Bizarre behaviour from 11 YO DDog

[PossiblyPFB]

Strange situation just now, our 11 YO DDog and her (DDog Bro) were allowed to a room which they are rarely admitted to. Shortly thereafter, he weirdly (out of character) growled at her, but immediately after she then started urgently scrabbling at the living room rug, which she managed to upturn a corner of. Then she promptly squatted and wee’d all over where she had upturned on the carpet?!?!. These dogs have had 3 proper walks today, the last being less than 1.5 hours ago. She’s such a placid dog, I’ve never seen any weird behaviour like this. Anyone have any ideas WTF just happened? Thanks!!

Anything from detecting a strange smell to marking her territory as a result of him threatening her to a brain disorder. Could be something or nothing. Keep an eye on her behaviour and if there's anything else that seems strange check with your vet.

Thank you. I will keep an eye. This is a dog with a bladder of steel, it’s just so odd and uncharacteristic for both of them really!

Marking territory - it's so common.

People don't allow the dog into various rooms for whatever reason (which is obviously their right) but one day the dog sneaks past or is allowed in by someone else, and as the dog has never been in that room before (or regularly) he/she toilets on the floor.

It's one of the reasons we allowed our dog all over the house as a puppy. Obviously he was never left unattended so we could keep an eye out for accidents but he's never tried to mark anywhere in the house at all. Obviously it could be coincidence but I've read enough stories about dogs peeing in restricted rooms that I think it's something people should do wherever possible.

Thanks adaline , they used to have more regular access, this isn’t a room they’re completely unfamiliar with - this room is upstairs as we have a townhouse. She has had hip replacements so we try to minimise any pressure on her joints, so coming upstairs is a rare treat for them in the past 5 years or so. They do love when they’re allowed. Maybe you’re right and she was marking. It’s not something I’ve ever seen her do before though, she’s a really passive dog and not at all territorial usually!

The odd thing was also the way he growled at her just before she did it, like he knew what she was going to do! They are very codependent and get along beautifully so it was unusual too.

Thanks!

I would imagine it's a combination of them being in a room they're not normally allowed in and maybe age too?

Unlikely to be marking territory I guess stress, digging is a stress reliever, as is having a wee.

She was just growled at by the other dog so to calm the situation down she had a wee.

It would be interesting to see what happened before the growl.

Nothing happened before the growl, they had just come upstairs and hadn’t settled yet. He growled, and then she went over and started tussling with the side of the rug, flipped it up and did a small wee! This dog has no anxiety issues. She’s about the most laid back passive dog ever.

Very unusual for a dog to growl for no reason. A dog will use calming signals to bring down stress levels around them - so the stress from your other dog eg the growl is what would have in initiated the stress response and calming signals from the female.

Stress relievers will be seen a lot in the so called "chilled" dog in a situation where others are stressed. I'm on phone but there is a great video showing this from research from Lincoln Uni.

That’s interesting- thank you! And makes sense. Although I’ve never seen her care about calming - though he is definitely more highly strung and has some anxiety. (Thunderstorms/fireworks/hoover type, not other everyday anxiety) this wasn’t a factor, although we were watching Jurassic Park on TV and actually I do think it was at the beginning where it was raining/thundering? 🤔

Massive drip, completely neglected to mention that the dog who wee’d is deaf as I didn’t think it was relevant, but I do suppose she still could have picked up on his body language?

Perhaps some of this goes a way to explain any stress he had?

As they’re older it’s worthwhile being aware of the signs of senile cognitive dissonance in dogs (occurs from the age of 8)
Unusual behaviour alike these can be signs

My dog does this, she’s not allowed upstairs but has occasionally got up there and each time has peed on the floor (or my bed).