Hi all,

Just looking for a second opinion. My boyfriend and I acquired a 1 year old male husky stray back in April whom named Archer. Since welcoming him into our home, his behavior has improved a lot, but we have had several issues with his health. Let me give you a brief background:

#1. Archer had worms when we took him in. We were coming home from work to find him with explosive diarrhea in his kennel, and he was painfully thin, so we treated him 3 different times for roundworm/tapeworm (June/July). Since then, the diarrhea has stopped and he has gained a few lbs.

#2. Archer seems to have a difficult time urinating. When I let him out, he often pees for a full minute, with the urine sometimes coming out in spurts - almost like he can't push it out. We had him tested for a UTI, which came back negative, and were told he has some crystals in his urine.

As mentioned in the title, he is recently neutered so we can't quite figure out what's going on with the following problems:

He will at random urinate in the house. HE CAN HOLD IT. He is fine all day while we are at work in his kennel (8 am - 5 pm), pees normally outdoors when we let him out, etc. Two instances: one night, he and my boyfriend were playing on the floor, and he literally lowered his stomach and peed EVERYWHERE. Not territorial marking squirt, like a bucket full as if he hadn't peed in days. We had let him out 3 hours prior to that. Instance #2: Last night, we let him out around 4:30 pm. Approximately 9pm, he stood by the back door and peed everywhere again. These 2 incidents were about 1.5 months apart.

One other problem: he has started pooping in the house. Not diarrhea like before, but solid poops, as if he just can't hold it anymore, in the same spot (our spare bedroom). We have no clue why. Like I said, he has opportunities to go outside, and he doesn't potty in his kennel. He is neutered, up to date on all shots, and has been to a few different veterinarians several times. No one seems to have any answers for us other than the urine crystals and treating him for worms. We are starting to get really frustrated Any ideas or suggestions would be wonderful. Thanks for reading!

- Emily, Matt, and Archer

Did they send the urine sample off to be cultured to know for sure he doesn't have a UTI? Were any x-rays taken to see if he has any stones that have formed since there are crystals in his urine? I would recommend getting a second opinion.

#1: I'm with you on not being sure. The fact that the vet says there are crystals in his urine would make me want to go back to the vet and see if there's a solution for the problem. When my aunt had kidney stones she was fine ... until she had to go pee and then it was "Where's the nearest bathroom?? NOW!" I'm thinking something along that line - when your boyfriend and he were playing something moved and 'that was it'.
#2: That wasn't his problem, that was yours. He was sitting by the back door telling you he needed out. You didn't oblige. I'd be willing to bet, though, that that was a couple of hours after feeding and the liquids were "settling". Most dogs want out anywhere from immediately after they eat up to a couple of hours later.

Why anthropomorphizing an animals behaviour doesn't always work, I'd be thinking that his thought process goes something like this:
I'm in my crate, they're not home so I'll hold it till I burst since I really don't have any other choice.
They're home, if I tell them I want out it's their responsibility to let me out; if they don't then I can go right here.

Do you use enzyme cleaner? The fact he goes in same spot maybe he smells it there still. My puppies both had accidents when they played early on. My approach was stop them in middle with quick sound and take them out. They got the hint pretty quick.

Thank you guys all for your answers. I'll reply in order:

SaberK, we didn't have any X-rays taken that I am aware of. Archer is technically my boyfriend's dog, so the financial part I leave to him. When he returned from the vet, he didn't mention anything about it being cultured - just said that the vets told him he didn't have a UTI based off his urine sample.

aljones: You could be right with the kidney stones. About the back door, unfortunately Archer doesnt really have a way of telling us when he wants to go out. He's a follower (as I'm sure you're used to with your pups) - so when my boyfriend got up off the couch and headed to the kitchen, Archer followed him out there and ran to the back door, which he does every time. There have been soooo many occasions where we let him out and he does nothing but prance around, so I think we have become kind of desensitized to the back door thing. Thanks for the food suggestion - I have started to take him on a walk right after feeding time, so hopefully he can eliminate whatever may settle during that time.

Techgirl78: I don't believe so. We used the SpotBot cleaner (some bottle that says pet stain remover...?) Not sure if you know what the spotbot is...but i'm not entirely sure whats in the cleaner it uses. He knows darn well what he's done when we find the mess....he hides in his kennel and won't come to the room! I feel bad though, because I don't think it's a behavioral issue. It doesn't happen often (3 times total), so part of me thinks that's just where he wants to go when he can't hold it anymore.

Once again, thank you all so much for your suggestions and if there's any other ideas or opinions please feel free to share! I will talk to my boyfriend about re-vetting him and getting another opinion.

Quick update: Boyfriend informed me that Archer wasn't really waiting by the back door, just that he got up and ran out to the door and immediately squatted to pee. I'm not sure what the deal is! Kidney stones seems like a good place to start.

Just my ..... What is his access to water? Like do you have an ever replenishing fountain? How often does he drink water a day? I know Okami could pack in an entire lake if I let her, but that isn't going to happen lol.

I only give a few cups at meal time, and depending on the temp outside, another few times a day. Never has her water bowl been filled more than half, and never has she had free reign of it.