Need help - housebreaking reversed??

[Crash1207]

New to the forum and I need some help.

We currently have two well mannered 4 year old Pit Bull mixes. We adopted them 2 years ago and when we brought them home, we had a couple random urination accidents in the house but nothing too bad and they were few and far between.

Fast forward to the last 2-3 months and we have one of the dogs who has decided it is time for him to start peeing in the house regularly. We have a finished basement and at least 2 times a week I will go down there and find a new spot where he has gone. I clean it up as best I can and he hits it again.

I need some help and some advice on how to get him to stop peeing on the carpet down there. I'm already at the point where I think the carpet is beyond saving and needs to be ripped up and replaced with something but we can't really afford that. It's just the one dog. The other doesn't ever pee in the house. They both go outside into our fenced backyard at least 4-5 times a day and sometimes when the weather is nice they stay out and play for an hour at a time so I don't think that's it's the fact that they are not out enough. I honestly believe that he does his business down there in the middle of the night while we're all sleeping.

Please help me!

 

[Melissa_W]

There may be a better way, but I would restrict his access to the basement. Don't allow him to be down there unsupervised. Crate him at night, or just keep him in the bedroom with you. It would also be a good idea to start rewarding him when he pees outside. Also, make sure you use something like Nature's Miracle on the spots to get rid of the smell.

 

[animalcrackers]

Have you had him checked by a vet? It might be a medical problem.

 

[Crash1207]

No, we haven't had him checked for it but that's something we've discussed before.

 

[Crash1207]

or just keep him in the bedroom with you.

Hope that doesn't lead to urine in the bedroom. :yikes:

 

[casablanca1]

It's a habit, after a while, and you want to break the habit. No access to the basement unless you're standing over him (I assume he won't do it while a human is eyeballing him) and none at all at night. If the carpet's toast, get rid of it and use a ton of that enzyme liquid to try to eradicate every trace of his activities. AND THEN DON"T PUT DOWN MORE CARPET! I made that mistake and argh, it was stupid. Until the problem's nipped, don't get a new carpet.

Then start a very strict routine of eat/drink/out, with no liquids after X time at night. Just make sure to give them water first thing in the morning.

Curious - with some dogs, it's a territory marking thing. Does the misbehaving dog have any issues with his housemate going into the basement?

 

[Melissa_W]

Hope that doesn't lead to urine in the bedroom. :yikes:

There's always a crate, or you could confine him to a place with no carpet (like the kitchen). If he seems to be peeing a lot more than usual, maybe you should have him checked out at the vet.

 

[Crash1207]

Well, we kept both of them in the bedroom last night with the door closed and I heard him get up in the night and rustle around like he wanted to leave but he went back and laid down and was fine. Needless to say, he was primed and ready to go this morning as soon as I opened the door.