Now not only is Sophie peeing her own bed but the people beds too. A few weeks ago she got my side while she was locked out of my daughter's room. I was changing the rat cage and obviously didn't want her picking off rats. THAT I could understand and I should have had our door secured against spiteful pups. But tonight I was tucking in that same kid and there's dog pee on comforter through to mattress. Sophie is not incontinent or in poor health, she's just a nervous basket case. I guess the only answer is that the people bedrooms have to be off limits until everybody is ready for sleep. She has wet her own bed off and on for several years...I don't know, are there meds that might help her? She's been neurotic since day one. We adopted her as an adult and she made progress those first few years-learned to walk on leash, worked through some separation issues, could even run off leash at the nature reserve. Then last year she killed a kitten at home and attacked a puppy while on leash. She remains pretty stable with Callie except stealing treats. She is guessed to be between 8-12 years old now...I dunno, suggestions in general?
I had a GSD bitch that would wee while she was lying down, vets couldn't find out why she did this as she was okay medically & was fine when sitting/standing, just use to wee only when lying down. I changed her bed to a babies cot mattress in the end as it was easier to just wipe clean, once she walked away.
That might be an idea and then just make sure the human bedrooms doors are shut unless we're supervising.
Maybe she's unhappy about something. I twice gave Vanessa away and both times she would pee and poo on beds and furniture yet has never done that at home. She just turned 16 and has still never done it here. When my best friend, John, moved in with me over 3 years ago she pooed in front of his bedroom door every night for a few months until she excepted him. No bad behavior in all these years unless she's unhappy. I dread to think what she would do if there was a man in my bed other than my husband who died in 2002.
Sometimes if they can smell scent, they re-mark - so you need to give anything soiled a really good clean. If she's feeling threatened she might start marking territory too - my cat does this if we got builders in or other works being carried out.
The unhappiness aspect is a problem...she's jealous of anyone human, feline, canine, the rats...the day we adopted her she bonded as my shadow. She whines outside the door when I use the bathroom for pity's sake. We have a special place in our hearts for our problem kids, but the pee is nasty. She got our bed again the other night too.
Like Azz says remarking can be a problem. If you add a cup of white vinegar to the laundry it neutralizes the ammonia in the urine. Also spray it full strength on furniture and mattresses. Works great for cat urine and spray, too. When I first rescued Pearl she was a neurotic mess. I kept her with me 24/7. On the very rare occasion she couldn't be with me I put her in a crate until I got home. She seemed to like the security of the crate. Mostly I followed her lead. It took a very long time for her to become the almost normal dog she is today.
Just found out Wednesday that Pikey has had something in his past about thunderstorms. Late in the day, he was outside and we had a not very loud thunderclap. I heard him whining and went out to see what was wrong. About that time, we had a fairly muffled roar of thunder and he whined louder, started panting rapidly and came up to me for petting. This lasted about 15 minutes and, after eating his supper, he settled down. (About a month ago, I awoke in the middle of the night to a very loud crash of thunder and Pikey was there shaking and panting. I thought it might have been the thunder and now I know.)
Oy forget thunder and lightning. She flips out when it rains even without thunder. There's even a window in our bedroom she avoids. A few years back there was the beginning of a storm and hubby adjusted the window and shade. Just then there was the glow of lightning in the distance. She leaped off the bed in terror. And ever since she will not go near that particular window.
I rescued Pearl a few years ago from a very bad place and even now she will still have a flashback to her previous life. It's scary and I have no idea what the trigger is. It could be that something is triggering a bad memory. As for thunder. Many dogs can feel the pressure changing before a storm and it makes them shake and whine. I had a lot of that in 1992 during Hurricane Andrew.
Interesting though how it can depend on the dog as well. Callie is all but bomb proof. Thunder and lightning n' he sleeps soundly right through. The vacuum monster...now when he first met it he challenged it. Now that he's taught it who's in charge he will lay right beside it and take a snooze while I clean. Sophie is being brave if she's on the same floor as a plugged in sweeper. With storms though I feel bad for him. He and Sophie will be playing together and suddenly thunder and she's under the desk trembling. He'll be standing there looking at her totally confused "What? I thought we were playing, what's wrong?"...Her whine says " Don't you hear that? Oooooh we're all gonna die"
In the 5 months Georgina spent being partially sighted she panicked at the slightest sound ... even an owl hooting in the night was enough to wake her up and set her off and I spent many nights awake with her wishing the darned bird would shut up! The strange thing though was that she would sleep soundly through a thunderstorm and the sound of the hunters gun shots. I can only think it was because she'd grown accustomed to the noises prior to her becoming partially sighted???
I had a Boxer I would have to sedate during thunderstorms. Very stressed out by them. I've seen other dogs have a time with them too. Some are manageable and others are extreme.
I know you mentioned she doesn't have health problems and has urinated inappropriately on and off in the past, but particularly given her age, have you taken her to the vet recently just to rule out the possibility that she hasn't developed any new issues that are causing her to do this more frequently? Barring any health problems, I was wondering if you are finding puddles or just small amounts of urine. Puddles could mean she just really had to go and you may need to rehousebreak her (perhaps she was never entirely housebroken given her ongoing history of oopsies) Small amounts may be more indicative of an anxiety or even marking problem. Confinement when unsupervised and tethering (ie retractable leash to your belt) while you are home so you can redirect her and take her outside if she's sniffing around can help you break the habit. Tethering might help identify triggers too, since you'll be best buds for awhile! Of course you are going to need to get rid of the smell "reminder" as others suggested too, no matter what the root cause of her problem is. Good luck
That is a good point about rechecking for health issues. I don't know what she's been checked for but their are health issues that can cause the wetting issue but they won't pee all the time. Even if it's on & off it could be health related. Hypothyroidism & diabetes can be causes but there are other issues as well. Killing a cat just sounds like typical prey driven dog behave that can happen even if they ate generally fine with small ferries but changes in temperament including uncharacteristic aggression can also be a sign of hypothyroidism as can weight gain or inability to lose weight. These can be signs that people don't often put together as their dog having a health issue. They can be signs of other issues too, your vet will be able to assist you. She could very well be simply incontinent too, just as with health issues it doesn't mean she will pee all the time either. If she is spayed from research I read spayed females have the highest rate of developing incontinence. There are meds for it just like human incontinence.
Yes, if she is waking up from a nap wet & clueless and/or this is happening while she is relaxed (I see you did mention it's on beds) that is a big indication it could be spay incontinence! The vet will still need to rule out diabetes or anything more serious, but it's very common and treatable with meds. I'm assuming she's spayed, but unspayed females can get become incontinent too as they age and hormones decline.
