Peeing on my bed. - why do dogs do this?

I've been reading through other peoples threads, and people have had simular problems, but nothing quite the same.

Bandit our new patterdale x, pees on my and oh bed. He's not allowed in the bedroom, pretty much because he pee'd and poo'd in there previously. As has been mentioned before, prevention is the best cure.

However, on four occasions now, the bedroom door has been accidentally left open, and bandit has pee'd on our bed. We have had to buy 4 new duvet because the duvets wont fit in the washer (and it'll cost just as much to have it dry cleaned).

Its almost as if he makes a bee line for the bed, even if he's already been for a pee outside. He also pee's on the dirty laundry basket.

Is he marking? It seems that he's peeing where mine and OH smell is stongest. Why is he doing this?

He doesnt act dominant in any way, or submissive. He is treated exactly the same as shadow, they sit before eating, getting treats, etc. Although he is let on the sofa, and just jumps up when ever he pleases. I think I will stop this now.

He does nibble on you sometime, but not hard, and seems to be just like shadow does when we're playing, maybe Im reading it wrong and hes actually biting. He does get stroppy on times if you ignore him, he'll bark at you as if to say "hey look at me stop taking/watching tv/on dogweb", I dont give him attention when he does this.

the more Im writing this, the more it seems that he is testing his boundries, trying to see whos boss. Does this seems like the right conclusion to you?

im so glad you posted this as i was just about to myself ! i have the same problem with poppy and its driving me mad to say the least , im fed up with my bedroom being used as a toilet for her but it is only my room . i lost it with her last night i must admit then i felt bad but im at my wits end to . we have a dog lap so they come in and out as and when they please but every oppotunity she has she will sneak upstairs

I wanna know to! I've tried looking on the internet, but to no avail. My dog will hang on for ever then when she gets the chance is upstairs doing her bit on the beds.

The following line of thoughts are rather generalised so please dont take it as specific to any one dog in terms of application or possible cause because I dont know every dog personally which does it :smt002

Very often its mistaken for dominance and boundary testing. In more cases than not though its a bit of insecurity, even if not apparent generally and often its the one release for that in a dog which appears confident and content in every other way, and especially in dogs not allowed in certain places as they dont get to know it as a relaxing place they can sleep - dogs dont like to mess where they sleep.

If its a sudden or recent thing, or if the dog is toileting more than usual, its worth checking for a bladder or bowel infection.

Also, its worth considering if something outside spooked the dog when toileting, [ even a noise in the distance which may have seemed nothing at the time ], so a dog can sometimes seek a more `secure` place to do it sometimes - never overlook what MIGHT have caused an association which has the dog repeating the behaviour with no obvious trigger especially if there seems to be no real pattern to it happening - it doesnt mean there ISNT trigger.

Changing duvets may not be enough if any, [ even just a drop ], got through to the mattress as that will encourage further accidents so a thorough steam clean might help, and the base as well to be absolutely sure.

When accidents have happened, DONT make any reference to it, not even a sigh, in front of the dog, and dont tell them off because it wont teach them not to do it, it will just teach them not to do it in an obvious place as it will be a visual association to them of `dont do it where we can see it` rather than `dont do it in this or that room`.

I would go back to basics on toilet training for a while, as a refresher - so many people do all the praise etc when the dog is first learning but then tail off and dont back it up occasionally so the dog still knows its getting it right, so a bit of extra encouragement might help.

Also I would suggest taking the dog to the bed a few times a day, sit on there with the dog, giving lots of cuddles and positive association for confidence building, and to disassociate it as a `banned area` , especially using some treats or part of his usual food [ if dry ] scattered on different parts of the bed and using them as a game, to further reinforce it a no-toilet area from the dogs POV.

Doing it on laundry as well is a bit of a hint toward territorial marking but more usually a `safe familiarity` thing because of your scents, rather than anything dominant [ if it were dominance its more likely done on freshly laundered things to create a scent rather than cover an existing scent ].

If possible, get a shower curtain, or other plastic sheeting, to put over the bed automatically when you get up, which will save duvets and prevent scent seeping until the dog has got out of the behaviour on the occasions that the door is not quite shut properly - only takes a few seconds to do and saves fraying nerves as well because its far easier to wipe one of those down than have to keep buying new duvets :smt002

[ Take it off each time for positive association stuff, then cover again at the end of each session. ]

If you decide to try some of the above, please do report back on progress, and equally if there is no improvement we can look at tweaks or alternatives which might make a difference, but if doing exactly as above you will need to be consistant, so give it some time before you decide if its not working, and keep at it if it does seem to be helping so that you dont stop too soon at signs of improvement - keep it going a while to reinforce the `feel good` factor as that is what will make any improvement longlasting.

