I'm not really sure which forum to put this in, but since I have 3 dogs and I suspect that there is some kind of intra-pack issue here, I'll start here. If it works better somewhere else, moderators, please move it there.

We have two Tibetan mastiffs (three years old) and a Jack Russell terrier (7 years old). These are all housedogs; we have crates, but generally don't crate the males. The TM bitch still has chewing issues, so we have to be more careful when she is unattended. That means she is crated overnight and whenever we are out of the house. None of the three were problem urinators after their initial housebreaking period -- which was short and easy for the TM's. The Jack had some submissive urination issues initially, but no longer.

Our TM bitch was in season during December. This was her third estrus -- TM's cycle once per year. Although we had considered breeding this year, our bitch has some thyroid issues that we want to clarify and a (REALLY) chronic ear infection that needs to be cleared up before we take that step. Part of the response to both the thyroid issues and the ear infection has been a switchover to raw feeding as of about three months ago. The ears seem to be clearing up slowly; I'm going to wait for a while before having another thyroid panel done.

In order to avoid accidents and the general craziness (and/or drugs) that would ensue if we kept him around during her estrus, we kennelled the TM dog with a TM breeder/friend for most of the month of December. She reported that there was nothing remarkable in his behavior during that time. We did the same thing last year, but with a different breeder.

I picked up the TM dog from his "vacation" shortly after Christmas and brought him home. Things were fine for the first three weeks or so, but for the last several weeks, he has been urinating at least daily on one particular spot on the carpet near the door. If we catch him in the act, we correct him immediately. The carpet has been deodorized and shampooed thoroughly after every incident.

There are no other behavioral problems, at least from the TM side. The relationship between him and the JRT is always a hard one to figure out. The JRT has never been overly happy with the TM's presence in the house, but he's learned after a couple of incidents that even he isn't tough enough to take out a dog that much bigger than he is. For the most part the TM ignores the yapping. The dogs are fed simultaneously in different rooms. Occasionally, the Jack will try to steal food from the TM dog's bowl. To avoid problems, we normally crate the Jack as soon as he finishes eating, at least until the TM is done eating.

Possible responses: I could crate the TM dog at all times. That treats the symptom, but not the problem. I'd like to know what's going on here. In addition, for unrelated reasons, it is not a really desirable thing to crate him for significant periods. He's claustrophobic (he lived in a large kennel for the first eight months of his life and only fgot introduced to the crate when we brought him home). Prolonged crating stresses him, which can lead to up to a quarter inch of saliva in the bottom of his crate, which he rolls around in . . . if you think that wet dog can smell rank, I'm telling you that a dog soaked in his own saliva is ten times worse. Outdoor kennelling is out of the question. We live in a suburb with very close houses and TM's are night barkers. (Moving is not an option, either.)

First of all, does anyone have any suggestions as to what is going on here? Is he re-establishing his place in the pack after an absence? Something unrelated? I don't think that this is urinary tract infection.

Second, does anyone have any suggestions as to a course of action?

Thanks.