Peeing, possible infection or just a habit??

Has she been spayed?  If not she might be coming into heat and be "spreading her scent".

Has she been spayed? If not she might be coming into heat and be "spreading her scent".

 
Glenmar, that's my other problem, I have to call the shelter I got her from because they said she was spayed, but...there is no scar where the incision would've been, nothing at all! The vet said watch and wait to see if she goes into heat and we will spay her after her heat is over. Let's just say, I didn't care to much for that vet (new vet since I moved far from my old vet)

Oh boy.  You need to watch her like a hawk then, just in case.  I'd run a clean urine sample into the vet just in case this is a UTI...but I'm concerned that she might be close to heat and that can get really unpleasant......males can and will come from miles around......

ORIGINAL: glenmar

Has she been spayed?  If not she might be coming into heat and be "spreading her scent".

 
I also think thats the problem []

Aww man! on the animal shelter's website it states that the adoption fee includes a spay/neuter, so if she's not should I make them pay for it? I kinda feel bad for making them pay as I know alot of shelters that don't have money to dish out like that, but then on the other hand, I did adopt her w/ the knowledge that she was spayed.

I guess I should watch her really closely at the dog park then from now on until I get her spayed!

I hate to tell you this, but if there is ANY chance that she is intact and going into season, you should NOT TAKE HER TO THE DOG PARK.  You've NO idea how persistent and sometimes downright MEAN an intact male can be when he's trying to "score".
 
Most shelters work with a vet who does low cost spay/nueters for them as well as for clients who qualify through the shelter from the community.

Is she chipped?  Around here it would be SUPER common for a dog that age to have been on it's second home and have been spayed at 2 months.  IN fact, here in FL it is the law that you can't place a dog over 8 weeks old unless it's spayed/neutered!  You have to be planning to show or breed to not alter.  Now it's a law that gets ignored BUT it is the law.  So if pups go thru the SPCA here they're done at 2 months AND chipped.  (because chipping is the only way to know because there is no scar).
 
So check to see if the dog is chipped first.  Would it be worth the cost of an x-ray to find out?? Just a thot.

So to find out if she's chipped I'd have to get an xray done?
I dont think she's chipped because the shelter didn't say she was but who knows, she's actually on her third home with us!! She went through 2 already as a pup..sad. I'm going to ask the shelter to provide proof of spay, then if they can't I'll have the vet do an x-ray cause there's no point in cutting her open again if she is in fact spayed! Oh and by the way, I just had her out w/ a lady who walks her male dog (he's neutered) and she kept trying to hump him! Is this a sign of un spayed female as well?

Sorry Glenmar, I'm actually clueless about un-spayed/un-neutered males and females, I didnt know male dogs can get so aggressive like that, ill stay away for sure! I don't want her to have puppies, or get hurt!

goodness, don't be sorry.  I'd actually worry more about YOU getting hurt than her, but an xray is a good idea to see if she is still intact.  I've seen dogs mate through fences, through crate doors, dig tunnels to get to a female in heat, CLIMB 6 foot privacy fences.....the urge to merge is VERY strong.

Let me get back to the initial post with this because if even ONE reputable shelter was involved in this gal's adoptions then I'd bet she IS spayed and she DOES have a UTI.  In fact, I'd bet odds are astronomically in favor of it because I'd bet she got bounced from at least one of those homes because she was tough to housetrain cos she's had the UTI a while.  (this is SOOO typical -- and probably one "owner" in between was probably pretty harsh about it so she learned to cope rather than anyone figuring out the sweet thing had a problem maybe???)
 
I didn't mean to be confusing -- no to check a chip most any shelter will have a 'reader' (and most vets do too - they aren't expensive).  They just wave it over their back til they find where the chip has located itself.
 
But they probably wouldn't make a big deal of it if it was someone else's chip, whether or not the shelter wanted to pay to change the information on the chip (details like that totally get lost in the translation) BUT someone would likely have checked for a chip when she came in and that may be how they knew to claim she was spayed.
 
PetSmarts vet clinic (Banfield) has their own brand of chip and no one else's can read theirs (their attempt at cornering the market and all it's done is make life tough) -- but you might run her by PetSmart and by a vet JUST to check the chip idea.
 
THEN you can think about an x-ray.  No, the x-ray was *just* to determine if she has a uterus.  That's all -- if she's chipped that will tell if she is *probably* (unless it was done later, but the owners didn't care enough to keep her much less chip her, but a lot of shelters who do early spay/neuter DO chip as a matter of course).
 
**In any event** get her to the vet.  Cos peeing every few feet is such a trademark of a urinary tract infection -- she's probably been trained harshly to never have an accident, so either she drinks very little (and in which case her urine likely will be dark, stinky and nasty) -- OR she drinks a whole LOT (in which case her urine is likely watery and clear). 
 
Some dogs get it figured out that if they drink tons it hurts less to pee.  (if you've ever had a UTI you'll know what I mean) and it's those dogs who tend to be hard to diagnose. 
 
Given that she's been re-homed numerous times, either it was done thru totally bad shelters or there's a big chance she's spayed.  And if she was unspayed and on the verse of estrus, then if she's marking THAT heavily, then I'd bet you would be up to your eyeballs in un-neutered males already.
 
Glenda's the puppy pro, so I'm not saying she's wrong at all and she'd see the signs of impending heat way before me. 
 
Me?  I'm just a "mature dog lover" from way back -- Callie don't do puppies *grin* cos I can't keep up with them.  But if I had a dollar for every female I've connected with who had been placed umpteen times *already* cos she had a UTI, then I'd probably be able to donate a sizeable amount to my local shelter.  *sigh*
 
Good luck -- I didn't mean to be confoooos-in.  Sorry!!

ORIGINAL: glenmar

I've seen dogs mate through fences, through crate doors, dig tunnels to get to a female in heat, CLIMB 6 foot privacy fences.....the urge to merge is VERY strong.

 
Weird, i have seen the same with humans []

Spayed female dogs will mark the same way a male will.  All of mine always have, leaving little calling cards on a walk.  It could easily just be that if she isn't showing any pain.  The age is about right for her to start.  Some of mine will also overmark every other dog in the household if they're the top dog. 

--Mia

Hey Callie,
She was housetrained when we got her, only one accident in our apartment since we've had her. I'm going to call the vet and see if they think I should bring her in, as well as calling the shelter to see if they can provide proof that she's been spayed. Also, last night, we had her out w/ our friends un neutered male and he was sniffing her alot and i thought at one point he was licking her you know what...and I told my fiance to watch cause I didnt want her to start humping if she wasn't spayed! He never did try to hump her though, I dunno!!!!!!!!

I hate to pay for yet another office visit at the vet, but if she does have a UTI, I want to get that cleared up so she's not in any pain anymore! She also drinks a ton of water!!

How do dogs get UTI's? Is it from holding it for a long time? Considering she came from 2 previous households where they were old old ladies, (one who ended up in a nursing home and another who hurt their knee falling down the steps and couldnt get around much) I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't let her out much and made her hold it for a long time during the day and night!

Females are quite capable of retaining urine with which to mark over other dogs' scent.  If your dog is squatting with no result, or the urine is scant, then, just for safety, I'd collect a urine sample and ask the vet to test it for a UTI.  I would bet that the shelter did spay if they said they did, but you should be entitled to a spay certificate, so do ask for one.