My Silky Terrier has developed a urinating problem.

Question:
 My Silky Terrier seems to have developed a urinary problem. I have had her since she was about 10 weeks old, and began litter training her early. She took well the the litter, and normally goes only in her litter or outside on walks. About a month ago, she started urinating in the house, and to me it seemed almost uncontrollable. She would then lick herself continuously, and sometimes yelp. I started checking her and saw blood, to her to the vet, and found out she had an infection. She was medicated for a week and the problem went away. A couple days ago, she started wetting all over the house again. I've been checking for signs, but she has none of the signs of her infection. This time, it seems she actually looks for places other than her litter to go. Just in case, today, when I took her from her crate, I took her immediately to her litter. She actually ran away from the litter, jumped up on my be and urinated all over my sheet. I was so angry - I spanked her butt and put her in her litter. Now she is outside, and I am left feeling like a guilty brute. Please tell me why she would, seemingly intentionally, jump on my bed to pee. She has never wet on my bed before. She is now about 8.5 months old. Thank you in advance for you advice. -T
Answer:
 Thanks Karen. I will try your suggestions. By the way, she is spayed, and is up to date on all of her shots. But I will call the vet today and schedule an appointment. I am presently studying for the New York bar exam, and don't have nearly as much time to spend with her as I used to. A couple people have suggested that that might be the issue also. What is your opinion? I ask because what she did seemed almost vindictive - running away from her box, making a bee line for my bed and wetting there... As for taking her out - I usually leave the house at 8am to go to bar review class. I walk her before I leave, and then again after I come back at 1pm, unless its too hot, then I take her in the evenings. We usually walk for about a half-hour. Also, I saw in one of your other posts that you think it is a bad idea to leave food down for dogs. What kind of a feeding schedule do you suggest? I'm telling you, lately, I've been feeling very guilty and selfish for having a dog. I have to put so much time into passing the bar, and when I begin working in September, my workday will likely extend to 12hours. I kind of feel like you (and many others find this unfair to the dog - and I rather agree). I really love my dog however, and don't want to give her up. What are your thoughts? -T
Answer:
 First you have a couple things going on here: 1) You taught the dog it is OK potty in the house by litter training her. For many dogs it is a short step from the box to innappropriate pottying. I have worked with more housetraining issues in dogs that were box trained than I have with dogs that were trained to potty outside. Honestly, every client I have had that box trained ended up with a dog that pottied other places in the house as well. The only exception was a client who put the box in a garage. BUt I have not heard as to how they are doing and the dog had not yet hit adolescence so she may be having issues now as well. This is why I and many other trainers are against litter box training dogs. 2) The infection my not be cleared or there may be something else going on. Sometimes UTIs can take a few rounds to fully clear up or the UTI may be a results of crystals or bladder stones. Get back to the vet. 3) If she is not spayed, spay her. Sometimes females coming into heat may potty innappropriately. 4) If you have ruled out all medical then you need to get right back to basics with housetraining and housetraining properly. Do not punish her harshly for what she is doing. If the infection has returned, she may not be able to help it. If it is behavioral, dogs reflect us and what we do with them. Most housetraining issues I have worked with have a direct bearing on the owner and once the owner changes what they are doing, the issues resolve eventually. Remember, the longer something undsired has gone on or if we have trainined improperly, often the longer it will take to resolve. So be patient but get working to find out if it is medical or behavioral. http://www.my-dog.info/dog-care/housetraining.asp