Why would a dog urinate in the house after having all the opportunity to go outside?

Question

I have 3 dogs. The third was a recent rescue. We were told she was housetrained. Her first week, she was fine - no accidents.

The second week, she began urinating and deficating in the house - almost immediately after being taken out to go. And we don't let her get distracted outside.

The 2 rooms she's chosen to urinate have never been soiled previously, so there was no residual odor influencing her.

The most recent time - this morning, she did it in front of me. When I yelled 'No!', she just looked at me and kept going.

Other than a urinary infection, why would she be doing this and is it easily correctable?

We get her outside 10-12 times a day and walk her 4 times a day.

If we can't stop her, she goes back to the rescue.

I should have realized that the question may have brought out a few 'Dog Nazi's'.

In addition to the urination, she is also terrified of me. She was apparently abused by a man. She lives in fear every day of her life around me. My thought was to work through it with a trainer, but the trainer says she'll probably never be fully over it - which I understand.

So perhaps the peeing is fear. And if that won't change, she'd be better off in a new home.

Answer 1

The pack mentality of dogs comes into play here.
She is confused as to her position within the pack, and she is testing you and/or acting out of ignorance because she feels she is being allowed to behave this way.
Do not separate her in any way from the other two dogs. Feed them all at the same time in the same room, each with their own dish.
When they are done, put the dishes away.
When they are let outside, they all go at once.
Regardless of what you may have heard, physical discipline works. This is not to say a beating is in order, not at all.
But she needs to know that you are always the one who has the right to be the aggressor, not her. A smack to the nose and a stern voice usually work here. If she becomes aggressive when you do this, do not back down. If she simply attacks you, she is way out of whack and probably unsaveable.
Most dogs WANT to be dominated, so they know where they fit in.
Only an Alpha male would resist, but even then not from the human that provides for him.

Answer 2

I will tell you what... I have a 5 month old boxer that does the exact same thing and has been cleared from the vet of any infections (that gives me complete permission to beat her!) So what I will do for you food dude is give you my 5 month old boxer so you can have a matching set of peeing dogs!
The best part is... She is not fixed so she can have puppies and make all kinds new matching stains!:)
No no need to thank me and I wont take no for answer I know you really want her! She is a GIFT and you HAVE to take her! I will put her in a box and ship her to you!
DON'T MAKE ME BEG!

Answer 3

Have you consulted with a dog training book to see what the reasons might be? Cesar Millan has some great books.

Also Yahoo has a section on dog training.

I understand your frustrations with your dog, undoubtedly she is frustrated and afraid herself. Dogs are naturally clean animals, so there is something wrong. Good luck, hope you can resolve things without getting rid of her.

Answer 4

because he wants to ! You know I love you baby ! Have a new happy year xx

Answer 5

Please don't send the dog to another home. She will adjust, you just need to give her more love and attention than normal. She can get over her fear of men, it just takes a lot of love from you.
You must be able to let the dog know YOU are in charge. If not, she'll continue to misbehave.
Have you ever watched the "Dog Whisper", the guy is on TV and shows you that YOU need to be in control of the dog, not vice verse.
She'll be OK. You have to let her know that YOU are in charge, not her. BUT.....she also needs love and affection. You can find the balance. It just takes a little time and work. Encourage her more to go pee pee and poo poo outside while she is out there. I have a 15 year old Cocker Spaniel that I have to do the same thing with. Positive reinforcement
goes a long way. Just like a little love goes a long way.
Thank you for taking in a rescue dog. I wish more people would do it!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Answer 6

Housetrained doesn't mean trained to pee outside. She could be trained to pee in a certain type of environment and she doesn't have it so she's confused. As a dog owner you need to be patient. Retrain her. When she pees, put a news paper over it and let her investigate. After a while she'll associate the newspaper with pee and pee on it. If she ever pees outside you have to praise her. Do baby talk to her, give her treats, and pet her. Basically make her feel like peeing outside was the greatest thing she could have ever done. It takes time and you have to understand the way dogs think.

Answer 7

You can't send her back to the rescue centre just because she isn't doing her business where you want her to!

Set ground rules, she is trying to make your house her territory, and in dog language, this means going to the toilet in your home.
Yelling no doesn't do enough, it sounds disgusting but you need to pick her up, even if she had already starting urinating and take her to where she is supposed to go.
If you don't like that idea, where rubber gloves.
If you don't want to do that then get something that will make a really loud noise that will distract her from urinating in the wrong place. Try not to spray your dog with water because she will think urinating is bad and she will try and hold it in.
Make a loud noise, then carry her to where she is supposed to urinate. When she urinates in the correct place, reward her with a treat and tell her she is a good girl.

Answer 8

when you caught her, first thing you should have done is..

immediatle grab her collar (your the boss)

show her the mistake (put face as close as possible)

and put her outside

give her a timeout outside when the other dogs are in the house

no one here can tell you why she does what she does, but you need to let her know that you are the boss and that this is your house and you are not going to let that happen

do not use pee pads, that encourages pee'n in the house

you want the dog, don't give up... will take a while

Answer 9

Don't take her back to the rescue. It's a death-sentence, not a rescue at that point. Some dogs have anxiety problems and peeing and pooing is their way of relieving the anxiety. Also, she could be asserting her dominance. I would definitely look into getting a trainer on this one. Absolutely take her to the vet, too, though and make sure it's not a bladder infection. Those can be terrible for dogs who don't want to go in the house. They look like little children after they do it and run to hide. How does she behave after she's done it?

Answer 10

If she is urinating and defecating both - it does not sound like a urinary tract infection to me. A vet check never hurts with a new dog though. A change in household is enough to trigger this problem even if she was OK for the first week.

I would try going back to housetraining 101 and I would try crate training. It is very successful with older dogs. Check out this site:

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

Put her in the crate when you cannot supervise 100%.

And if you see an accident in progress, forget the "no" and expend all your energy in hustling her outside and then praising when her when she gets it right.

Good luck. I hope this helps.