@qvc chick
"He was potty trained, pretty good, but then again, he was in a crate! He didn't mess up the crate, for the most part. It's when I took him out of crate, and let him have the run of the kitchen."
Sounds like he never was housebroken. Dogs not messing in their crates doesn't make them housebroken. They normally don't mess in their own quarters even when they are not housebroken unless they can't hold their urine and feces, or the crate is too large.
The secret to housebreaking is you never want to allow the dog to pee or poop in the house anywhere...ever.
Crate training requires taking the dog outside periodically every day to potty, then back into the crate. I took my pups out every 2 hours. Your dog is an adult and at two he should be able to hold his urine much longer, but since he's not housebroken, he will go when he has to go. You won't be able to do that during the day since you are at work, but you can in the evening and weekends. Don't let the dog walk around anywhere in the house until housebroken.
Your dog is already used to peeing in the kitchen and has done it when you weren't there to catch him in the act. So, he thinks it's OK, the kitchen is where he's supposed to pee.
Is he also having bowel movements in the kitchen? When does he eat and how often? He should be going outside immediately afterwards until he pees and poops.
You need to scrub your kitchen floor to remove all urine odor and keep it odor free.
Make sure he is in a fool proof crate so that he can't get out. Take him out first thing in the morning. Have your dog walker take him out and give him a good run. Border collies need lots of activity. As soon as you get home, out again several times in the evening. Always keep him in the crate when you are home until he is housebroken. Overnight, too. You must be consistent and persistent. Always praise him lavishly when he does his business outside.
After a week or two, confine him to the kitchen, floor free of urine odor, when you are home on a weekend, but still make sure he is going out periodically. Watch his every move and if he looks like he's about to go, tell him "no" and put him outside. Stand there with him until he goes. Praise him. Unfortunately, because you work, you won't be able to trust him during the day, so it's back into the crate on Monday until he has no accidents in the evenings and on weekends.
I suggest you look up on the internet how to crate train a dog.
From what you say, this doesn't sound like a medical problem, but you might want to have him checked out anyway.
Good Luck.
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