Puppy peeing inside even after peeing outside! Any suggestions?

Question

I have a Labrador Retriever mix, 5 or 6 months old, so yes he is still a puppy and may not have full control of his bladder. But he has enough control that he can be crated up to 9 hours without peeing, and will go outside and pee on command. When we are outside with him he will spend great lengths of time on the deck with us without peeing. Before going in we have him pee on command. Then only minutes later he'll pee in the floor, while walking, so there's a pee trail! We also take him out frequently, but he still does it in the house. Reasons for the behavior and suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Sounds somewhat similar to the problem I'm having with my puppy.  I also had a dog once who had some severe emotional problems from a previous abusive owner who did the same thing.  I think it was his nerves.

Answer 2

maybe he has a bladder infection

Answer 3

Most definitely make sure he doesn't have a bladder infection before we consider it behavioral. We don't want to ignore a potential problem or scold him for something beyond his control. When you got to go, you got to go. It would seem fitting for a bladder infection for him to urinate and then feel the urgency to urinate again not long after just having urinated just because the bladder is now empty and irritated.

Having ruled out a bladder infection then you can deal with the behavioral issue.

First: He is at the age were it is about time for hormones to play a role and if he is intact then he is marking. This is a hard habit to break once he has started it. If you don't plan on breeding him then for his health and his behavior - Neuter him.

The older he gets the worse urine marking becomes.

Second: He is crate trained - good. He is young so this means you can still teach him easily to break bad habits that haven't been there for years. If he ever leaves supervision in the house then he needs to go back into the crate. An unsupervised puppy will have accidents and this is just like taking two steps in the wrong direction when you are housebreaking a pet. Until he gets the idea down that urination indoors is not what we do he needs to be watched carefully.

Once he gets the point then he can be left with less strict supervision. I am not talking about punishing him, but I am asking you to be more diligent about watching his behaviors. He has already started the bad habit and now is the best time to correct it.

Third : Find yourself a good enzymatic carpet cleaner that will break-up the scent of urine out of the places he has urinated on in the house. If he can still smell the urine then he will keep going there. Take another step back. Have to get the spots cleaned.

Good luck.

Answer 4

its probably just marking. have him fixed. it could be a uti etc so if it makes you feel better have his urine tested but i think fixing him will make a huge difference.

Answer 5

Make sure to clean the pee areas in the house with Pet deodorizing cleaners. Regular cleaners won't cut it because animals have extremely good senses of smell. Just because we can't smell it, doesn't mean they can't. If an animal smells a pee spot they will pee there again. Using the pet deodorizing spray will help control the problem a little better.