Dog Urinating

Welcome to the world of cocker spaniels. They are habitual pee'ers. I had one when I was young. She pee'd everytime a man came around, whenever she was excited, when the doorbell rang, when we weren't home, when we were home. My mom now has another cocker that does the same thing. She's 3 and it's constant. She crates when she's gone, at night, and also when she's busy around the house and not watching the dog. Sorry if that's disappointing. :o)

I agree with checking to make sure the UTI is gone for sure. I've heard that cocker spaniels are nervous piddlers- but at the same time, he is still pretty young and I wouldn't be concerned yet. There is this website that explains the behavior development of puppies-http://www.petcaretips.net/stages-puppy-development.html. Your puppy might be going through the phase where he tests boundaries and dominence in the household. So I'd say, be firm and consistent in your discipline. Other ideas:
Restrict where he is allowed in the house, for example, only to one room for a couple days. If he doesn't pee, allow him into 2 rooms for a couple days. If he doesn't pee, allow 3 rooms, etc. (or however it is easiest to block off sections of your house). If he does pee, go back a step and restrict the space he's allowed in, if he doesn't pee, give him more space.

Another training tool I've had great success with is a spray called "Bitter Apple"- you can buy it in the pet store and it's primary purpose is to get dogs not to chew on something- BUT- I've found it is a great tool for learning other things. So, for example, if he pees on the floor- spray a squirt of bitter apple directly into his mouth (my vet told me to do this) and then once you clean up the pee, spray the bitter apple where he peed (test it out somewhere inconspicuous first to make sure it doesn't hurt your carpet- it never hurt anything I put it on but you know, be on the safe side). I don't know what that bitter apple is made of but my dog got to the point where no matter what my dog did wrong, all I had to do was show him the bottle of bitter apple and he would run away or stop doing whatever it was he was doing wrong. So that was a nice added benefit. It was a nice way to train him around company too because once he got to the point he didn't even like to see the bottle; when company came over, all I had to do was keep that bottle handy and if he jumped up on the guests, I showed the bottle and he stopped. Likewise if he started begging at the dinner table, showed him the bottle- he stopped.
Good Luck!

H.,

He is still a puppy! Don't forget that! I have raised a few dogs and am now the proud (frustrated) owner of a little Patterdale Terrier 9 month old.

A couple things you might think about are...consistency, consistency, consistency. Even if he is ringing the bell occasionally, you should be consistent on when you let him out to potty. When you let him out make sure you reinfoce the behavior with the bell.

Also, Cocker Spaniels are such family dogs that you could even try another training method (if you can commit to it). Get yourself a thin, long leash and keep him tethered to yourself or your husband while you are home. This can reinforce the puppy letting you know when he needs to go out. It can also help build a bond with your dog where he will always pay attention to you on or off leash.

Good luck and enjoy the puppy!!

- S.

Get him rechecked on the UTI but you are asking too much for a 15 week puppy at this point. As with children, dogs learn at different rates. 5 months is usually the beginning of "proficiently potty trained" for dogs and if you have had UTI's it may be longer because of the accidents outweighing the repetition of going consistently outside.
Here is a good cocker spanial related site for info-http://www.zimfamilycockers.com/potty.html
Good luck!
C.

I don't know if this will help, but we are the proud owners of an almost 7 year old Springer Spaniel and we had so much trouble with her bladder problems. Here's what we learned back when she was a puppy: spaniels have small, immature bladders for the first couple years. Most of the time it's something they can't help, they just can't hold it. That was the case with ours, and time was the only thing that worked.

Hi,
I've heard that Cocker Spaniels are famous for peeing when excited or nervous. I've never had this breed myself but several of my friends have & I wouldn't even want to pet their dogs because as soon as I got near, the dogs would start to pee. Not a full out stream of urine but just enough to let me know they were happy.

Do you have a place inside your house where he can pee? When we were training our puppy we bought special puppy training pads that we laid on the floor. The pads were suppose to have an odor that only a dog can smell so they know that's where they pee. Slowly we moved it closer to the door & eventually he knew to sit by the door when he needed to go out. I don't know if that helps since you said sometimes your dog rings a bell. He might be more advanced than ours was.

Good luck!
T.

