Peeing on furniture

I've made a new topic following on from Hayley's Shouting at Dog Pooing topic.

Hayley wrote:Peeing on furniture is not acceptable cause it is usually territorial not relief

I find this comment very pertinent. Has anyone any ideas about how to stop territorial peeing in the house, particularly when he is never, ever caught doing it?

Where's he doing it, Lynda?

Are you sure it's territorial? Is it on furniture? Or is it up against furniture, as if he's lifted his leg?

Bumpety bump!

Thank you so much to coming back to me on this, Caryll and Eleanor. It was a bit embarrassing for me to post it, but I've only had bitches before and Kuchar is my first dog (neutered 3 or 4 months ago).

No, Eleanor - I'm not sure it's territorial, the only other explanation is that's he's a lazy git!

I must explain that we live in a 3 storey house, and the living areas are on the 1st and 2nd floors. Kuchar has free access to the back garden during the day, where I know he knows is the place to do the necessary, and he has always been praised for doing so when I see him doing it.

However, he will often relieve himself in the ground floor hall or utility room, even though the door to the garden is open! Worse still, he will pee up against chair legs and sofa flounces in the 1st floor living room - it really shows on the pale mushroom carpet I had fitted before Kuchar came along  . Worst of all is he will pee on my bed and my son's bed, and poo on the bed in the spare bedroom. The pooing on the spare bed only happens in the night I'm sure, when the back door to the garden is shut, and I feel inclined to believe that the lifting of the leg against the furniture in the living room happens in the dead of night also. I wouldn't mind so much if he went to the ground floor and relieved himself on the lino floor of the utility room. My son and I are between us in the house 24/7, and neither of us has ever caught him at it!  

I take it you're cleaning the areas witha non amonia cleaner? Did this start after he was neutered, or was it happening before?

I'd go back to basics, to be honest. But you might need to watch him like a hawk during the day to make sure he doesn't get tempted to go inside.

Have you thought about getting a large crate for night time, just unti he's leaned his manners again?

Ah thank you Caryll - aren't you quick! 

Yes the areas are cleaned with a Vax washer loaded with whatever Vax solution I am currently trying (including the Pet one!).

And no, it didn't start when he was neutered - he's always been a careless little begger. We did all the puppy training - paper training, then moving the paper further and further by degrees (needed a bit of leap down the stairs to the ground floor) but then by degrees towards the garden door and thence outside. There were accidents, but no scolding, praise when he got it right, and I'm sure he knows where he should go and he often does, to be fair to him.

I got him a crate in March and made it so comfy I'd happily sleep in it myself. He goes in it very occasionally (the door is always open) but won't sleep in it and even less be shut in it - not an option for Kuchar!

I've thought about back to basics, and when he runs downstairs during the day I am resolving that instead of trusting him I will follow him and make sure he goes into the garden. Ditto if he runs upstairs to the bedrooms, I will follow him to check what he's up to.

Before I go to bed, the last thing I do is put him outside to do whatever he needs to do, and I would have thought that at 20 months old this should be enough to see him through without discomfort until the morning. Obviously water is available to him 24/7, but do you think it would help the situation if he was fed his main meal in the morning rather than the evening?

I only asked about the neutering to get an idea of when it started - I didn't actually think it would be that.

Feeding early might help in as much as his bowels won't be full. I don't like restricting water, as if he's thirsty he has to drink!

Personally, I'd ban him from the bedrooms, just shut the doors. Dempsey is allowed full run of the house, except the bedrooms!

I take it he doesn't have any health issues, such as a urinary tract infection?

Sorry for delay in replying Caryll.

No I'm sure he doesn't have UTI - for one thing, he's very sneaky when he does his naughty deed!

Ah well, thanks for your help!

Hmmmm.

He's a problem, isn't he?

Honestly, I'd ban him from anywhere that you can't supervise. Dempsey was a real problem to houstrain & the only way we managed it was to basically follow him around! The bedroom doors & the bthroom door were all firmly shut, and someone followed him whenever he left the room!

Yes he can be a little get.

I think basically we made the mistake of when he was a tiny puppy a) not getting him crate-trained and b) letting him (no let's be fair, encouraging him) to sleep on our beds at night. Now he sleeps on my bed, then my son's bed and it's when he's roaming between our two bedrooms that he decides "I'll just have a quick wee downstairs" - I'm sure that's when it happens. Both my son and I sleep like the dead so are not aware of his comings and goings.

He doesn't do it every night which is one mercy!

Restriction, I think, is the key here. Don't give him the opportunity!

Thanks Caryll for sticking with me on this.