may take a couple weeks, or it could take months. Depends on how diligent you are! And remember, you AND your boyfriend need to be on the same "page" as far as re-training goes. Best of Luck.

Answer 4

I have never had a problem housebreaking cocker spaniels. I work with rescue and have fostered many of them... As someone else suggested, you should get a belly band, and that should help. He may just be peeing in the house bc he is upset him mommy is spending so much time with you :-p

Answer 5

To potty train my dog i went to a local pet store and i bought some puppy pads and this spray. then i put the puppy pad down on tile or carpet. then i waited for him so use the bathroom some where and i told him no and pointed where to go(dogs are smarter than you think) then i sprayed the spary in the spot where he went (which tells him not to go there by scent) and now my puppy is potty trained. you can do the same thing if you want to make them go outside. just point so the door and say outside!

Answer 6

it may be your fiance'. dogs are for their masters. if you bring someone else in the home. they get jealous and will act up like peeing or pooping. it can also be that your fiance' doesn't like the dog or may have hit it without you knowing about it being afraid when your not around and just lets loose. any animal that has been trained that has had any trauma to it, will lose their functions when scared. check to see if she puts here tail between her legs being around or near your fiance' without letting her see you. that is another symptom of abuse.

Answer 7

He's letting your fiance know who's the boss and feels betrayed that you have someone else in your life........Reassure him with petting,talking to, etc....that he is still number one and he'll stop......Cocker Spaniels are very smart (I know that you already know that).......I had one that would get mad every time we went away for over 2 hours and pee or poop in the house if he was alone........LOL

Answer 8

take a few minutes out everyday and take your dog outside
in the morning and early evening thats all you have to do ... its not hard. .................your fiance wants to punish him ? thats stupid
is their something outside near the doggy door that your dog finds unplesant ? gasoline ? ants ? wasp ? and so on sum thin sum thin ? refuses to use doggy door ... why ?
my dog does not like to go out when its raining are cold .. are when the neighborhood kids shoot off firecrackiers
* i get up sometimes at 2 am ...why ? because the my dog needs to go out...take care of dog business
you gotta be smarter than your dog / mayby a robot dog will make
fiance happy

Answer 9

Sounds to me like your dog is jealous of your fiance and is voicing his opinion in the way that he knows frustrates you. It may take time for him to accept another person in your life. Good luck.

Answer 10

Put down a sheet of aluminum foil on his fav pee spot. It will make a big sounds when the dogs yellow water hits it and the dog will get scared and not pee there.