Peeing on our bed

[girl4182]

Hi There

I have a seven year old male 15 lbs yorkie. He has a clean bill of health and is neutered. He has been house trained since I adopted him at 10 months.

I got married 5 months ago. One year and Nine months ago my now husband and I moved into our home bringing my yorkie with us. Shortly after that we purchased a golden retriever puppy who will now by turning two at the end of May.

My yorkie has always loved my husband. They hit it off instantly. It was as if he was my husband's dog and not mine. We didn't have any issues introducing the new puppy to our little family either. Smooth Sailing.

Now, almost two years later, our yorkie seems to be rebelling. A couple weeks ago he peed on my husband's pillows in our bed. I changed the bedding and threw out the pillows. He has always slept in our room whether it be in bed or under it. While we are out he had free reign of the house. We started keeping our door closed so that he didn't have access to the bedroom. The door was left open for a matter of minutes while getting ready for bed tonight and he peed on my husband's side of the bed again, this time on the mattress and comforter.

Our retriever is also house broken but is crated at night and while we are out. Being full size though now I've noticed he's started to play more with our yorkie. The retriever seems to now be the dominant one of the two dogs. They both compete for attention, pushing each other out of the way when it comes time to get love and cuddles.

I'm just wondering if this is a dominance thing? Is our yorkie upset that my husband is spending time with the bigger dog? Is there another cause? Has anyone dealt with this before? Any suggestions on how to handle it? Any suggestions on how to clean my mattress?

My husband is upset and feels that the dog is disrespecting him which results is us fighting about the dog. I really don't know what to do here. Thanks in advance for your help.

[WannaBe]

I would take him to the vets, sounds like he may have some kind of urinary problem?

[sandy simpson]

I think Yorkies are smarter than we think. If he has a UTI he sure knew where to pee and relieve himself. I think he is jealous and in his dog mind he thinks, "I'll fix him." My JoJo is good but yesterday I left him and Spud in the living room and went out. Came back, he peed on the blanket covering the couch. He was mad because I left him. Separation Anxiety. My stupidity for not leaving them in the kitchen with the dog door access. Yorkies need boundaries and it looks like yours will need to stay Off the bed.
JoJo is not going to turn my house into a pee palace!

[megansmomma]

He's marking or claiming his territory because of the other dog. He's pretty big (like my 3) can he jump up on the bed or does he use stairs? If he uses stairs I'd remove them so he can't get up there unless supervised.

[connie3dogs]

My girl pee's on the bed in the bedroom my granddaughter sleeps in when she stays. I have the door shut but sometimes the door gets left open. I think its a territory thing. She will happily be on my bed but never pees on it.


Shirl

[girl4182]

No stairs for this guy, he has deer legs. He's my little misfit that couldn't stop growing. I'm thinking it's a dominance thing too. Frustrating though because we've never experienced this kind of issue with him. He's lived with other dogs in the past whether it be roommates or my mom's dog.

It's not like the retriever is a brand new addition though, We've had him for almost 2 years. Is it because he is now full grown and the big dog on campus that my yorkie is having issues? They seem to get along fine.

Any tips for cleaning our mattress?

Thanks so much for all your help!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Any change in behavior that isn't obvious should result in a visit to the vet if he hasn't been since the behavior started. Tumors can suddenly grow, pain can develop from a sudden condition seemingly overnight so just because your dog has been well a couple of weeks back doesn't mean he's still okay. Pretty much the only way dogs show us they have trouble is by behaving differently due to their discomfort or illness.

If he gets a clean bill of health, it is likely stress-related and not, not disrespect per se. He's just expressing his anxieties and worries. Likely he feels secure and safe in your bed now that the other dog is being more dominant, a role he likely once had. Worried, ill or anxious, frustrated dogs often pee/poo as near their humans' source of highest scent as they can get - their bed or the couch or chair - where they spend much time. Dogs often pee or potty when very anxious or fearful or excited or stressed or even as a sign of deep respect and they chose to relieve themselves closest to your strong scent many times as it is comforting to them. Most sneak around to do it as they know when you see them doing it, you get upset or highly excited so they try not to let you see them doing it. But they are driven to relieve themselves where your comforting scent is. If they have been caught by you a number of times and it wasn't fun, then they sneak into the other room to do it. Some dogs just won't pee/poo in the bed where they sleep or are highly aware of gentle but strong leadership in their humans, will never do it in the bed, no matter how upset they are, so they sneak into another room or another part of the bedroom to do it. But some dogs just will not soil their own bed or that of their master no matter what. Others can't wait to do it for the relief it seems to bring them.

Get that vet check with stool sample, urine and blood tests and go from there.

If nothing is wrong there and there are no obvious signs of pain such as refusing to jump, walk or play rough and her teeth are good with no abscesses or breaks, it's behavioral due to some anxiety or lack of confidence. Start your dog on the Nothing In Life Is Free program to give him some renewed structure and start him on a good obedience training program to get him busy learning, working and gaining confidence, bonding with you and your husband and forming a good team. Then add the other dog into the activities with him as long as they tolerate one another.

Likely what is happening is the new dog is stressing his sense that he was the favored dog of the pack leader, the beta dog, and now is worried about his place in the pack hierarchy so he's relieving that anxiety as best he knows how to do, where he's most comfortable.

The addition and growth and new relationship of the other dog with your husband has changed the pack dynamic, affecting his sense of importance and confidence but he's not disrespecting your husband. He's too busy having his own self-identify crisis. There is trouble in the pack and a dog with a tendency to nerves or lack of self-confidence can get very unsettled during the struggles for hierarchy. Read all you can about pack dynamics and how dogs settle things naturally.

An unsure dog watching all this happen is unsure what to do if no clear leader steps forward to calm things, dispense order and put the members in their place with gentle, loving, patient firmness and give each dog work to do, a roll to play, keep them busy with active, full lives and each dog equally appreciated. Walks outside together could help forget a sense of bonding between the two. Allowing them structured time together in obedience training could help the bonding also.

Until your little guy is more settled and less anxious, restrict his ability to get to your bed or couch or upholstered chairs. Given correct rehabilitation, he could begin to feel more confident and happy within his place in the pack.

[girl4182]

The information about the pack makes so much sense! This is a huge help! Thank you