I know you've had this question before but I never saw the answer why. My 2 yr old mini pees on my bed every so often and I'm besides myself on how to break her of it. We live in Alaska and the summer is easy for her and she'll go outside but in winter I put paper down for her and she knows to go on it. When the weather allows she and my Kelpie go outside to do their business, but once in awhile she takes a notion to pee on my bed. Any answers why? We love her and she sleeps with us every night, but this peeing thing has got to stop.

We really can't say for sure why a dog does anything. The best explanation for urinating on the bed and other places in the houses is marking it in a challenge as part of pack position. 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 http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm Rule #13 is not letting the dog sleep in bed with you. Unless like you, you are having status problems, I see it as a matter of personal taste.

I don't think it is a good idea to leave a dog all day with no break. Coming home for lunch may be out of the question, but perhaps you could have a neighbor or a professional dog walker give them a break. If available, I think doggy day care is a great solution to what to do with the dog all day.