Hi guys. I've seen a troubling habit pop up and would love some feedback.
My two-year-old hound mutt is fully housebroken and regularly "holds it in" for up to 12 hours each workday--even when I get home from work, it's not like he's dying to go outside. He loves his crate and stays in it all day while I'm gone (I leave the crate door open). At night, though, he sleeps in his crate with the door closed.
The other day, I noticed him chewing on the blanket in his crate. I went in to investigate and found a pee stain where he was chewing. So I tossed the blanket in the washing machine, and replaced it with another blanket. The next day, the same thing happened--more pee. Since this was a new blanket, he had obviously done this within the past day. And during that day, he was only home alone for 5 hours. So he either did it during that 5-hour span or overnight (in which case it seems he would have whined/barked if he really had to go).
In neither case was it a large amount of pee, so I don't think it was a case of him not being able to hold his bladder anymore. If that were the case, it seems like he would have emptied his bladder and there would have been a lot more pee. Doesn't seem like he would stop mid-stream, so to speak.
Do you think he was marking the blanket for some reason? I can't imagine why, since neither blanket was new to him--for the replacement blanket, I just used another one that he usually sits on in another room. The only other answer I can think of is that he really had to go overnight, and for some reason didn't tell us.
There have been no big changes to his daily routine lately. The only new variable is anti-stress pills--he's a really anxious dog who gets spooked by minor noises, so I've been trying a homeopathic remedy. I suppose that could be the problem, but doesn't seem likely.
Does ths sound familiar to anyone?
My two-year-old hound mutt is fully housebroken and regularly "holds it in" for up to 12 hours each workday--even when I get home from work, it's not like he's dying to go outside. He loves his crate and stays in it all day while I'm gone (I leave the crate door open). At night, though, he sleeps in his crate with the door closed.
The other day, I noticed him chewing on the blanket in his crate. I went in to investigate and found a pee stain where he was chewing. So I tossed the blanket in the washing machine, and replaced it with another blanket. The next day, the same thing happened--more pee. Since this was a new blanket, he had obviously done this within the past day. And during that day, he was only home alone for 5 hours. So he either did it during that 5-hour span or overnight (in which case it seems he would have whined/barked if he really had to go).
In neither case was it a large amount of pee, so I don't think it was a case of him not being able to hold his bladder anymore. If that were the case, it seems like he would have emptied his bladder and there would have been a lot more pee. Doesn't seem like he would stop mid-stream, so to speak.
Do you think he was marking the blanket for some reason? I can't imagine why, since neither blanket was new to him--for the replacement blanket, I just used another one that he usually sits on in another room. The only other answer I can think of is that he really had to go overnight, and for some reason didn't tell us.
There have been no big changes to his daily routine lately. The only new variable is anti-stress pills--he's a really anxious dog who gets spooked by minor noises, so I've been trying a homeopathic remedy. I suppose that could be the problem, but doesn't seem likely.
Does ths sound familiar to anyone?