HTH

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. Gona try and do what you have suggested, I will keep you posted on the progress.

Thanks

Great info, thank you!
But if you want to keep your dog off the bed ~ should you just do as described, but beside instead of on top of the bed?

This worked for me Baku pee'd on our bed twice and since we have shared time on the bed and he has had his naps their with me he has stopped doing it

Ah, that does make it a little harder when the bed is the target area - is there any particular reason you dont want your dog on the bed at all ?
[ lots of people dont, just asking if there is anything specific why you dont allow this because of any other behaviours or training so I dont suggest anything which would conflict with whatever else you are doing with your littl`un, thats all :smt001 ]

What about just for the association exercises and using those as well to teach `on` and `off` cue`s, so only getting on and off when its ok with you which in itself can be a help for this particular issue if a dog learns only to get up when told its ok rather than when they feel like it ?

I say that bearing in mind I dont know your `no bed` reasons yet but I didnt want to forget to mention the above in case it doesnt conflict with anything else for you and your dog and might be something you could start working on as soon as you like :smt001

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. :smt001

There are a few reasons I don't allow her on the bed (or any other furniture). I'm allergic to dogs. I take my tablets which help stifle the symtoms, but untill I build up more immunity dog hair on the bed would be murder.

I also have guide dogs over to board with me. They cannot go on any furniture and I don't want any bad habits to be learnt.

It's also the hierarchy of the pack. It's my bed, she shouldn't be on it. (Though if I found her on it I would simply say "Off" and take her off it. No scolding.)

I also have kids and don't want her to think it's ok to jump into their beds either.

For now, she is confined to downstairs till we get a better foothold on toilet training and once we have that mastered we can take it from there. :smt002

Hi Evie,

Ok, first thiings first, the allergy.
Its not the hair you will be allergic to [ most doctors get this wrong ], the allergy trigger is from the dander, not the hair.

There are things you can get which should help you a lot which are available from large pet shops. There is a liquid which you groom in to the coat which neutralises the dander [ you would need to wear latex gloves to put that on maybe ], or there are wipes which do the same thing and you literally just thoroughly wipe them all over the dog [ avoiding eyes, nose and mouth ].
I cant remember the product names but they are clearly marked so you shouldnt have any trouble finding them.

Also a Hepa Filter could be well worth investing in, as they filter the dander from the air.


You can try natural desensitisation [ which I assume is what you are doing ? ], but often that can only help in individual dogs and wont necessarily help with all others you may come in close contact with.

If you are not needlephobic, there is a course of jabs [ 6 or 8 over a period of weeks afair ], which can often be very succesful for more general doggy desensitisation for allergic people.

Right, thats that lot out of the way lol, so, for the furniture thing, I can understand why you dont want dogs on there, so the previous advice wont be any use in that regard.

It would really need to be a case of a baby gate as an extra measure to prevent dogs getting to your bed at all, but I would still advise the plastic cover just in case as an extra extra safeguard.

Lastly - the heirachy thing - its a total fallacy :smt001
Dogs do not consider humans to be part of their pack, and do not try pack dominance on humans. Its a very misunderstood theory, based on wolf behaviour however, the behaviours were based on captive wolves, not wolves in their natural habitat, and the main propogator of the theory did a complete turn around on it after realising how wrong it was, but sadly died before he could complete his revised theories.

Unfortunately, many others read his original work on it and decided to base their own stuff on that previous theory but still keep pushing it, as do some trainers who seem to come out with Fennel type stuff pretty much verbatum.

So, if you do beat the allergy and feel like accidentally letting your dog snooze on the bed with you I promise you she wont start plotting to take over the world because of `elevated status` cos that is not how dogs think

All my dogs sleep with me and even though they are Border Collies with typical highly intelligent Collie brains, [ my Lurcher is half collie but has 90% collie brain so close enough lol ], all they care about is how nice it is to snuggle up with me, how safe and secure a place it is so they can let themselves sleep soundly, and they have no plans, [ at this time any way ], to rule the world :smt001