Originally Posted by
Labradorks
I agree with the possible UTI, but I have seen dogs so anxious, they just go.
I have a sensitive dog and one summer when my parents were out helping me put up trim, I put the dogs outside with beds and raw knuckle bones and fresh water. My house is very small, we were moving furniture around and using dangerous tools. It wasn't hot or cold or wet and I checked on them often, at least every 20 minutes. They were also both adults. I knew Linus didn't love the arrangement, but I had no idea that it would take a over a month of helping him through the anxiety of being locked outside again.
I had to go out with him every time and stand as far from the door as possible. If I didn't do that, he would not go and then end up going in the house while I was at work. We're talking a trained adult dog. A few times before I understood what was going on, he went out on the stoop and just let loose. He'd been holding it for so long, was anxious about me shutting the door on him, and didn't want to wander off of the porch away from the door.
So, I went out with him every time, stood as far from the door as possible, and waited. Eventually he got over it and I never ever shut the door on him again. If I do send them out alone, I leave the door open and he knows now that he can get in, but I always go out in the morning because I think that while he does pee, he holds his poop because he is in a hurry. I don't want to leave for work and make him hold it for several hours or end up having an accident, which has not happened since we went through the anxiety over being left in the yard.
Since that happened to me, I'd tell people about it, people in my training group or chatting with people at an event, and it's not as uncommon as I thought.