He potties on my dang bed!!!

ORIGINAL: dusta_didda_bubba
\also,  i understand eliminating in the same spot repeatedly, but we have a brand new bed.  fresh from the factory and he is the only one who has ever pottied in it.  but its in different places on the bed.  my initial thought was marking but then i thought maybe he was too young?? i guess not though.  hes 10 or 11 months old.  i just got him about 2 months ago and he was "housetrained" but they said too that he was used to being put in the bathroom while they were out. (and he opened my cabinets and pushed everything onto the floor so he had a place to lie down AND he chewed up the door jamb)  Maybe the people were freakin liars huh? i dont know what to think   arrrgghhh

 
Ohhhhh... you didn't mention that he's a new addition in your first post. That's probably the most important detail. He may have been housetrained in his old home but he's not housetrained in yours - this is very, very common for dogs who are rehomed. They don't necessarily understand that just because they couldn't potty in House A, they also can't potty in House B. Start over with Housetraining 101 as if he doesn't know a thing about housetraining. Hopefully since he was housetrained before he'll catch on fairly quickly. Also, 10 or 11 months old is old enough to start marking - he's an adolescent - this would be a good time to get him neutered.

Hi I have a question when ever we go out my Lab(Lucky) decides he wants to go to the bathroom everywhere,we have tryed disciplining  him,using Urine Begone,we let him out before we go for a long time & he still does it.Any help out there.

Madi,

Sorry to hear about your lab "going everywhere" when you are out.  That sounds like a really awful problem.  First is to not allow him "everywhere."  If he is crate trained, he needs to be in his crate while you are out.  If he is not crate trained, he needs to be in a small, secure area where he has access to his bed, water, some toys and if you feel it's necessary, some newspapers in a corner of the area. 

It may be he is exhibiting this behavior because of separation anxiety, he's nervous and doesn't know what to do with himself when you are not there.  Make sure to not make a big deal about going out, but have a routine that is predictable.  Give him lots of things to do in your absence, like stuffed Kongs and such.  Every time you go out, do the same thing--Calmly tell him "I'll be back," lead him to the area where you will confine him, give him a treat and his toys and kong, lock him in and leave.  Likewise, when you return, do not make a big deal of it, walk in and say hi and walk away for a minute before you go back to his area and free him.  He needs to learn that your comings and goings aren't something to be afraid of.  And, clean up every accident spot he's had with a good enzymatic cleanser, Petastic or such. 

When you say you discipline, what do you mean?  Disciplining a dog for an accident in the house is a trick that never works, in my opinion.  The only way they learn not to do it is through positive reinforcement for their proper behavior. 

We discipline him by showing him the spot and telling him it's bad and sometimes it works because he runs to someone who he knows will help him not get in trouble,so I guess we are not as hard on him as we should be,it doesn't help that he was spoiled when we first got him but I am going to try the one room thing but it's going to be hard with a small house I guess the kitchen would be good, so thankyou again, and if their anyone else out there with any advise feel free to send me a message.Thanks Angelamarie

Ummm, no, it really is NOT working.

Dogs live in the moment and they don't 'remember' even peeing on the spot that you are showing them.  All that's working is that you are showing your dog that you are an unreliable creature who is prone to scolding and yelling for no discernable reason...in his mind....so yeah, he's gonna run to whoever is NOT yelling at him.  Does that make any sense to you?
 
Buy yourself a black light and use that to find  all the spots where he has peed.  Then SATURATE those spots with Petastics....it's the very best enzyme destroyer you can find.  Spring for the gallon....you'll need it.  Should be about 25 bucks for a gallon and the quarts are generally around $10.  When I say saturate, I do mean SATURATE.  Take a little piece of carpet or even a rug that isn't backed.  Pour some water through it and then flip it over in a few minutes  and see just how far that water has spread out....that's why you really need to SATURATE the spots.

I ask for advice not to be yelled at, I am new to this forum and I don't appriciate saying I'm wrong for yelling at my dog,first off when he's in trouble he understands like a child when they get punished,they know they were wrong but do it again thats why I'm asking for different methods of fixing the problem,so don't come off at me like that. Oh by the way THANK YOU FOR YOUR ADVICE

ORIGINAL: madi1012

II don't appriciate saying I'm wrong for yelling at my dog,first off when he's in trouble he understands like a child when they get punished,they know they were wrong but do it again thats why I'm asking for different methods of fixing the problem

But you are wrong for yelling at your dog. You're asking for advice and people are trying to give it to you, yelling doesn't accomplish anything. They arent' children and they do not understand like children. He doesn't know he was wrong, all he knows is that he's being yelled at. I don't have anything else to add to the great advice that's already been given.

I'm not sure how many ways there are to tell you that what you are doing is not helping the problem.  Unless you catch your dog right in the act, he has NO IDEA what you are scolding him about.  Yes, he likely acts contrite, but he's acting contrite to pacify you, not because he knows why you are yelling at him.
 
Dogs don't speak English.  They dont understand a heck of a lot of it ether.  So basically, think about you being in another country and having someone be nice most of the time, then suddenly letting out a stream of unpleasant sounding words in a language you don't understand.  You have NO idea what it is that you've done to displease this person so you just do your best to act contrite and not make them even madder.  THATS where your dog is coming from.
 
I'm sorry that you took my suggestions as YELLING at you.  I was genuinely trying to offer some helpful suggestions.  I live with six german shepherds and haven't had a potty accident since the youngest were about 5 months old...........

I didn't say I didn't appriciate the advice I just don't like being made out to be a bad dog owner by YELLING at my lucky,and they are like children you tell a child to stop they stop sometimes,so does he, I guess what I'm trying to say is my two are family like children we don't think of them as just dogs

I don't recall saying, or implying that you are a bad owner.  I offered you sound advice based on what has worked for me for very many years.  My dogs are my second family as well, but they are not just furry, four footed humans and if I were to think of them that way I would be doing them a disservice by not honoring who and what they are.

Just a word here...in my humble experience, I've found that the old ways of scolding, yelling, spanking, swatting with a newspaper, or rubbing a dog's nose in it's mess are completely ineffective, and they end up teaching the dog to fear you, the disciplinarian.  Your dog is a scent hound.  His nose is more sensitive to odors than you could even begin to imagine.  Follow the advice from Glenda, this dog is thinking "hey it smells like pee here, I should probably pee here again."
 
Just my 2 cents.