Please help with my dog who STILL pees indoors

[feedmefudge]

I am at the end of my tether. I have a 10 year old Shih Tzu boy who is adored, but I’m just so done with this. At the moment, I dread having to go out because I know that I will come home to an accident. He has never been 100% reliable, and I used to come home to an accident maybe once a fortnight. Not great of course, but I could live with it. These days, it’s more like anytime we go out and leave him alone. We’re fortunate to have a totally safe and secured garden, which happens to be high up off street level. So we can leave the back door open for him to use the garden, but unless prompted, he never will. He knows what’s expected of him; we’ve been doing the same things since we brought him home as a pup. He would never pee in the living room if one of us was in there with him. But if left alone, it’s fair game. He is never on his own for too long. I work but also have a dogwalker and my teens are often home. I got home today and didn’t see any signs. I was delighted and told him so! But I’ve just stood on a wet patch on my new rug. He’s been the best decision I’ve ever made and is so loved, but I find myself wishing that he doesn’t live for another 5 years. Sorry, I know that sounds awful. And I’ll honestly be devastated when he passes. But I cannot live like this. He is a picture of health, as confirmed by the vet. I have never known such a robust wee dog. But I don’t know how to help him stop doing this and I am so fed up of it. I’m honestly at the point of thinking that puppy pads might be my only option but it seems like such a huge step back, even though he never fully cracked this in the first place.

Sounds really frustrating. I’ve had older pets with continence issues and it does get you down over time.

Have you tried crating him when he’s left home alone?

I feel your pain. I walked downstairs the other morning with my dogs running in front of me and caught one of them in the middle of cocking his leg up the sofa. My first port of call would have been the back door to let them out. He’s 11. He should know better. He is a poorly boy on borrowed time and I’m not sure his steroid meds are helping but it’s soooo annoying as it’s currently constant. We’ve had to start crating him at night otherwise we’re getting up to horrific mess everywhere.

Thank you for your sympathetic replies! He’s my first dog and I introduced him to crating when he was little. I completely fucked it up though, and used it as a mini prison when I went for a shower or had to take my eye off him for a bit. He HATED it - probably understandably - and it caused him untold amounts of anxiety. I still get flashbacks of having to clean poo off the bars! In fairness, he was a Velcro pup and still is. He never would have chosen to take himself off to the crate, even just to sleep or relax.
I wish I understood why he pees indoors (usually in the same spot), when the door to the garden is kept open for him. He’s not the brightest, bless him, and only associates the garden with toileting when we are there to prompt him. Otherwise he doesn’t give a damn. Often we have to stand by the back door to watch him, making sure he goes toilet. Otherwise he’ll try to sneak back in. At other times he will relieve himself out there no problem at all. It’s all just so time-consuming and frustrating.