[Maureen Lea]

Can anyone tell me why my healthy 2yr old Boxer dog will wet on my carpet shortly after going to the garden.
Charlie sleeps in our bedroom and will not urinate in there but having gone into the garden after midnight he will wake us at 7am, go into the garden again to relieve himself. Instead of coming back up stairs he sleeps on the settee. I come down at about 9am to find that he has wet on the sitting room carpet, why is this, he cannot need to empty his bladder again after such a short space of time.
On the other hand he will go for ten or more hours without visiting the garden so I know he doesn't have a problem with his bladder.
It seems that if he is on his own even though we are upstairs he will wet and this doesn't happen all the time. We find he hates being alone in the day and always leave a door open so he can get to the garden but while we are away he will always take objects from the work surfaces although he doesn't destroy anything.
My husband and I are retired and spend most of the time with him, we are very confused as to why he is doing these things
Please help to shed some light for me
Thanks Maureen Lea

[labman]

You say he is healthy, but don't mention a vet visit. While it doesn't sound like a physical problem, it might be good to discuss it with the vet.

It doesn't sound quite like a lack of leadership either, but you could try obedience training. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

[Gernald]

Is he fixed?
It could be him marking his territory.
Has he done it consistently or just all of a sudden?
My sister has a terrier who goes on everything, and he's not fixed. The vet says he'll stop after he's snipped. But boy is it annoying.
Talk to your vet it could be a number of other things too, and you can never be too careful when it comes to your pets. :)

[labman]

Yeah, I forgot to mention neutering. It is no cure all, but a big help with many problems.