Indoor Potty Habit Returns....Help!

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Skye had seemed to kick the indoor peeing habit and then it started up again. He is only 9 months old. We take him for two long walks a day and have a dog door that he can access when we are home. When we go out we take him outside to potty first and then crate him. We had been using a light lead that stayed on him all day to retrain but now he pees in the house with it on. We can't figure out why.  Genuine accidents occurred by the sliding glass door when the doggie door was blocked. Those have stopped.These seem to be something else. Maybe marking or dominance of some sort.

 

The ones that we can't make sense of are exclusively in the dining room.  This morning I took him out at 6am for a pee and poo and then back up to bed.  He usually cuddles until  he goes downstairs with Peter. Once downstairs we always go straight outside to pee again.  Peter walked him in the yard and no pee. They come back inside and Peter sat in the dining room to read and Skye squatted in front of him and peed. Needless to say Peter made his feelings known and when I came down Skye was sulking in his crate.

 

I have cleaned the entire area with Nature's Miracle and steamed the floors and small rug under the dining room table. We actually took a larger rug out of this room and had it cleaned before storing for the same problem. When he was tiny he decided this was a poo spot.By taking out the first rug and making most of the area floor he stopped pooing there. He doesn't pee or poo anywhere else in the house except by the sliding glass door.  I thought that was mainly when it was blocked but during the Spring rains I put a towel down for wet shoes and paws and caught him peeing on it. 

 

Skye's kennel is in the dining room right by my desk which opens into the living room. We use our entire house, there are no fancy rooms and Skye has access to the rooms on the ground level when we are home with him. He is crated when no one is home. Before Doodles I had Jack Russell Terriers. They loved going outside so once trained, the dog door was all we needed day and night.  Skye will use the dog door to go outside at 11pm but then sneak a pee inside after.It is so confusing. He will also pee after my older son visits and I have a friend over for a cup of tea and a chat.  It's like hes marking territory.

Any thoughts, suggestions and all around help would be great.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Stay outside longer. I would not come back inside until he pees. For some dogs, it just takes longer

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Is Skye neutered? 

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

This would make me crazy.  I hope you can figure it out.  

[Kyoko]

UTI? 

Also piggy backing on Joanne, My male poodle is a picky pee -er.  He have to find "the spot" to pee and sometimes it can take a minute.

Or may be reduce the areas where he has access to during the day when people are home ? They also said not to scold them for the accident because then they will hide and go.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We also have a doggie door and once our pups began using it, that was all we ever had to do - like your Jack Russells. My son had a Doberman who hated wet grass and when he was young, he picked a spot in our dining room to poo. We finally put a chair over that spot to block it and he quit. But, if it was wet or rainy,  we had to push him outside onto the lawn to pee or poo and stand guard over him until he went (for his entire life - as an adult he would just hold it forever rather than go inside). Clancy, our rescue, decided to poo on the patio one fall.  It coincided with us returning from vacation and our oldest dog dying.  We think that there was some marking done - either by cats using our yard when we were gone or because of the sick dog, that discouraged Clancy from using the grass.  This went on no matter what we 'treated' or blocked the area with until winter sanitized the area.  

My point is, is there perhaps a reason that Skye isn't going outside to pee - like wet grass or another animal running through your yard and leaving a scent that discourages Skye from peeing there.

So, first I would actually put something over the area he has chosen - if it means you have to step around or over it, so be it - it will NOT be forever.  I would analyze why you think he isn't peeing outside.  I'll bet if you really think about it you will find a cause. I would also review with him going through the doggie door - when you go outside with him have him go through the doggie door to meet you and not the regular door with you.

[Kary, Sparty & Stella]

My instant thought was a UTI. If it continues, I would recommend having your vet take a look at a urine sample ( we just did a 20 day anti biotic because of a UTI.). I too had Jack Russell's before my doodle and when we had slip ups, I went back to the ol stand by of crating, exercise/play time and then crate, repeat every three hours or so. This helped. Also, taking away the water a few hours before bed. But, you aren't having nighttime accidents?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

It sounds like a 'statement' to me. I would be very aware that that is a trigger, and either do more crating, more supervision, or more potty trips on the day of and after a visit. I would also ALWAYS have Skye use the doggie door even when you go out with him.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Why are you taking Skye potty on a leash? At 9 months, shouldn't he be independently going when he needs to if a dog door is available to him?  I am just asking because my practice in using a doggie door might be different from yours. Our yard is small and safely fenced so we leave ours open 24/7 unless we have a reason to close it (i.e. skunk, muddy rain, excessive barking at something at night).  We taught our dogs to go out the door to go potty. When Ned was a small puppy, we made him go out the door even if we had to lift him out and back in. When we were still escorting him to go, we just met him on the outside as he went through the door. It took him only days to learn that this was just the way going potty was.  Ned was crated at night and we definitely escorted him down the stairs and outside in the mornings - but I am sure by 9 months we just opened the crate door.  I will say that our dogs are not trained to a special potty spot in the yard, so I can see why you might have a leash, but again, by 9 months, I would think if Sky was going to use one particular spot, he would be doing it.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I would be tempted to start all over by crating and introducing potty bells. Not all dogs take to the bells but when they do its a wonderful way to go.
Are you missing his communication that tells you ' out' is needed again? If so, try potty bells. Scolding won't help :( I understand frustration but I don't know any dog that truly learns from our anger.
Do a search on poity bells or Poochie Bells ( trademark) has some great videos

[Kyoko]

I just thought about this.... I don't have a doggie door so I am not familiar with it. But since Skye grew and got biger, he may feel that the door is too small..or not liking to squeese through the smaller space..?

[Janelle & Finley]

We had this same problem and he had an infection.  After some antibiotics he was totally fine.  It did take a few days of being on the meds but knock on wood this was the issue.  Good luck.

[Lecia russell]

I had this problem will Ollie, he kept peeing in the same spot in the house he's 7 mos old I had the carpets professional cleaned and a couple days later he started peeing there again , so I had the cleaners come back out and they cleaned that area with enezymes , it's been 2 weeks since then and he hasn't gone there, hopefully that solves the problem.