Why is my dog doing this?

[ExConstance]

Butch is 13 in September, a rescue long legged quite large Staffie, black and white. WE have had him for nearly 4 years now. He waited in kennels for about 2 years before we got him and has always had rather stiff back legs, which did improve quite a lot after coming to live with us and getting lots of walks. One of his great virtues has always been that even if he is unwell he always tries to get outside to poo and wee, his continence until recently has been 100%. He is a lovely dog and we love him very much.
About a month ago when we were visiting friends he came in from their garden and then apparently deliberately weed on their sitting room carpet - e were all watching and it seemed quite deliberate. He was told off and put outside ( and I was very embarrassed) .

He was fine until last week when on Tuesday evening he did exactly the same in our house - seemingly deliberate - but this time there was a lot of blood in his urine.

That night he seemed to have all the symptoms of cystitis as he trekked in and out of the house many times. The vet (not our usual vet) saw him the next morning and advised that male dogs don't usually get UTIs. He stayed in for a kidney/liver/bladder ultrasound and had a urine sample taken and some blood for tests. The vet said the urine sample was cloudy and had blood in it.

The ultrasound and both blood and urine tests came back clear, the vet saying that he couldn't say he had nothing wrong with him but that they couldn't find anything. By the next day he was recovered and he has been fine for nearly a week now. Yesterday evening he did it again, adopted the position and weed on the hearthrug while we were on the sofa watching television, yet again it seemed to be deliberate. On exploring his bed and the rug in the playroom where he sleeps we found some indication of wee on the rug there and his bed, but not much.
He is badly affected by arthritis and quite wonky on his back legs in particular and is on Metacam - which is for the last 7 months and was prescribed tramadol at the vets last week. We need to sort this out as the house was not smelling very nice yesterday and it seems such odd behaviour. If he wants to go out he usually stands by the back door, but last night as it was very warm weather the door was wide open all evening and he still weed on the rug. I spent £330 on the vet last week and whilst I was happy he did not seem unwell we are still no further forward in working out what is going on. Has anyone experienced a similar problem - or is there a vet on Mumsnet who might have some ideas? I will take him back to see our "real " vet shortly but don't know what to do if she is flummoxed too. Apart from falling over quite a lot and being uncomfortable with his arthritis his heart and other organs are fine. He eats well and although subdued enjoys a very short walk over the road for a sniff around.

I am sure it's not deliberate, in that he's not doing it to annoy you. He may be suffering from the early stages of dementia? Can you restrict him to washable areas until you find out what's going on? Once the small of pee is in the carpet it encourages them to pee there again.

Yes, I don't think that it is really deliberate, though from the way he does it it certainly appears so. He is in the kitchen today, which is very large and tiled so it doesn't matter too much.

My mum has an elderly terrier with arthritis and dementia and he pees randomly , even in his sleep sometimes . She has taken to putting puppy pads under his bed and under the throw on the settee so if it does happen the damage is limited .

The problem is that this is not really random. The second time he was sitting on the sofa with us, I wondered if he might want to go out but he just wandered over to the centre of the room and went, arranging his legs and squatting which gave every indication it was intentional. I suppose he might have dementia but the dog before the dog before him who was diagnosed with dementia used to bark all night and wander endlessly up and down the hall, Butch doesn't manifest any strange behaviour at all apart from the weeing.

old age i'd say
dementia i guess could show in many ways

Could be a prostate problem. Worth getting that checked.

We have done a bit of work on his problems. We have made him a ramp to get outside more easily and I'm now thinking that he was putting off going out because his legs hurt. I'm giving him a regular talking to about going out, I know it sounds silly but if I open the door and speak a little sternly he does go out more. He had his prostate checked and scanned when he saw the vet last. He hasn't got dementia, his behaviour in other ways indicates his brain is working pretty well. If he complies with going out and weeing in the garden then he can come into the sitting room and up on the sofa, he seems to understand we have to be firm on this. I don't think we will be able to take him away with us for the time being but he is now much better at home.

Where is the arthritis? If he has any changes to his spine, that could be changing the signals he gets that he needs to pee, or the way he responds to those signals.

Dogs don't pee/poo indoors out of spite or devilment; with an elderly dog especially there is bound to be a reason for it, whether physical or because of age-related behavioural changes, particularly if you're finding wetness in his bed. The action of 'arranging his legs' to squat is merely what he has to do when he has to go, it isn't a demonstration of deliberate intention or defiance.

Incidentally, telling him off or making a big fuss when he has an 'accident' is counter productive. He can't help it, and it will only make him anxious and lead to further toileting problems. At least if he's going in front of you, you know where it is to clean up.

Update. I now think that Butch had some sort of infection. For quite some time his mobility was really bad and we had to get up to let him out in the night. I was convinced it was not dementia because despite being a physical wreck his brain ( very food orientated dog) seemed to be functioning quite well. I thought about this thread yesterday. We had visitors and I didn't feel worried about him at all, he even came out of his bed and wagged his tail and was interested.
I still don't think we will have him for long , he can't walk far but while he is eating well, continent and is weedling and deedling to get his own way (like being lifted onto the sofa of an evening) that will be enough. He is very loved.

I'm glad you got to the bottom of it. He sounds a cracking old boy. And very loved.

It may be pain related - trial some different NSAIDS plus gabapentin or amytriptilline for neuropathic pain. Tramadol only works in approx 50% of dogs so may not be effective.

It's also worth trialling him on Selgian - this is a med for canine cognitive dysfunction but may also help with pain modulation so is a 2-pronged drug and. And can be very helpful (care if given with tramadol though!)