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From Rob in Colorado: Our 2 year old lab has been housebroken for a long time and has recently started peeing on the carpet. It started around the time she injured her leg. She now has had knee surgery and the issue is still occurring. Also, our 4 year old German Short Hair Pointer is now peeing on the same carpet even though she has been house broken for years.

Well Rob, this is a bit of a dilemma. This behavior that started when your Lab was injured likely first occurred when she had a hard time getting to the door or getting outside when she needed to because of the pain in her leg. This one accident was probably just an accident, but now both dogs are marking the area in a bit of a territorial peeing war it sounds like to me.

One thing to consider is that your Lab had or has a urinary tract (bladder) infection. When a dog has an illness or an injury, they are more likely to develop other medical problems as a result of their immune system being down and a change in their patterns (injured leg means getting out less, holding the urine longer, etc). This might be a good first step, having your veterinarian check her urine to make sure it is ok. If she does not have an infection, than you need to intervene to stop this behavior.

You will need to retrain both dogs to choose only the outdoors for their bathroom. Keep both dogs crated or confined when you are gone or when they are not being closely watched. Keep them on a leash if necessary so that they can’t sneak off to their new favorite “peeing” spot. Walk them outside on a leash and when they urinate outside, give them a treat and an abundance of praise. This will remind them both that going to the bathroom outside is a pretty great thing because treats are associated with it.

If both dogs are using the same carpet and it is in a room that can be closed off, simply close the room off so they can’t enter. If the room can’t be closed, you might consider building a barricade so that they can’t get to their new favorite bathroom spot. If it is in one area, turn a Rubbermaid container upside down over the spot so that they can’t get to it. Or build a barrier with furniture or boxes (temporary of course). Once you have completed the “retraining”, then you can allow them access to the room (when supervised) and if they do not try and pee, then you can likely allow them freedom to roam.

If these measures don’t work, you might consider contacting a veterinary behaviorist for a consultation.

I recently read an interesting series of articles about canine genetics. There is a new test available for dogs to determine their genetic makeup. Its primary purpose is to identify the heritage of mixed breed dogs. Why would we care about the breeds that were mixed together to make our adorable Heinz 57 variety dog? Well, we might want to understand which diseases this mixed breed is most likely to suffer from. There are some diseases, such as certain types of cancer, that individual breeds are more likely to suffer from than other breeds. Knowing what breeds make up an individual dog will help veterinarians and pet owners choose the most appropriate screening exams in order to detect problems early, usually resulting in more successful treatment.

Another purpose behind the test is so that pet owners can identify the different personalities that might be at work in their mixed breed dog. This may not be important to most pet owners, but some pet owners that are interested in why their dog is behaving a certain way might be willing to spend the money to see if there is a gene-based answer.

As scientists work hard to unlock the information contained in the genetic code of all species, they are creating some interesting and potentially useful technologies.

What do you think? Would you have your dog tested to determine his heritage?