I was out of town for business and boarded my dog for the three days I was gone, and now that she’s back, she’s had 2 accidents in the house. She has NEVER peed in the house before (I adopted her 4 months ago - she is a year and a half old)
I’m hoping she’s just adjusting to being back on our normal schedule and that it’ll stop once she gets re-acclimated, but come ON dog it was only 3 days!
Anyone have any advise or experience with this sudden change in tinkle behavior?
Could she have gotten a UTI trying to “hold it” while boarding?
Robin, that thought has crossed my mind. I’m going to keep an eye on her and see. It seems like more of a “I didn’t have to hold it there, so why should I hold it here!” type thing.
Was it a situation where she had to go on concrete or other flooring rather then outside on grass like usual? It doesn’t take long for that to be the new normal if so and why I won’t board my dogs at places that keep them in a run. Rule out the UTI and start over by crating or tethering or both and it should come back to her quickly.
I vote for infection… get thee to the vet 
Well, take the dog…
my female dog always comes back with a UTI after kenneling. I think she doesn’t pee/drink properly due to the change in routine. Or something along those lines.
UTI and it maybe she was distressed/stressed at the kennel.
I let one of my dogs (who at the time I was fostering for adoption) go to a rescue group outing at PetSmart. I left him with the other volunteers.
They said he marked all over the PetSmart which they seem to have either not noticed a hundred times or never reacted to in any way, and the second he got home he marked twice in the living room, right in front of me, one of them ON THE COUCH.
Cue six weeks of tethering and white-on-rice supervision.
I was pretty pleased about that.
[QUOTE=Chall;6967803]
UTI and it maybe she was distressed/stressed at the kennel.[/QUOTE]
+1 I’d add possible PTSD from being dropped off, which may have felt a lot like being back at the shelter. Not your fault, but may have felt that way to her. In home pet sitter when you travel?
[QUOTE=Camstock;6968093]
+1 I’d add possible PTSD from being dropped off, which may have felt a lot like being back at the shelter. Not your fault, but may have felt that way to her. In home pet sitter when you travel?[/QUOTE]
Actually she stays at the shelter that I got her from when I’m gone. She stays there because there are lots of other dogs to play with, she doesn’t stay in a crate (she stays in the reception area with another dog and is able to interact with both humans and canines all the live-long day), and there’s at least one person there with her from at least 7am - 7pm.
Suggesting my dog has PTSD from being at the kennel is a pretty far reach. When I adopted her, she had only been there for 5 days. I think she’d be MORE traumatized if I had left her at the kennel at the vet where there are ZERO other dogs for her to play with and ZERO humans on Saturdays or Sundays, minus whomever stops in to let them out and feed them, and she would have to stay in a cage by herself the whole time. She probably gets more attention where I take her when she’s there than she does on a normal day at home when I’m at work.
You might not even have to take her in – your vet may be willing to analyze a urine sample if you explain the circumstances and why you are concerned. Sure, it could be behavioral, but a quick check would rule out whether she picked up a UTI, and the sooner she gets on antibiotics, the better - for her and your floors and furniture.
And like the others said, if it is behavioral, just start over with the housetraining, and she’ll likely go through the steps much quicker than the first time.
But esp if a female relapses on housetraining, a UTI is often the culprit.
This is not at all a judgment on you OP nor a judgment on all boarding facilities…I’m just going to tell you about my experiences…
I have worked at a number of facilities that offer boarding. I obviously don’t know what yours does/did. But…at the facilities I have worked in and currently work in, boarding dogs either A) only go outside if you pay extra or B) are on a pretty strict schedule–for example, we take dogs out at 6am, around noon, and again around 5:30. Therefore, they often learn to urinate and defecate inside else they hold it until they’re about ready to pop which in the case of urine, CAN set them up for a UTI. Even the place where I take my dog for grooming that offers day care and boarding does not take the dogs outside–EVER. There’s really no place to do it. So I often (every time!) end up with a dog who has some accidents in the house after spending even a day there for grooming.
While a UTI may be the culprit, it may also be that she kind of got in the habit of going inside because that was her only option.
For this reason, I tend to not board my dogs. I can’t much avoid the grooming situation because I don’t have a good place to do it myself since our move. But I simply do not board my dogs. I pay someone to stay with them at the house and maintain the usual schedule.
In your situation, you could do a free catch of a urine sample and take that in to your vet if you think it could be a UTI, else you could just give it a few more days and really stick to the schedule.
This may not be a dog who handles the boarding situation well. Hard to say. I’m not saying that she’s not HAPPY where you boarded, but she may well think “oh, we’re doing the inside potty thing again. Okay!”
Another vote for UTI risking Kidney infection/failure which can happen within hours. I also believe PTSD could be the problem.
UTI! They don’t like to pee on concrete. I’ve had this happen (until I realized I needed to pay for lots of extra walks).
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