older beagle/basset mix just started with mistakes

Hello,
I'm sure this topic has been covered many times, but I haven't read anything that seems too similar.
I have had my dog for about 5 years, saving him from a shelter and house training him in about a month.
He hasn't made any "mistakes" since then. We moved to a new place 2 years ago and he was very good about eliminating outside only. Recently, that behavior has changed. Now, almost daily, he pees right by the door and poops in the same spot. When I get home, I give him a firm, "Bad Boy. No." and send him to his "bad boy room" after showing him what I am upset about.
THis behavior has escalated. Yesterday, after mopping the floors for almost two hours, I went to take a shower. When I came out, he had pooped right in by the bathroom door (his spot). Today, I took him out at 11 am and he only urinated. My GF and I went to brunch and ran an errand. When we returned at 2 pm, he had urinated and defacated again.
What the heck is wrong with him? He knows better and the moment I get home he knows he's dead meat and acts submissive, ,tucking his tail between his legs.
The other day, I locked him in a small tiled room and when I got back from work, let him out. I went to get his leash, turned around to put it on him, and he was urinating in his spot.
I love Buster, but I can't take this behavior. If it doesn't stop, I'm going to have to give him up when I move into my new condo. Should I keep him in his crate all day? It seems mean because it limits his movement and his water intake. I don't feel right about keeping him cooped up all day while I'm at work.
And I refuse to get another dog to make my dog more comfortable while I am gone. I mean, I got a dog so I could have a dog, not so I could keep adding to my dog collection.
He is around 8 now.
I am desperate, PLEASE help!!!
Thanks in advance.

 

Hi, (Im assuming hes neutered)
Have you ruled out any health problems??
If you have then its something else thats suddenly triggered it off, dogs dont usually just start eliminating when theyve previously done well for a long time for no reason.
Any changes recently in the house? Friends dogs coming over for a visit, kids around, change in your schedule, even something like if he had to wait too long one time...had an accident, and suddenly he gets all this attention, doesnt always matter to them if its negative attention as long as its attention.
Could you let us know if a health problem is a possibility, has he been checked recently by a vet, its always best to rule that out first.
Oh and your right about not getting another dog, a lot of people seem to think that getting another dog when theres a problem already there will help the problem go away, more often than not it adds to it, your more likely to end up with twice as much eliminating going on as any new dog in will pick up the scent from the dog you have.

 

Thanks for posting a reply,
Yes, he is neutered ( a long time ago).
I haven't taken him to the vet, primarily because it only occurs when I am not home (at least it did until the other day). I did recently switch jobs, but the only change there was the hours I was gone, the length of time between me being home is the same, sometime less. I used to bartend all night, and be home most of the day, but now I'm corporate and I am gone all day and come home in the early evening.
I guess I'll take him to the vet and have him checked. He needs a shot or two anyway, so maybe a test will find an infection of some kind.
I always give him lots of attention when I get home anyway, so now it's just been negative.
Perhaps I should consider puppy pads?
I'm at my wits end here.
I guess I'll make a vet appointment.
Thanks,

 

Id get an appointment as soon as you can, let the vet know about the problem, he may suggest a urinalysis, stool sample and maybe bloodwork also, to be honest that would be pretty much the norm for his age, once a dog turns about 6 years old the vets (at least the ones Ive worked with)like to give them a good check up once a year.
I dont know if the puppy pads would work, until you can get him to a vet then maybe either crating him or put him in the room with the tiled floor if that gives him a bit more space for now, if it is a health problem your not going to be able to stop him going when he needs to.
Your change in hours, if it coincided with this starting though could also be the reason, dogs 'body's' get on a time schedule just like we do and he may have some adapting to do there. But I think see what the vet says first and keep us updated if you can....if its not a health issue then theres a few ways to go about taking care of this.

 

My dogs are 8 and 9 years old and I wouldn't call them "housebroken" either. They both have accidents in the house. The 8 year old has some separation issues--I think--and will wake up in the middle of the night. She has battled UTIs and is OK now, but will still wake up every night now that they don't sleep with me. My point here (sorry--I tend to ramble) is that maybe he has some separation anxiety since you've changed jobs. Or maybe the girlfriend--is she new to the picture? And remember that scolding him IS giving him attention. He doesn't understand why you are scolding him even if you show the mess to him. Any attention is attention--they don't understand the cussing but DO understand the body language and that's why he cowers. I am thinking about trying something called DAP (dog appeasing phermone) that you plug in and it is supossed to soothe them and be odorless to us. You might want to try that. And also, I routinely leave pee pee pads down at night--you may need to leave one down during the day. If you don't want to crate him, I would confine him to that tiled room. My dogs stay in my kitchen. It's not mean either! They like having their own space. Good luck and don't give up on him if you love him.

