As a pet owner, you’ve probably dealt with your fair share of puppy puddles and soggy carpets. Accidents do happen.
But once you’ve trained your dog to use the potty, you don’t anticipate having to deal with pee in your home. Inappropriate peeing behavior can ruin your floors and sense of humor. So why do dogs urinate inside the house, and what can you do to stop them?
Why do dogs pee in the house?
Dogs may urinate indoors for a variety of reasons, but most often they do so in response to another problem. Although it’s simple to assume that your dog is just being spiteful, the chances are that it’s completely unrelated to them and beyond their control.
Any time you see a significant change in your dog’s behavior, that is just how your dog is trying to let you know that something is wrong. Maybe they don’t feel well or are frightened by something. Your cue to pay attention and contribute to the investigation of what’s happening
Your dog is trying to tell you something when it suddenly accidents inside the house. When people don’t go outside frequently enough throughout the day, it can be the root cause of their inability to control their emotions. Sometimes it’s something a little more complex. Let’s look at some common reasons:
You should first rule out any medical conditions if your previously housebroken dog is now suddenly peeing inside. Your dog may involuntarily lose control of the muscles in their bladder due to a variety of conditions.
Your veterinarian should be your first stop to rule out anything serious. Once the underlying issue has been properly treated, your dog should stop peeing indoors if they do have a condition that requires it.
You may need to think about making more frequent trips outside or setting up an area with training pads for emergencies if your dog has age-related conditions that make it difficult for it to hold it for long periods of time.
If your dog is peeing indoors and your veterinarian is unable to identify a medical issue, it’s possible that your dog is experiencing anxiety of some kind. Check your dog’s life for any sudden or significant changes. Have you recently moved house or welcomed a new family member, either human or animal? Has your daily routine significantly changed, such as with different or longer working hours that might be causing separation anxiety? Are you home more or less than usual?
Your dog may become anxious during these changes and may urinate in the wrong places as a result. Your dog may also become stressed out by loud, unfamiliar noises, such as those made by a new appliance or thunderstorms. Another possibility is that your dog is afraid of something outside, which is keeping them from going outside.
Your dog’s indoor accidents could also be caused by submissive or excitement urination. When a dog is overly excited, or when they feel exposed or intimidated, they occasionally lose control of their bladder.
Examples of this include dogs that tremble in fear and lose control of their bladder, or dogs that excrete uncontrollably when they see you. Puppies frequently lose bladder control when overexcited, but they typically outgrow this. Nevertheless, it’s not unusual for some dogs to continue acting in this manner as adults.
Click here to learn more about this problem: Dogs’ Submissive and Excitation Urination
Urine is an important means for marking territory. This type of urination typically happens against upright objects and only contains a tiny amount of urine.
A move, the addition of new furniture, the presence of other dogs in the territory, or changes in hormone levels all affect territorial marking. It might also be a reaction to more anxiety and stress.
Unneutered male dogs frequently mark, but some neutered males and spayed females also do so.
The delicate process of house training calls for persistence and patience. Dogs may later regress if owners move too quickly through the process at times.
Your dog may not yet be fully potty trained if it is still a puppy and is peeing inappropriately. As soon as your dog behaves properly while using the restroom, continue to praise them.
Once it is determined that your dog is not suffering from a medical condition and is suddenly urinating inappropriately, you should move on to a potty-training refresher course. These additional potty training sessions may be required if your dog goes through a significant change, such as an illness or a change in schedule.
Urinary Tract Issues
A urinary tract infection may be to blame for your dog’s sudden inability to control his or her bladder in the house or other inappropriate locations. This is one of the most frequent causes of untimely urination in dogs as well as one of their most common health issues.
Visit your veterinarian for a checkup and advice before you become angry with your dog. To perform a urinalysis and possibly a urine culture, your veterinarian will most likely need a sample of your dog’s urine. This test examines the urine for bacteria and unusual cells. The next step is an antibiotic course if your veterinarian determines that you have a urinary tract infection.
Your veterinarian may also discover structural abnormalities, tumors, bladder stones, crystals in the urine, cystitis (bladder inflammation), crystals in the urine, and bladder stones. The majority of urinary problems are treatable with drugs, supplements, and/or dietary changes. Surgery might be necessary in more severe situations for problems like bladder stones.
The next step is to search for any other potential health issues if your veterinarian doesn’t discover a urinary tract issue.
House soiling accidents are not due to spiteWhen dogs pee in the house, people often think the dog is being spiteful or stubborn or sneaky. But that’s not the case. It’s easy to see how people might think that, because sometimes dogs pick odd spots to pee in. Like the time someone told me their newly adopted dog had peed in his shoes. Well, who knows really why the dog picked the shoes – perhaps he had been sniffing them and we all know that a lot of sniffing precedes peeing, or perhaps it was because the shoes were right by the door and the dog really wanted to go outside. I can understand why that would feel personal! Luckily the guy knew that his dog was not fully house trained yet and it wasn’t a personal slight, it was just that he needed to house train the dog. Even if it makes us angry when a dog has an accident inside, we need to stay calm (or try and see the funny side) and not blame the dog.
| Photo: Grigorita Ko/Shutterstock |
FAQ
How does a dog learn not to pee in the house?
The dog must be taken outside frequently enough that they never have the opportunity to use the restroom inside. It’s up to you to prevent errors by always taking them outside in good time. And then go outside with them so that you can immediately reward them when they do.
How do dogs know where to go to the bathroom?
What a dog had for lunch, when they were last in the area, and whether they are a friend or foe” (source) Some dogs use the “messages” contained in the scent secretions in other dogs’ waste as cues to force them to relieve themselves, too. This explains why your dog will occasionally poop next to the pile of another dog.
Do dogs eventually stop peeing in the house?
You can begin to gradually lengthen these potty breaks as your puppy gets older. Most puppies reach full bladder control between the ages of 4 and 6 months. This indicates that there is hope at the end of the tunnel because you can train a puppy to stop peeing in the house with a little perseverance.
Why do dogs pee inside when they know not to?
Stress and anxiety: Dogs who experience separation anxiety may also urinate when left alone. Your veterinarian needs to be consulted about anxiety because it is a medical problem. Some dogs pee indoors when humans approach them, which causes both excitement and fear. Your dog may roll over on their back too.