Nothing is more frustrating for a pet owner than finding a puddle of pee on the floor. At some point, all dogs will have an accident in the house, even after they have been potty trained. Here are a few reasons why a dog may pee inside your house and what can be done to prevent it from happening.
Article Summary
Reasons for House Soiling
Below are some of the top reasons for dogs to soil the house:
Not Completely House Trained Yet
When you are potty training your dog, it’s expected that your dog will have a few accidents. A young dog won’t have total control of his bladder right away and hasn’t learned how to tell you that he needs to go potty – as a result they may end up urinating in the house. During this phase, it’s super important that you look for signs that he’s about to go including circling, sniffing the floor, and whining, and it’s important to create a strict potty and eating schedule to circumvent any accidents.
Excited Peeing
When a dog is very excited or overjoyed, it’s pretty common for him to pee. This can happen when you start to play with him or when he sees someone coming in the door. This behavior is usually outgrown by the time your dog becomes an adult, and you can also help reduce the occurrence of excited peeing by keeping homecoming low-key. This can be done by simply ignoring your puppy when you get home and grab his leash to take him outside instead of sitting down and petting and playing with him. After he has done his business outside, then is the time to give attention and praise.
Behavioral Issues
When a dog starts peeing inside the house, it is often a behavioral-based reason. Submissive urination can happen when your dog is intimidated or scared. One of the best ways to deal with submissive urination can be through a retraining process that allows your dog to avoid a situation when he feels nervous or scared.
There can also be outdoor situations where your pup has experienced something traumatic or upsetting outside, which can lead him to want to avoid going outside and peeing on the floor instead. This is another situation where you should retrain your pup as well as go with him outside for comfort and reassurance if he seems uneasy or scared.
Territorial Marking
If your dog lifts his leg periodically and pees, then he is marking his territory. This type of behavior is different than having an accident in your home. When he is marking, your dog will only pee just a little bit in order to place his scent on different objects to tell everyone around him that he has been there and it’s his area now.
It’s normal for a dog to mark a new item, particularly if he lives in a home with other dogs. It can also be common for a dog to mark his territory when he’s in someone else’s home or visiting a hotel. Remember that it’s not just male dog behavior, female dogs do it as well.
Stopping Marking Behavior
- Typically, dogs that have marking behavior of dogs that have not been spayed or neutered so can help to have this procedure performed.
- Next, completely disinfect and clean the area that has been marked using an enzyme-based cleaner that will prevent any of the scents from being left behind.
- When you are trying to break your dog of this habit, keep an eye on your dog or confine him to his crate when you can supervise him.
- When you go to a friend’s house or hotel, you can place your dog in a belly band of a doggy diaper as a temporary fix while you work on stopping his behavior at home.
Medical Issues
Peeing accidents in the house can also be a sign of a medical condition like prostate disorders, bladder stones, diabetes, kidney issues, and urinary tract infections. These issues can increase his sense of urgency to urinate and many of these conditions may trigger incontinence. When you notice that your dog is leaving a little bit of urine all over the house, or even wetting his bed, it can be a sign that is losing control of his bladder. Possible causes of incontinence are:
- Urinary stones
- Urinary tract infection
- Prostate disorders
- Brain disease
- Nerve damage
- Spinal injury
- Certain medication
If you think your dog is incontinent, then it’s important to schedule a trip to the vet where your dog can receive a medical evaluation that will determine why he’s having this problem. The vet will then decide on the best course of treatment depending on the underlying cause.
It’s important not to scold an incontinent dog when he has an accident inside since he may not even know he’s urinating until it is too late. Increase his trips outside and work with the vet to see if there are any improvements. Also, start to take your dog outside immediately after drinking, waking up, and eating to help have more trips outside and work with the vet to see if anything can be done with medication. Remember incontinence can occur in younger dogs as well as older ones.
Also, keep an eye on your dog and see if you notice if he’s in pain when he urinated frequently, which can be a sign of a urinary tract infection. These are very common among dogs and can easily be diagnosed as well as treated by your veterinarian.
Old age is also just another cause of peeing inside the house. An older dog can become senile or experience dementia, which can cause them to forget where they are. These issues can be managed with supplements and medications, while some pet owners will choose doggie diapers and absorbent pads to keep the house protected from inevitable accidents.
