Ace again...he is a easy child/difficult child, LOL

[DDD]

I'm just not a WM doggie parent. Guess I've worn out my uniform. So...all you dog experts, here is the new issue. Three times in the past two weeks he has urinated in the house during the night. That's really strange because when he needs to go outside he comes to the bedside and softly whines. I have accutely sensitive hearing and I don't miss a whine. NO way I have missed three whines.

So, what to heck do I do. Before you recommend the crate I'll remind you that husband has an extreme senior-based attachment to Ace and the crate can only be used when Ace wants to go there. I'm an old lady with an older man. husband can quietly drive me nuts but I'm not going to fight that fight.

Like an inexperienced parent I can't figure out another option. Actually in a way I feel sorry for Ace because he's like a great grandchild. He's only four and we aren't very exciting. We go to bed most nights at eight and get up at seven for work. That's a long time but in two years prior to this month he only had one household accident. Most of the time he lasts til the am but, as I said, when he whines I get up and let him out. So what to heck is going on and what do you suggest? DDD

 

[donna723]

If this is out of the ordinary for him, he may need to be checked by the vet to make sure he doesn't have a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). Or if he's suddenly drinking a lot of water and peeing very frequently and urgently he should be checked to make sure he doesn't have diabetes.

Barring that, is there any way you could train him to use puppy pads at night? My Ragan uses them and they make a size for the BIG dogs too. I put them on one end of the bathroom floor. Ragan takes lasix which makes her pee a lot and she would never make it through the night without having to pee a couple of times. I still take her outside during the day but if she has to go at night, she gets up and runs in to the bathroom, just like a person.

 

[buddy]

I think the vet is a good idea too. We also use the puppy pads....

IF he is healthy you may want to limit water after a certain time at night too... just in case.

I hate that my dog pees inside sometimes but the puppy pads work great.

 

[klmno]

I vote for the vet check. How old is he? I had a 3 yo dog who started going out of control that way and it ended up being diabetes, but it can be tons of other things. I still feel guilty for getting mad at my dog when it turned out to be a health issue. If the dog is a "senior", there's even more risk for health problems, as you already know.

 

[Hound dog]

Most likely culprit is a bladder infection. I'd take him in to be checked over.

Molly has had 1 accident in 11 yrs since she was house trained. Still don't know why except she's getting older, it was extremely hot that night, guessing she drank a lot of water........and when the urge hit everyone was down for the night. She's not crated, but doesn't have access to the upstairs.

When she was fairly young, water was regulated at night, otherwise I'd be up at 2am running her out. Last drink was at 7pm, until 6am. After about age 4 or so that was no longer necessary. Betsy is crated, so moot point there. lol

 

[DDD]

Ace is a four year old boxer. He is not going more often and there is no sign of illness. It's happened three times in two weeks. I know this sounds silly but I'm actually thinking that he doesn't want to bother us. on the other hand it did happen one time when difficult child#1 was awake and he "heard" Ace. He's such a big dog that I can't envision him using a pad when he has the urge. How would he even know what the pad was for? LOL, obviously I am not familiar with those. How big a pad would a hundred pound dog require? I'm sitting at the computer smiling because it sounds so silly.
DDD

 

[flutterby]

I would take away his water 2 hours before bedtime and see if that improves things.

 

[DDD]

I'll try the water deprivation. Have to say I feel badly about trying it as usually he does so well with access to his water. Sigh. I'd be more onboard if it wasn't an intermitent issue. But...you guys know alot more about dogs than I do even thought we have had three super dogs. Ace is ?? anxious?? or neurotic?? or whatever?? ptsd. OK. I'll trust you. It will be interesting to see if he wakes me up to get the water than he does access (along with food) during the night. Sigh. DDD

 

[klmno]

I don't want to make more of this than it really is, but if he's drinking a lot more water and peeing a lot more often than usual, I'd get him to the vet just for a physical asap.

 

[donna723]

I've never bought the pads that are made for big dogs so I'm not sure how big they are. The smaller ones I get for Ragan are about 2-1/2'x2-1/2' so the bigger ones would be considerably bigger than that. Honestly, I'm not so sure how it would work with a large male dog who is used to lifting his leg! You may have your wall decorated! With Ragan, sneaky little turd that she is, she used to run off in to the bathroom and pee on the bathmat! So I got the pads and started off putting the pad over the bathmat and let her get used to pottying on that. Then I took up the bathmat and started gradually moving the pads further and further over until it was at one end of the bathroom and out of the way. She's gotten so used to it that if I'm not quick enough replacing the pad, she will make a puddle on the floor where the pad is supposed to be!

 

[flutterby]

DDD, he may get up in the morning more thirsty than usual at first, but he'll catch on that he needs to drink when it is available and he'll adjust.

If that doesn't work, then I would look into health or possible behavioral reasons.

 

[InsaneCdn]

How regular is the before-bed schedule? If it varies a bit, especially if his "last trip out" varies a bit... that could also be part of it. OR... if there is anything "different" about the days he does it, compared to days he doesn't? might be an anxiety issue...

