Maybe the dog just couldn't hold it any longer

Last year, I was sitting in a dog training class. One of my fellow human students told the instructor that her dog marks in the house. The response: "That's dominance. Use belly bands."


The instructor didn't ask how long the small dog was expected to hold her urine; didn't suggest a urinalysis to make sure there wasn't a medical problem, didn't suggest management (keeping an eye on the dog when inside)... Just straight to belly bands.

Sadly, I see this all the time on pet discussion forums. Someone will post that his/her dog urinated indoors; and there will be 15 responses ranging from belly bands to shoving the dogs face in the elimination to shock collars. But not one person asks : "How long is the dog required to hold it each day."

Then there are the people who think they know why a dog eliminated on a bed or by a door - "He's claiming the space." "He's being dominate." "She is doing it out of spite because you were gone so long." Well if you are gone so long, maybe she just couldn't hold it any longer.

There are sprays that are supposed to keep dogs away from certain areas. I even recently saw a post were someone suggested that pet parents need to make sure that the dog sees the human cleaning up the mess because that establishes dominance. Sigh

The next time your dog has an accident in the house, consider it's just that - an accident that occurred because of one or more of the following reasons:
1. The dog was not properly potty trained
2. The dog was not properly managed
3. The dog has a medical issue
4. The dog simply couldn't hold it
     Think about it. How long do you hold your elimination? What if you couldn't hold it for 10 hours so someone came along and strapped your penis to your belly?

Also see
Fundamental Attribution Error
Poop Clean Pee
Potty Training 101
It's Only Natural