He has had his own room from day 1. was doing great not peeing in it for some time then about 2 months ago he began peeing in 5 or 6 different places in there.

do not think its medical as he does not do this when he is in his crate for lengthy times.

I am thinking one of two things maybe both.
1. He is unneutered and beginning to mark his territory.
2. He is peeing in there because, basically he can as no one is there to catch him and correct.

Any other thoughts on this annoying behavior?
TIA

Having a room or run of the house should be an earned privledge, not a right. Now that he has marked that room good luck getting him to stop. You need to go back to crating and supervising the dog. If you can't supervise, in the crate... no more free in the room. Bet that room is going to smell real nice come next summer.

Thanks for your comments. However, how would a dog 'earn' the (priviledge)to have a room? :rolleyes:

I am interpreting from your post that you think he is demonstrating a marking behavior. Is this common at this age?
As mentioned in the OP, he has not done this since he has been able to hold it all night.

He has since been crated while I cannot watch him. Any idea how long that would need to be done?

I use a commercial grade antiseptic kennel cleaner, so I am not expecting much residual odor come next summer.

Originally posted by Shepherdgirl- Deanna:
Having a room or run of the house should be an earned privledge, not a right. Now that he has marked that room good luck getting him to stop. You need to go back to crating and supervising the dog. If you can't supervise, in the crate... no more free in the room. Bet that room is going to smell real nice come next summer. Ditto, Deanna's post here. He goes back to housebreaking 101.

Real important to nutralize the spots where the dog has urinated and or defacated on.

The floor surface type is very important here. If it is carpet you may need to ditch the fabric. If it is hardwood flooring then you might be into a sanding and re stain job.

Tile is the best flooring to deal with in the home.

One thing that you can do to really help kill the scent urges the dog gets from being in that room is to use serious amounts of white vinager to neutralize the scents and also aid in cleaning any stains.

Don't rule out medical as a reason for this new problem and by taking a urine sample to the vet will resolve this aspect. Probaly not your reason for this happening but I would look at it.

No matter what, you now have to set the Pissing Rat up to be caught in the act so that you can begin to deal with this problem. The dogs life will need to be changed in many ways and you are going to have to become dedicated if you are going to be at all successful.

Jerry

Thanks for the follow-up.

The flooring surface is linoleum tiles.
I will buy some vinager and mix it in.

One last inquiry: would neutering help curb this tendency?

As much as the spay/neuter activists would like you to believe it will, that in and of itself is not going to cure the dog. Yes, it may reduce the urge some if it is hormonally mediated, but I have seen plenty of neutered male or spayed female dogs that still did it from poor housebreaking. This is where you have to roll up a newspaper and whack yourself on the head for letting this go on in his room for a couple of months. There is no instant cure.

With hardcore working lines, have many people on the board seen them harder to house break than non strong working lines?

I've had two GSDs in my life, both were American lined pets. They learned SO easy with going out to the bathroom they picked it up in a matter of days. I never had to crate train them, at the time I just let them out every hour until they caught on and then slowly they went on their own.

I know strong working lines are smarter because they're selective bred. BUT when dogs have extremely high drives I would assume they can be more stubborn in many areas with training, etc.

Can this happen with things like house breaking?What's the board's view on this?

Never said I let this go on for a couple of months. He began to do this 'about 2 months ago'. I then stated that 'he has since been crated'.
I guess I can save the whack with the rolled up newspaper, huh. :rolleyes:

Thanks all for the suggestions.

 Quote:

Originally posted by The Lads:

I guess I can save the whack with the rolled up newspaper, huh. :rolleyes:

No, don't save it, you get to whack me with it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I didn't put the two posts together when I replied.

Brad, I don't think it is a line thing, it is more how the dog is raised. If it is raised in a dirty environment, it will be used to being dirty. Puppy mill dogs are notoriously hard to housebreak. In my experience it isn't a "stubborness" thing, most dogs WANT to go outside. The crate is a safe place and a way for you to get a break from teeth and supervision. You were lucky with your two am breds. My dog has a crate, but has hardly used it at all since he was a year old. He earned his rights slowly by not eating things and peeing in my house. I only feed him in his crate now, and I don't even latch the door, just close it, all he would have to do is bump the door to get out, but he waits for me to let him out.

well this is totally off of the subject, but it seems like a good place to ask......I was reading a post that explorer wrote and asked if somebody has had problems with his/her puppy eating his own feces....is this a normal thing? It pretty much grosses me out and i hope it is something that he will learn not to do. I always end up leaving him out to do his thing for a couple of minutes and then to go back outside and catching him doing that......ive been punishing him for it and im pretty sure he knows its wrong......but its like a temptation to him....am i doing something wrong?