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My husband and I recently adopted a 9 year old chocolate lab mix who was going to possibly be put down due to extreme separation anxiety/phobias. Although we were given drugs by her previous owners to help calm her, I was hoping to find some alternative suggestions to make life easier for both her and us.

Our immediate problem is her separation anxiety, which ends in her scratching at doors, and trying desperately to get out of wherever she is. We have managed to solve (avoid) some of these issues, but what we cannot seem to solve is her urinating on a couch. I have been reading everything I can find about separation anxiety and it all begins with explanations on how to get out the door without the dog going crazy.

Unfortunately, this is our problem. She is completely uninterested when we leave. She watches us go, but does not whine or cry or seem in any way upset. It is not an issue of us leaving. From what I can tell, she suddenly realizes we're gone, (how long it takes I have no idea) and than she must just start freaking out.

But, here's the strange thing. At night, we will go to bed (she won't notice or doesn't mind...she doesn't regularly sleep with us or near us) Suddenly, I'll wake up in the middle of the night to hear her licking the couch...she has just urinated on it. As if she woke up, realized we weren't right there, and got scared. She has never urinated in the house when we are within view of her.

The suggestions on these separation anxiety sites aren't helping tremendously because the problem seems to happen sometime after we are gone and we are totally unaware of her state of mind. We have NEVER actually seen her urinate on the couch, because if we are in the area, she will not do it.

Any ideas (besides drugs, which I already have) would be tremendous. Thanks so much!

I'll bet this is a physical problem, and if it is, it will likely respond very well to medication. Be sure and consult your veterinarian about it.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Thanks for the response. I had considered this, except that she never urinates when we are around. It seems like if she has some incontinence issues she would have "accidents" frequently, not just when we leave or are not in the room with her. For example, we put the dogs in our 3 season porch, which is open to a fenced in area, both when they need to go out and when we leave them. For a time we had a futon couch out there, so the dogs would have something softer to sleep on when we were gone. We found that Houston would urinate on it whenever we would leave and sometimes she would do so just if we left her out for longer than a couple of minutes. One day I let them out, left the area for a couple of minutes and came back to look out the door window to see if the dogs were ready to come in. When I looked out, I saw Houston jump up on the couch...she turned, saw me, put her head down and ears back and jumped right off the couch, went outside and urinated.

We just got her a bit over a month ago and her previous owners had said that every time she got scared because of her noise phobia (thunderstorms and fireworks) she would urinate on the couch or the bed. She is on 3 different drugs and I was just hoping to find a way to deter her from urinating on the couch. We obviously can't yell at her (whether it's biological or behavioral), but I'm not sure how to reward "good behavior" either...what do I classify as good, and how is she supposed to connect that to, "Oh, I didn't pee on the couch today and I got a treat" since it happens so randomly?

However, we will be taking her to the vet soon and I will definitely mention it in case it is a physical problem. Thanks again!

You could put some sort of items (suitcases, whatever) up on the couch to keep her off it temporarily. What I was thinking is that she might be urinating when at rest. And, she still could have some sort of incontinence problem. It is very common with female dogs, and responds really well to a couple of different medication options. I'm told they're not expensive, either.

Trying the obstacles on the sofa might reveal further information about the situation, too. Do be very calm about this and not punish, yell, etc. It won't help and it could make things much worse.

And treat the area first with a bacterial enzyme odor eliminator product such as Nature's Miracle--treat long and deeply. After that, apply undiluted clear vinegar to the spot whenever she urinates there. Chances are she will stop right away, if she is aware when she is doing it. But if she does not have control of it, for that you need other medication. And it's my understanding that the medication for it is not a big deal.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Along with what Kathy said, you may want to go out with this girl and have her on a long line to go potty. The moment she goes potty in an appropriate place you can give her TONS of treats and praise for being so good. You may also want to kennel her for a bit and have her leash tied to you so you can supervise her for a while- kind of like you woudl do for a new puppy. She's got some issues so supervision and showing her you are in control of her world so she doesn't have anything to fear will help her confidence and may help reduce the issue you are seeing.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles