HELP!! My Cairn Terrier pees on the bed!

[Sketch's Mom]

It's making me crazy! He'll be just fine, sweet and moderately well-behaved, and then suddenly he'll pee on the bed -- always on my side which is close to the door. He'll even scratch where he peed, as if he was out in the garden -- he KNOWS it's bad because right after he does it he'll come running and hide behind me. I just can't understand it -- he is almost a year old so he's plenty old enough to know better. And why on the bed, of all places?? And he's not peeing a little bit, he pees a LOT. I don't know what to do except to never let him on my bed again and that's sad because he's very cuddly when he's not being a huge pain in the butt.

[Karen]

A few questions:

1. Is he neutered?
2. What kind of training have you done with him?
3. How do you react when this happens?
4. How often does he get to go outside?
5. Does this happen at a particular time during the day?

[Sketch's Mom]

Karen,
He is neutered.
I haven't done any formal training. I rescued him from an awful puppy mill and have basically just loved him lots but no training.
He goes outside a lot -- my husband works from home and so is able to let the dogs out all day long.
When it happens I generally do a lot of yelling and "Bad Dog!" and a spanking.
And it seems to happen in the evening.

I'm really at a loss.

[Karen]

Okay, it's time to start training him. He is currently peeing on your bed probably to say "mine!" but needs to learn HE is not in charge. You and your husband are. The yelling and spanking are actually reinforcing the behavior, not teaching him it is bad. Especially to a terrier, attention is attention - negative or positive. Does he get an after-dinner walk to tire him out (and for him to drain the tank while out)? That might be a good first step. It will reinforce/teach him to walk well on a leash, and learn leash manners, and it will strengthen the bond between you, and it will help reinforce that you and the boss. And it will help tire him out - which with a cairn is always a good thing. He's almost a year old, so he's trying to figure out his place in the world. If you can teach him that YOU are the top of the totem poll, now is the time to do it!

What ages, etc. are the other dogs, and how long have they been around? I notice you said your husband can "let the dogs out" ...

[Sketch's Mom]

Karen,
We have Lucy, a Pomeranian, who is 8, and Wiley, a French Bulldog, who is also nearly a year old. We got Sketch and Wiley at the same time. Sketch is the only male.
Sketch does think he's the boss. He tries to run everything.

I will try your suggestions...
thank you

[Karen]

Karen,
We have Lucy, a Pomeranian, who is 8, and Wiley, a French Bulldog, who is also nearly a year old. We got Sketch and Wiley at the same time. Sketch is the only male.
Sketch does think he's the boss. He tries to run everything.

I will try your suggestions...
thank you

Hee hee - being a Cairn terrier - he WILL try to run everything. It's your job, as the owner of said terrier, to convince him otherwise ...

If it gets worse, you may have to resort to the NILIF method - Nothing In Life Is Free training, which you can search for - there are plenty of threads here about that. I take it the "girls" don't challenge him for the leadership at all?

By the way, bless you for taking in a puppy mill pooch - some day I hope puppy mills will no longer exist.

[Giselle]

I skimmed through this, but I highly highly discourage yelling and spanking. Like Karen said, especially to dogs like Terriers, your yelling and spanking is totally working against you. It provides the dog negative attention, and, honestly, the dog does NOT understand why it is being punished unless you perform it WHILE the dog is peeing. If you spank or yell anytime after, you're teaching the dog nothing.

Please look into some structured obedience classes. The trainers go through these issues all the time and they'll be able to give you some insightful, personal training and advice. It will also help build your dog's trust in you and you guys will have a better overall relationship.