Okay, interesting problems that I'm looking for help with. My dog Ollie has taken to countersurfing lately while I'm gone. At first, it happened when there was food up there that he could smell, and he would (sometimes successfully) go after it. Lately he's been surfing even if there is no food (which I take to be him hunting for food where he found it last.) I have let Ollie run free in the house when I'm gone pretty much since the day I got him (adopted him at 2yo), and the recent countersurfing is the only problem we've encountered.
So, after his most recent countersurfing affair that involved knocking down a bunch of bowls and bottles, and generally leaving the kitchen looking like a disaster zone (no food to be had, mind you), I thought I should probably think about limiting his access while I'm gone. So, the next time I left the house, I put him in a guest bedroom. Dropped his bed and a stuffie that he likes in there with him. I was gone for 2 hours, and when I got home I found that he peed in the bedroom.
So, I'm looking for thoughts and advice on what to do now. I'm concerned about confining him in my bedroom (which we both sleep in) or in the family room because both of those have furniture / rugs, that I'd rather not have to deal with urine on. The living room and dining room in my house are open to the kitchen (which is where he likes to surf). So the only real option for confining him is one of the bedrooms, which he doesn't seem to like. What to do? Also, who has thoughts on why he peed in the bedroom? Was he nervous at not being confined before? Or nervous because he was confined in a room we pretty much never spend time in? Any thoughts appreciated.