How to help dog stop peeing in the house?

[WingBingo]

Hoping for some advice to pass on.

MIL has just moved in with us. She has two dogs. Both very much part of the family.

She did live in the annex so we are not strangers to the 2 dogs.

One of the dogs keeps peeing around the house and it appears to be when he is separated from MIL

she doesn’t see it as an issue but it is.

what advice can I share to help stop this?

we have just moved and there are new carpets throughout upstairs so it is upsetting.

dog is not neutered (yes I know) and MIL doesn’t take kindly to unsolicited advice. Advice of any kind in fact (a while other thread).

You could order a belly band off Amazon for the dog to wear in the house hopefully that might stop him peeing in the house

How old is the dog? If separation anxiety is causing this, then that’s what she needs to work on- short periods alone, building up time away as you would with a puppy.
i would also restrict access to easy clean areas while this training is going on. Stair gates if you cannot close doors on him.
Ultimately if he keeps doing it, incontinence pads
But first talk to MIL, maybe your DH needs to do it.Tell her it is a poor hygiene issue, and that it’s not acceptable for your new carpets to stink of dog pee. But you need to be clear with her that it’s not acceptable

It can happen when MIL goes to the bathroom or even to make a cup of tea.

she mostly takes him everywhere with her. He is 4, and crate trained so he is left in the crate when home alone, which isn’t often.

I think I will get DH to raise it with her. I got him to send the belt band details to her. She scoffed at that.

If he was doing the same when she lived in the Annex then it’s a very ingrained habit, but if it’s just started since she and dog moved in with you, it’s probably easier to deal with.

If he is clean in his crate, that suggests he can still be trained out of it. The crate represents his den and he wants it to be unsoiled. You want him to regard the whole house like his crate, but he needs to be restricted as to where he goes, and gradually introduced to the other rooms in the house, once he’s proven he can be dry in his restricted area.

If MIL is not going to help though, you are fighting a losing battle.

Was he ever toilet trained? Has he been checked for a UTI if it’s new behaviour? Are accidents cleaned with an enzyme cleaner? Don’t let dog upstairs for now. If it’s separation anxiety then she can’t leave him.

Is he scent marking what he sees as his new territory if he's intact rather than just having accidents due to poor training?
(I don't know how to stop it if it is that though apart from neutering)

Are they accidents or is he marking? Two very different behaviours that often require different approaches.

If he only does it when she's out of the room then the obvious so

Gah, hit post too soon.

The obvious practical solution is that she takes the dog with her or puts him in his crate when she can't actively supervise him to prevent the behaviour from becoming ingrained.

If he's anxious then neutering is the last thing she should be doing as it will just make it even worse. Dogs need testosterone for confidence.

Thank you, we didn’t know that so I shall pass that on

I think he did it at her old house.

he wasn’t left alone plus there were no carpets so MIL brushed the issue aside.

Just saw your update. Your MIL has low standards. I think you need to start with her and explain that it really is not acceptable in your home ( nor most people’s I would say), and she needs to help train him out of it.

That or she and the dribbly one can move back to the annex, But you sound nicer than me

We had a new rescue who scent marked everywhere as @margotrose suggested - we kept him in the kitchen and bootroom when he was unsupervised as they have hard floors and cleaned every pee up with a mix of biological washing liquid and water, and kitchen roll. we also mopped the floor with that rather than flash or similar. our dog behaviourist says that breaks down the enzymes really effectively so that they can no longer smell the pee in the same place to scent mark.