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November 30, 2010 11:34 PM   Subscribe

Why did my totally toilet trained dog just cock a leg on the couch right in front of me?

Ludo is a very smart three year old kelpie. He was toilet trained when we got him at eight weeks and, apart from a few instances outside his control (the back door was closed and he went right next to it), he doesn't go inside the house. Ever. Tonight, I got home from work and opened the door to let him in as per usual. Two minutes later I heard a disturbing noise and turned around to see him doing a wee against the couch. Wtf?

Possibly relevant:
It has been raining today and he was wet when I let him in (he does have a kennel for when we're at work).

There hasn't been any other dogs in the house.

He has no medical issues.

He might be sick, though it's hard to distinguish between this and his usual "Oh noes I am in BIG trouble" behaviour - as soon as I turned around, he slunk away.

I am completely baffled as this so out of character and unsure as to whether this warrants a vet visit. Has anyone else had this happen?
posted by Wantok to Pets & Animals (16 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Sometimes in "wtf?" situations with my dogs, I just assume that instinct overrode training. He may have smelled something that made his brain think "Oh, I need to pee on this couch to mark it as my own" or maybe the rain caused you to soak up strange smells and bring them into the house, making him think he needed to assert himself by marking the spot where you sit. Unless this becomes a habit, just consider it a fluke.
posted by amyms at 11:38 PM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]


Forgot to add: Make sure you thoroughly clean the area where he peed so he doesn't return to it thinking that it's an "okay to mark" spot now.
posted by amyms at 11:40 PM on November 30, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks amyms. Fortunately for both of us, he is very handsome.
posted by Wantok at 11:57 PM on November 30, 2010 [4 favorites]


Response by poster: Actually jamaro, he is but that story is hilarious.
posted by Wantok at 11:59 PM on November 30, 2010


1. There is no such thing as an accident. Animals use urination to communicate: sexual displays, territorial marking, insults, submissive gestures... Dogs specifically do all of the above, except for sexual displays (AFAIK).

2. I'd guess he was communicating to you some sort of angry comment. Think of it as losing his head momentarily, and cussing you out... then realizing that he'd just told his boss to piss off, he slunk back to his cubicle, hoping the whole thing would just blow over.

3. If you don't react, he'll realize there are no consequences for telling his boss to piss off.

4. Address both the message, and the issue he raised (if you can figure out what it is). Presumably, he's upset at being left out in the rain. I can't tell from your post why he was wet when he had a doghouse - couldn't access it, or just chose to stand in the rain instead?

BTW, while trying to figure out what a kelpie was, aside from the monster I'm familiar with, I discovered my pup looks an awful lot like one!
posted by IAmBroom at 12:01 AM on December 1, 2010


Have you checked the kennel today? There might be a reason why he didn't use it during the rain.
posted by Lazlo at 12:08 AM on December 1, 2010 [1 favorite]


is he normally wet when it rains? which is to say - is he the type of dog that keeps himself covered even when it's raining? i agree with checking the kennel...
posted by nadawi at 12:17 AM on December 1, 2010


I'd probably take him to the vet or at least call the vet about it. When a dog who never pees in the house pees in the house, especially in such a weird way with the disturbing noise and stuff, he's trying to tell you something. I don't think dogs hold grudges about stuff like being left out in the rain and they especially wouldn't think, "HAHA! I'll show him by pissing on the couch!" He might have a medical issue. He might not. I might not take him to the vet if he had only peed in the house, but the disturbing noise he made right before he peed makes me think something is not right. Listen to your buddy.
posted by wherever, whatever at 1:16 AM on December 1, 2010


Since it seems totally out of character for him, I'd probably give the vet a call and keep a close eye on him in the meantime. That said, my friend's dog, a greyhound, started peeing on stuff as a submissive gesture. Could something be stressing your guy out?

Ludo is the cutest ever, and now I have the Bob the Kelpie song stuck in my head.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 4:50 AM on December 1, 2010


My dog obligatory pic has had recurring urinary tract infections, which led us to discover that she has bladder stones. Clean the spot on your sofa where your dog peed and keep an eye on him. Is he asking to go out more frequently than usual? Trying to pee but not succeeding? Stick a Gladware under him to catch some urine for a culture and bundle him off to the vet.
posted by workerant at 7:40 AM on December 1, 2010


I'm guessing he just lost his mind for a moment. One of my shepherds did this out of the blue about a year ago. She just squatted like she was outside. I said "WTF?" She looked as if she couldn't believe it herself. Then I let her outside. Never happened again. This may be just a one-time thing. If not, then vet first, I think.
posted by WyoWhy at 11:00 AM on December 1, 2010


The fact that he cocked his leg to do it indicates to me a possessiveness/dominance issue. My fixed male invariably cocks his leg to pee when he's outside, but if he pees inside because I got the walking schedule wrong or something, then he doesn't. How did he pee when he went inside because he didn't have a choice?

A submissive gesture would involve peeing in a prostrate position, not boldly with a cocked leg.

Obligatory question for pecking order issues: How often do you walk him and how do you do it?
posted by cmoj at 11:07 AM on December 1, 2010


Oh, and looking at the pic, I'm guessing he's adolescent-ish? He's challenging you.
posted by cmoj at 11:08 AM on December 1, 2010


Workerant must be my double, because that's exactly the situation that unfolded with my dog, and I use those exact same containers for urine samples. But yeah, when a perfectly house trained dog starts peeing inside, my first thought is a urinary tract infection. My vet lets me take a urine sample in without the vet visit, simply for peace of mind - you could ask if your vet does the same.
posted by rosethorn at 11:38 AM on December 1, 2010


Nthing the unirinary infection concern. The only time our (sadly deceased) basset/schnauzer mix peed in the house was when she had a massive infection.
posted by rtimmel at 12:27 PM on December 1, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks for all your help guys, the mystery was solved when my boyfriend came home. Ludo had pooped in the house the previous night after not being able to wake anyone up and in exactly the same place he later weed. We're putting it down to smell/instinct as he seems fine. I'm just relieved I got to deal with the second incident, not the first.
posted by Wantok at 2:10 PM on December 1, 2010


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