[bkarnes]

I have a 4 year-old lab/springer spaniel female dog who has developed an unusual issue.

In the summer we were staying at my parents place for the weekend. When I went to go to bed in the usual room we sleep in, I found a big wet spot in the middle of the bed. I patted it with a kleenex and realized that my dog, Echo, had peed on the bed.

Then, in about October we were back at our house when I walked into the spare room where we have a futon (which was in the bed position at the time) and noticed that Echo had once again peed on the futon.

Finally, last night we went to bed and I noticed that she peed in the middle of our bed.

This is very unusual to me. Echo has never peed on furniture before these incidents, even when house breaking and has never had any other accidents in the house. She always lets us know when she needs to go out. Also, every time these incidents have occurred, we have been home the whole day.

I really don't understand what this could be as if it were a medical issue or a dominance issue I would think that the incidents would occur more often. While Echo does suffer from slight separation anxiety (gets upset when we leave, tries to come with us, spills her food), these incidents only seem to happen while we're home.

[Wondergirl]

Has your dog been checked for a urinary tract infection (UTI)? Could she have been sleeping on the bed or futon and wet it while asleep?

Labman isn't around right now, but he will probably be able to give you some possibilities and suggestions on what to do. Meanwhile, check the Dogs board or the blue links at the bottom of this page to find other threads like yours plus some of his stickies.

Best wishes! (I have a cat who is suddenly using the bathtub as his litter box, so I feel your pain a bit. A bathtub is easier to clean though than a bed.)

[dogpoundbrenda]

I would definitely have some blood work done on her and a urine analysis,could be UTI could be something else.. so if possible get her in for a check-up... ASAP..

[RubyPitbull]

It is always good to start with a medical check whenever our animals are exhibiting behaviors out of the norm. You need to rule that out first before you get into behavior issues. However, I will say that my gut instinct tells me that due to it's infrequency, you are dealing with an anxiety or dominance issue that only shows up when something she views as part of her regular comfortable routine gets changed. If she exhibits low separation anxiety every time you leave the house, there is room for this issue to occur when something happens that causes her distress. You may think this change in routine is minor but to your dog it is major enough to cause this behavior. Your parents home is easy to understand. She was in a different environment, her regular routine was disrupted and the urination occurred.

Get a vet check first as suggested. If nothing shows up, you are going to have to think very hard about what occurred or didn't occur, outside of her normal routine, on those days that your dog decided to urinate on the beds in your home. Then we can take it from there.

[carolbcac]

Just another thought... if the vet is able to rule out a UTI or other medical cause, ask about the possibility of a "leaky bladder". Some female animals (and humans) develop it with age, and it seems to be more common in spayed females. There are medications available that may help. If this only happens when you are home, she may be in a deeper sleep and more relaxed.