Peeing Inside / Get off the couch !

http://www.hitecpet.com/soundbarrier.html

After about a year of being a wonderful dog, one day, all of a sudden, some accidents started happening daily. My dog had a couple of "favorite"spots where he would pee or poop. This happened only when he was alone. He would never do this when we were in the house since he has a doogy door that leads to the balcony. I frequently go to Home Depot (actually every couple of weeks ) and by a 4x2 ft rectangle of sod (take-home grass for the newbies) for $2.20 each. I made a little wooden frame that i cover with a garbage bag so that he has his own pee and poop place. so really not reason to go inside. ( I will comment on this on a separate post)

Anyway, I've read and read. I tried many things, that never worked. (I will also comment on all the failed approaches). I even though about giving him up, since I couldn't find a solution. I felt bad for him, bad for my ruined wooden floors, had fights with my wife about it, everything was falling apart, until .... a gadget saved us

• Problem: The Dog pees inside to demand attention. My couch is used as a scratching pad.
  
  
• Bad Solutions:
  - Too many. Cut too many hours from work to get home early. It came to a point that we couldn't leave him inside for an hour to go to the gym. He would pee all day. He also was completely aware of what he did. The days he peed, he would hide from me as soon as I got in.
  - Bach Flower Rescue Remedy. You can get this at Whole Foods. It's supposed to be a natural relaxant. I won't get into this but it was a complete failure
  - Skype: I created an account for my dog, set it to automatically accept my calls. I tried to monitor him from work, but I didn't get work done, and the minute I looked to the side, something would happen.
  - Cleaning it will fix it ! Nope, it did not. He had a favorite spot and would always hit it.
  - Getting home and punishing him. I tried forcing him to sniff the pee and then lock him in his crate, hitting with the newspaper in front of his nose to scare him (old school technique) but nothing worked. He was aware of his wrong-doing and still repeat it daily
  
  
• Good Solution: Sound Barrier Indoor Sonic Fence by HiTecPet. Retails in Amazon.com for $46.95. Retails at Sam's Club for $30.77 . 05/17/2011
  
  

• How does it work ?
  This device has two parts. A "receiver", which is basically a box that make a high pitch noise whenever the "activator" is within a programmable radio.
  
• Attach the activator to the dog's ( or cat I guess ) collar. Put the receiver near the pet's favorite marking spot. Whenever your pooch gets close to the spot, the box senses the activator and beeps.
• Receiver uses a 9V battery for power.
  
  
• My Advice:
• Enable it only when you leave your house
• This box is very sensitive and may be activated by vacuum cleaners or other high pitch devices nearby.
  
• You can also buy additional "receivers" so that you can mark the different areas in the house that are off limits
  
  
• Gadget Usability Rating:
  This saved my relationship and my dog from having to leave with some old lady. 10/10