Can Dogs Act Out Of Spite?

Ok, I'm sorry if this seems like a silly question...but here goes!

My puppy is potty trained now, and he can hold it in for over 3 hours, for sure.

But one day I went to a psychiatry appointment and came back, to find that he had dragged a blanket onto the floor and peed on it! I was gone for exactly 3 hours. My question is: Did he REALLY have to pee, or did he pee out of spite because I was gone? I know he HATES it when I leave (as I'm sure all dogs hate it when their owners leave!)

What do you guys think?

Well, dogs cannot tell time like we can. When we are gone and they are left alone, they can stress and three hours can seem much longer to them than we realize. After all your dog is still a puppy, much like a child and it takes them time to truely learn to relax and know you will be returning. Your supposed to be the alpha entity to the dog and they truely don't like to be left alone, it takes time for them to truely get used to being alone. It would be interesting if you knew how long the puppy did wait before pulling the blanket across the floor and peeing on it.

I know that my dogs can sense my husband is coming home a while before he comes home, they do sturr and sit by the door excited long before I hear him pull up the driveway. And this one is hard, my husband goes to a meeting every Monday night and usually he works nights and doesn't come home til later except for this one night.
My dogs seem to know the difference between this night and the others and that my husband comes home much earlier. I honestly don't know how they know.

Open Eyes

Not a silly question at all! I believe dogs and even cats can act out of spite. I've seen it with our animals. Peeing on something that belongs to their owner is a classic and most common example... eg. My cat used to sleep in my bed, I had to put a stop to this once I gave birth. Shadow displayed his unhappiness by peeing in my room. That cat NEVER messed in the house before! Similar things have happened with our dogs...

lol sorry I am laughing at the title.

Yeah they sure can, I had a labrador about 10 years ago and it did not like me leaving the house,it was well trained but if I left it more than an hour or 2 it would pee in my slipper. I think maybe they like to close their owners like Trippin said.

Absolutely! My Boston is a stinker! She is our only dog that loves to ride in the car. She is very well behaved but sometimes it is more of a hassle to take her so I leave her home. She knows when I am going to work and when I am running an errand. She believes errands are her ride time. If I go a long period time without taking her with me she will pee in my work shoe.

Tread carefully with how you treat this behavior. He is being defiante and the behavior needs to be corrected. I had a rescue dog years ago. When we left her in the house alone she would get an item that belonged to each of us, put them in a pile on the floor and pee on it. I felt so bad for her that I did not deal with her behavior correctly and in the end I had to get rid of her. The behavior got out of control.

he is entering the "i am getting to be older & think i am large & in charge stage"...not so much acting out of spite but trying to control & be the alpha in the house...

he is what..like 9-10 months now? maybe a little older...he is trying to show you that he is the alpha..& by dragging the blanket which has your scent on it that he is top dog (so to speak) in the house & if anyone should be going out it should be him...

question? (not to be personal) do you have your period? that would also be a cause of why he is doing it...it might just be an added component of why he is marking on the blanket...letting everyone know that you are HIS as best he can...

really not a spite thing if you think about dog behavior & take it out of the realm of people behavior.

it would be so much worse if you did not get him fixed...

I don't think its spite like we humans think - but as stumpy said he could be marking his territory especially if he's not fixed yet, asserting his Alpha status (again as stumpy said) or having some separation anxiety. All of this can be solved by getting him a crate - the size is important....big enough to stand up, lay down stretched out, turn around BUT not large to the point, he could pee/pooh in the corner. Dogs won't pee/pooh in their crate unless of course they're sick.

If he was trained on puppy pads, he may also think this is his pad or perhaps he peed on this a while ago and dogs/cats will pee where they've gone before. If you get to where you're thinking he spiteful or being bad, this won't be good for your bonding. Dogs especially strive to please, so he's not calculating ways to bother you lol. Get him a crate and this will solve the problem - don't leave him for longer than 3 hours tops though. Get him neutered as well.

Thank you everyone for your replies! So much support on the Pets forum.

He is about 7 and a half months right now, and it would make sense that he's trying to be the "alpha male". I guess I'll just need to assume an assertive attitude and show him that he's not boss.

As for your question, I do have my period on a regular basis. I'm not on it now though, and I wasn't when he peed on the blanket. Not sure if that makes a difference.

ok...sometimes it does..with females that can usually spark a peeing in the bed issue when they try to assert dominance...

i would try to set up a pattern of behavior when you go to leave...
i always say the same things, give mine a treat & then go...if they get crated do it. very calm, business like no excitement, no quibbling nothing..they don't get to make a choice in the decision.

if you haven't been doing the nothing in life is free training i would start that (want a treat, sit. want to go out, sit. want your dinner, sit or lay down, etc. this will remind him that you are the large & in charge one

nothing new..every pet owner goes thru it...every mom goes thru it...we all have to test those boundaries...it's part of growing up...

I also wanted to add, being assertive doesn't mean being mad - its means being firm. It also doesn't do any good at all to mention or show you're upset when you discover he peed when you were out. Why? because your pet doesn't remember once he peed hours ago. I used to think before I crate trained Bella, that crates were mean - but they're wonderful in potty training. My dog rarely uses her crate anymore, but I still have it in the house. She likes her crate so much that she goes and lays in it - its her cozy den. I used to put her there when we went away and now when she sees us leaving, she puts herself in the crate...its so cute. Dogs really strive to please their owners and this is a misunderstanding. Its also helpful to thoroughly clean any spots - because they're habitual. Good luck Melissa - this can be a wonderful experience.

I definitely agree with Lynn about the crate thing. Our year old lab/boxer has been using her crate since she was 9 weeks. She loves the thing!! Anytime anyone points a finger, in any direction, she will go get in her crate and lie down. If you say the word "bed" in a conversation she will go to her crate and lie down. Actually, she's sleeping in her crate right now, with the door wide open. We have NEVER had accidents and she was potty trained immediately using the crate. I would definitely recommend doing some research if maybe you should crate train.

On a funnier note, as far as dogs acting out of spite, my dad had a dog once that he used to keep in a room in the basement when he was away. Once, he went out to dinner after work and couldn't get home to the dog at the usual time. When he came home and opened the door to let the dog out, the dog looked up at him, stayed where he was, and took a dump on the carpet, holding eye contact the whole time. Ha!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the crate! People that believe this is cruel have not used it. It makes your pet feel more secure and it makes life a lot easier. The crate is my dog's peaceful place.

I'm going to echo what others said about crate training. My Rottie will go in his crate for security or peace and quiet.

As for animals acting out of spite... I don't know if spite is the right word but they sure can engage in paybacks!

My male pees on any unsuspecting person entering the yard, especially ladies!