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Canine Behavior/household urination

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Expert: - 4/7/2008


Question
Our female beagle is 4 years old. Housetraining her was easy. Late last fall she was the one who discovered we had rats in our crawl space by hearing them, and smell through vents. We had them exterminated, and the crawl cemented and sealed. During this time the dog began urinating, only on the second floor (carpeted, and no indication of rats thru vents etc). She will do this WHILE we are home. The behavior has continued even though the rats have been erradicated. We cannot predict when she will do it, but she appears to have a lot of shame when we find the wet spots (which can be large, not small marking). We have had her checked and there are no physical problems. We have used a dog appeasing collar at the vets suggestion and that hasn't worked either. The frequency is about 1 time per week.

Answer
It's possible your beagle began marking the one area (upstairs) from which she could not smell or hear the vermin.  Beagles are hunting dogs, after all, and she may have been attempting to maintain that territory as a 'statement' to the invaders.  It might also have begun as a nervous response to the 'invasion'.  It has now begun to become habitual, so your best approach would be to not allow her upstairs without your constant supervision.  What you're seeing as 'shame' might be her normal reaction to your anger; even though you may not be overtly attempting to correct her mistakes (a waste of time), your body language alone is communicating your displeasure, and she has NO IDEA what's wrong.  She's following a basic instinct, one she may very well have re engineered based upon emotional or psychological need.  There is NO POINT in disciplining (in any way) a house training mistake.  The only thing one effectively creates by doing this is confusion and anxiety in the dog.  Reinforcing with reward her appropriate elimination outdoors (GO OUT WITH HER, start from scratch as if she were a puppy) while actively preventing her from repeating this behavior in your home will, in combination, probably extinguish the problem.

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Jill Connor, Ph.D.

Expertise

I have spent my entire professional life rehabilitating the behavior of the domestic dog and I can answer any question regarding any behavior problem in any breed dog. If you are a caring, committed owner and need advice, I'm here for you. THERE ARE NO QUICK FIXES for serious behavioral issues; not only is it unprofessional to offer same, it is also unethical. IF I ASK YOU SUBSEQUENT QUESTIONS, I NEED YOU TO INTERACT WITH ME. More information equals more credible answers and a more successful outcome. If you want ANSWERS THAT WORK, participate in any way I request. I'm quite committed to working on this site for YOUR benefit and the benefit of YOUR DOG. Help me in any way you can.

Experience

30 years of solving serious behavior problems in domestic dogs; expert in dog to human aggression; Internet columnist for ThePetChannel.com for 5 years; former radio talk show host, WHPC.FM, Garden City, NY "Bite Back" (1995 through 2000). List owner, international animal behavior experts, K9Shrinks@egroups.com. Seminar leader: "Operant Conditioning and Learning"; "Aggression in The Domestic Dog"; "Solving Problem Behaviors" -- conducted for various training facilities on Long Island from 1993 through 2000. Former clinical director of "Behavioral Abnormalities" in conjunction with Mark Beckerman, DVM, Hempstead, New York.

Organizations
Member, APDT (UK); Psychologists in Ethical Treatment with Animals

Publications
Harcourt Brace Learning Direct: "The Business of Dog Training" "The Fail Safe Dog: Brain Training, not Pain Training"

Education/Credentials
Ph.D., UC Berkeley

Past/Present Clients
Board of Directors: Northeast Dog Rescue Connection; The Dog Project; Sav-A-Dog Foundation; etc. Pro Bono counselor: Little Shelter Humane Society My practice is presently limited to forensics. I diagnose cause of dog bite, based upon testimony before the Court, for attorneys and insurance companies litigating dog bites, including fatal injuries. I also do pro bono work for bona fide rescue organizations, humane societies, et al, regarding such analysis in an effort to obtain release for dogs being held for death in municipal shelters in the US.

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