Hi,
get him spaded.. It will help alot.... Also after a nap run him out.. At night i would put him in his crate..this way you know he doesnt urinate on the floor.. H. this is helpful.. J.

H.,

I have a cocker, and he went through the same stage. Definitely take him back to make sure the UTI is gone, but the Vet told me that they really can't hold it until they are about 6 months old. Try to be patient until then. My, now 3 years old, cocker will still pee in the house from time to time if we are home and no one is paying attention to him.

On another note make sure you keep him around alot of people especially around 9 months old. My cocker is very aggresive with strangers because I kept him kind of sheltered when he was a puppy. Not on purpose, it just happened that way. Good luck. They are very lovable dogs!!

Cocker Spaniels are known for peeing in the house. Ours is 6 years old and still pees in the house sometimes. Cockers are really emotional/moody dogs. If they don't feel that they are getting enough attention they will let you know!! Ours, unfortunately, will only pee on the carpet, not linolium. She gets kenneled if she pees. But I have found the best two preventative measures are: 1) cuddle time!! Let her know that she is loved! and 2) going out with her to pee. If I go out and say "go potty" she loves to show off!! She will still go out by herself, but esp. before we leave, I go out with her and watch her pee. At night and before we leave for a long time I will give her a treat after she pees. Just a little piece of cheese or bacon (yum yum) but not a lot so she has to poop. If she is really mad at us she will poop in the house. Just like a kid, she acts up the most when she needs "loving" the most. H. that helps.
Also, ours rarely pees in the house now!!!! Maybe three times this year.
Also, my cocker never had a UTI, ever. For us, checking that was a waste of money every time.
I wouldn't trade our cocker for anything, even if she does pee sometimes in the house.

Cocker Spaniels are Nervous Piddlers. They just don't have that great of bladder control, esp. when they are young. You can try a diaper for him. Take a cloth head band (like the winter ear muff kind without the muffs) and a disposable nursing pad put the headband around his middle and position the nursing pad over his peep using the headband to keep it in place.

First off, I'd take him back to the vet to be sure the UTI is gone. Then, talk to the Dr. about what to do.

If he is only 15 weeks old you might be asking too much of him. It takes time to train a puppy. Keep him crated whenever you are not watching him one-on-one! Keep him on a leash attatched to you so you know where he is and what he is doing at ALL times. At this age they should have very little freedom. You should also take him out after he eats, drinks, or wakes (almost every half hour while he is awake). When he has an accident you'll know right away because he's always by you! But when he does say "NO"--whipe it up with a paper towel and take it outside where you want him to go and say your command. Do this EVERY time. If you are consistant this should only take a few weeks!

Buy a book about training a puppy.

Good luck, and enjoy him:)

Two suggestions. If he is not fixed, get him fixed. He could be just marking spots. If he is, I would suggest taking him to school. We took our dog to K-9 University in Moline, IL and OMG what a differnece it made! I've never seen a more well behaved trained dog in my entire life since that class! Well worth the investment. Good luck! K.

Be Patient. He is learning. 6 months is the best time to train, and he is getting there.

I had a golden retreiver puppy that peed on the floor when we frist got him. I was told by a friend to rub his nose in it when he peed. I only had to do it once and he never peed in the house again.

H., I don't believe this is behavioral though if you don't solve the problem it could be later. Definitely get him checked out in regards to the UTI. Just in case...If he does have another. Then I would suggest asking the doctor to run a blood test on him to make sure he doesn't have kidney disease. I have an 8th month old miniture dacshund. She on occasion will have a slip up and usually it is my fault. I didn't realize until later that she had been trying to get my attention... I didn't let my pup have run of the house until I was pretty sure she was potty trained. I kept her in the crate unless I was going to be with her. It was a good 6 months before she was trained. I was beginning to think she was retarded :) until the vet said some dogs take the entire first year to potty train. I'd go back to crating him. Only let him out after he has gone potty and you are going to be with him. Don't let him have his freedom until he quits peeing in the house. Also, he is getting around the age where you can have him neutered. I'd get it done and talk to the vet about him but really I think if you just go back to the crate method and be consistant. I know it is hard but if you stick with it I really believe he'll get it. He's still only 4 months old. Just a baby. Good Luck!