So I’m sitting at the computer, writing an email. Peter has gone out. Rockwell and I have recently come back from a nice long walk where he only jumped on one person we met. He had his big pee when we left the house and another smaller one along the route. I am thinking, it’s his 8 month birthday tomorrow! I hear him upstairs, doing whatever it is that he does. Suddenly, I hear a not-immediately-identifiable noise but I know it can’t be good so I jump up and call, “Rockwell!”. I run upstairs and he meets me at the top. He doesn’t have anything in his mouth and the noise has stopped so I am momentarily puzzled. Then I see the puddle of pee on the carpet, with the trail of pee leading away from it where I had interrupted him.

I am horrified and he has the grace to look abashed. He runs down to the landing and I grab a roll of paper towels and start soaking up the puddle. I ask him, “What was THAT all about?” but he doesn’t say. I put him in his crate and continue cleaning. I go and do a few other things. Finally, I let him out of the crate and we go straight outside where he has a very small pee.

So I still don’t know why he did this. Was it to exert some kind of control over the situation? To assert his dominance? I don’t think it can be “marking” behaviour, as the whole house belongs to him and he hasn’t started marking outside at all. And anyway, will knowing why help with preventing it in the future? Any suggestions are welcome!