 

[Steely]

I would bet that he has an Urinary Tract Infection (UTI).....he has the number 1 symptom in dogs and cats....and people.
Tesla had one when she was 9 weeks old...the vet scoffed at me because she was so young, he was sure it was puppy related, but since I have had so many I just had this strong gut insinct. Turns out I was right, and she has never had another accident again.
Take him to the vet....unless you think this is a behavioral issue.

 

[DammitJanet]

I would bet its a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) too but if it is anxiety driven, get him the anxiety vest. That should put an end to it quickly. Look on amazon for the anxiety vest for dogs and you should find it quickly enough.

 

[AmericanGirl]

What about doggie diapers at night? Petsmart sells washable panties that you can use kotex inside as liners.

 

[skeeter]

if you can't crate him, could you at least limit him to your bedroom? That way you'll definitely hear him get up.
I'd still at least get him checked for Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) or stones.

 

[DDD]

Aren't dog Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)'s like people Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)'s? Believe me I had years of problems during my prime and there was never an accident followed by a week of normalcy. Either I had to go all the time or I had discomfort and could go. My sister still has problems and her symptoms have the same pattern.

There are no current issues going on that would reactivate Ace's anxiety. He's actually chilled out alot in the past six or eight months. It has not been stormy or excessively cold. He's put out in the backyard and isn't brought back in until he stands at the porch door and wants to come in and go to sleep. Once he's had his bedtime treat and is sacked out on his comforter he does not want to get up and go out. Perplexing. Maybe I'll start a mini parent report so I can "see" if there's a pattern that I'm missing. DDD

 

[Star*]

D3 -

When Ouixa the sweet, Dahhhhhrling Grandog came to live here? Of course she can do ABSOLUUUUUutely no wrong. I don't care if the kid flipped a turd on the window with her hind paw - Grrrrrrrandpa would call it an expression of inner art or somedanthing. He's so in love with her his blinders are thicker than mud. So when she started to potty at night? On the Persian rug? Yeah we had a Come to Grandma meeting about that. Then when she ATE Grandmas Persian rug? We had a come to Jesus meeting with Grandpa about napping with the door closed and the granddog IN the house.

Sneeky little turd flipper - likes to lap out of the commode, so rule one? Lid down. Rule two? Water up after 7:00 PM. And everyone out and run, play and bladder relief until we hit the hay. Then one more time - after we're all reasonably settled - and sure enough little PIDDLES will usually take another spill in the yard. I also caught her lapping the excess from my plant dishes. So they went in a room and a baby gate went up. It's helped a lot. I've also noticed that when she gets COLD? It happens more. Anxiety? More.......So I'm ordering her a Thunder Shirt - IT has worked ABSOLUTE MIRACLES for Casper. It's just a tshirt - that fits tightly and snug like a wrap for an autistic child - but what a difference in calm and lowering anxieties. They're about $35.00 - and you can shop around on line for a coupon code - Casper wears his now non-stop. Within 10 minutes of putting his on - he's asleep. If it doesn't work? They take it back no questions asked - full refund except for the shipping which is 5.00 priority. There are instructions on how to get them used to it - but Casper loves his. It's helped like (SNAP) with the thunder.....I swear by it. Never seen anything like it. Maybe it would help with Aces Anxiety - and help with calming him to a deep sleep at night -

I dunno - just a thought If I thought it would work for me? I'd wear thedang thing.

 

[susiestar]

PLEASE get him to a vet before you do pads or anything else. He can have a bladder infection or Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) and show NO other signs. It is actually quite common. In a dog who has been housetrained so completely for such a long time, ANY urinating in the house is a sign of a problem.

This is probably one of a VERY few ways that he actually has to show you that he has a problem. The dog I grew up with did NOT pee in the house. Not after she was first housebroken. The times she did? She had a medical problems. My parents' cats don't go outside the litterbox and they dont' get up on counters. Ever. The times that they have done those things? They were SICK. They didn't know any other way to tell us what was wrong. We don't speak woof or meow, so they couldn't just say "Hey, it hurts when I do this" or "I feel like total doo-doo"

He may act normally all the rest of the time, but you NEED to explore medical issues. How bad would you feel in six mos when it has become more frequent and you finally learned it was due to an infection? Then you would have MONTHS of this habit to break and those pee pads are NOT cheap.

 

[donna723]

Some of the vet's offices also sell the Thunder Shirts that Star was talking about. I know our vet sells them. They're not cheap but from what I've heard, they work very well.

Once you rule out any medical conditions like a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) or diabetes, if nothing else works, there's another contraption called a Buddy Belt that you might try. You can buy them online but it's very easy to make your own. It's just several thicknesses of absorbant cloth (like diaper material) that wraps around the dogs body and fastens with velcro. A lot of people use them when housebreaking male dogs or to discourage them from"marking" in the house. Some dogs continue to do this even after they've been neutered. He HAS been neutered, right? The good thing about them is that they can't make puddles in the house and it takes all the fun out of marking for them. The bad thing about them is that you have to launder them.