Urinating in the house.

Dr. Marie replied:

This is a case where I would highly recommend having your vet do some urine tests for your dog. It is not common for a neutered dog who was formerly housebroken to suddenly start urinating in the house. If he was not neutered, then we could blame it on hormones. For example, if there was a female in heat in the neighbourhood then this could cause him to urine mark. But, this is not going to happen for a neutered dog.

There is a really high chance that this is a medical issue. Something that is relatively common in bichons is bladder stones and crystals. A dog with a bladder stone or urinary crystals will have irritation in their bladder from time to time that feels like a bladder infection. This causes the urge to urinate frequently.

Bladder stones are treatable. Some can be treated with special food and some need surgery. They can be very serious as well. If a bladder stone gets to just the right size then it can block up the penis and can be life threatening.

It is also possible that this is a chronic bladder infection in which case antibiotics would be necessary.

If your vet does urine tests and everything is normal (which would surprise me), then we are looking at a behavioral issue. Treating this may involve some periods of crate training and yes, possibly some anti-anxiety medications. But, I would definitely not go that route until urinary tests are done to rule out a medical problem.

Hope things clear up soon!

Dr. Marie.

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