 

have you chanegd foods lately? When I switched foods on my old dog she started crapping all the time. The same thing happened with my dog I have now. he coul;dn't make it any time without having to go.

 

Definitely take him to the vet to rule out any possible medical or age-related incontinence issues, and try not to lose your cool. In fact, if he connects your being angry with his urine/feces, he may become reluctant to eliminate in your presence and start sneaking around behind your back (and/or even start to submissively urinate when he can see you're angry). If you catch him in the act, say "No," take him outside and praise him wildly. Senior dogs are wonderful; they just need a little more patience. Clean up accidents with a good enzymatic cleaner -- you've successfully housebroken him before, so you know the drill! Keep in mind that he's not doing this to spite you in any way. He can't tell you want he's thinking; it's just something that we humans need to figure out.

If it turns out to be separation anxiety, why not just put down a couple potty pads around the spot that he constantly uses? Considering that he's a creature of habit, that seems like the easiest and least stressful solution. If that works, great! Disposable pads are very economical, and there's even washable Pooch Pads if you want to be even more frugal. Rather than crating him for the whole day, you can gate off the kitchen (or buy an ex-pen) and leave him with water and potty pads. His kidneys need plenty of fresh water, so I wouldn't restrict access to water. Have you tried leaving the radio on for him so he'll have some "company" while you're away? He may need a bit of time to adjust to your new schedule, so don't give up on him. I'm sure that he'd much rather spend his day in your kitchen than be surrendered to a shelter or something like that.

Because Buster is an older dog, the vet will most likely have bloodwork done to rule out diseases like diabetes and kidney failure (both of these can cause excessive urination) in addition to the urinalysis. You may also want to get him tested for hypothyroidism while you're there. And maybe you can ask your vet about signs of canine senility -- it does happen, and there are meds for it.

My dog also started urinating in the house about 2 months ago. We wondered if it was purely behavioral because happened when we were out of house. Still, we took him to the vet for a urinalysis (he'd recently had a senior blood panel done - CBC, Chem Panel, Thyroid) and ruled out a UTI. Turns out that because his bladder control is just not as good as it used to be when he was younger, he tended to have accidents in his sleep/while resting when his bladder was full. Now, I let him out for a potty break around 2 PM and right before I sleep, and there have been no more accidents.

 

wow. Lots of friendly responses. Thank you to all!
I will schedule an appointment tomorrow AM so that I can get him in to see a vet. He hasn't been in a while anyway, so it'd be good to have a nice checkup.
Unfortunately, gating him into the kitchen wont work. I tried that for a while in my last place, trying to keep him on the first floor of a duplexed apartment. The funniest thing I have ever seen was catching him climbing up the gates on the stairs. 8 feet of gates and he was 5 feet up with his paws in the holes of the gate. VEry funny.
I don't think that keeping him in the smaller room is cruel, it does give him some space. I always leave a radio or tv on. I just don't think keeping a dog this size in a smallish crate would be a very good idea. For a few hours, it's no problem, but all day while I work would be uncomfortable for him and would keep him away from his food and water.
I'm trying to give him little treats every time he goes outside for his elimination. Positive reenforcement never hurts.
I'll update more when I can.
Thanks again.
ANd I haven't changed his food in years, so I don't think that's it.

 

Sounds like you're on the right track. The vet may uncover a physical problem that will solve everything.

Do make sure you clean up anywhere he has gone with an enzymatic cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle.

If there is no physical problem besides advancing age, I would say keeping him confined in the small room is just fine. It's not cruel. It's the same idea as a crate - he may come to regard the little room as a cozy den.

Do NOT scold him when you get home. If you don't catch him in the act, you can't correct him for it. Just clean it up. When you are home, go through the basic potty training rules again - take him out often and praise/treat when he does a good job.

Please let us know how it's going! We may be able to give more suggestions as things progress.

 

I got home today to a smaller poop and huge puddle of urine.
I didn't say a word, he just went right into the bathroom while I cleaned up. I took him out and praised him/bribed him with treats.
I'm going to continue following the advice of the friendly folks here.
Thanks for the advice. His Vet appointment is saturday.
I'll update you guys.
Thanks!

 

Welcome to my world LOL.

I agree with what someone said that he may have had an accident only once and now keeps having them. He IS a hound dog and their sense of smell is incredible. I don't care what you clean it with, they can still pick up the smell. We might not, but they can. Good Luck and thanks for keeping us informed!