Stress
A dog can also have accidents when he is feeling stressed. While a dog doesn’t have the same stress as we do, they can still feel anxious on occasion. Even just being left at home while you run to the store is able to cause separation anxiety in a dog. It can also happen when there are lifestyle changes in your home such as moving to a new house, having a baby, getting a new dog or cat, or even someone in the family movie out. All of this can be enough to cause your dog anxiety and stress.
Changes In Your Dog’s Schedule
A dog love for his day to be consistent. Your daily schedule will only benefit him if you keep to it. A well-grained dog may start urinating suddenly in your house then he may be telling you that he isn’t on his schedule and can’t hold it that long. Here are a few things to consider:
- Are you leaving your dog along more often than usual?
- Have you been working long hours?
- Has his eating schedule changed?
- Has his walk time been shortened because your daily schedule has
What Can You Do to Prevent Your Dog From Peeing in the House?
Don’t Make Your Dog Hold It Too Long
Always keep in mind that a puppy isn’t able to control his bladder until he’s about 16 weeks old. Only then will they be able to hold their bladder for as many hours as they are months old plus one. In other words, a five-month-old puppy can hold it for six hours. You should never expect a puppy to wait for too long for a potty break or it will cause him to have an accident.
Make sure you take your pup to the right toilet area as often as they need to go outside. If you don’t, they will end up going inside their crate, in the house, or in a safe area. If you are unable to be home to take him out, use potty pads that can provide an indoor toilet, however, it can also delay the potty training process by giving him a second option instead of the one you want. Hiring a pet sitter or asking a neighbor to take him out may be a better solution so that but that he is still able to go out when he needs to.
Don’t Ignore the Signs
While it’s important to take him outside frequently, do you really know when your puppy has to go outside? It’s important to look for behavior like hunching his back, sniffing, and circling to understand that he is sending you a signal to out asap. When you get the signal and he pees outside successfully, make sure you give you plenty of treats as a reward. That way, he will quickly understand the reward of going outside.
You should also pay attention to what time your dog needs to go out. Look for predictable times like after exercising and playing, after he wakes up, and after he drinks or eats. Anticipating his needs instead of waiting for a signal can increase your chance of getting him outside in time. And it also helps to create a bathroom routine to anticipate when his potty break times are approaching.
Never Take Your Eyes Off Your Dog
It’s important that your puppy learns the right place to go potty as well as when, so make sure you prevent your dog from going in the wrong place. He may know that your yard is a good place, but not know that the living room is not. Always remember that when your dog is getting the reward of an empty bladder when he has an accident, so he doesn’t necessarily think there’s anything wrong with it.
Always supervise your dog when he isn’t in a safe area or his crate. Remember that it’s not enough that he’s in the same room with you, but you need to watch what he is doing at all times or you might miss his warning sign that he needs to go outside and pee.
Never Give Your Dog Too Much Freedom Too Soon
Supervising your dog is incredibly important as you allow your dog more freedom in your home. Remember that a dog doesn’t generalize well and may understand that the kitchen is not a place to go potty, but he won’t automatically translate that to other areas of the house. Remember that you will need to teach a puppy how he should behave in each room of the house.
Teach your puppy the proper potty behavior in just one or two rooms at a time while keeping the rest of your home off-limits. Once your dog does not have an accident in the first few rooms, then you can start to allow them access to a couple of more rooms. A good indication that your dog is ready to go into more room is when he tells you he needs to go out by running to the door or barking.
Don’t Take Your Dog’s Health for Granted
If your puppy is still having accidents after having completed every part of a potty-training program and you have given him the freedom he is ready for, then take him to the veterinarian. Something as simple as a urinary tract infection can cause him not to be able to hold it until he can get outside to pee. Once an infection is cleared up, then he will have fewer accidents. You can also do some remedial potty training at the same time as a reminder of the rules to your dog.
FAQ
How do you stop a dog from peeing in the house?
There are several things you can do to keep your dog from peeing inside the house including cleaning the accident area properly. Always immediately clean any accident using a cleaner that will get rid of the smell. Figure out what is triggering your dog’s accidents whether it’s stress or excitement. Increase his potty breaks and retrain him if necessary. If nothing else is working, make sure to take him to the veterinarian to see if the reason he is having accidents has to do with a medical issue.
Do dogs pee in the house out of spite?
No, a dog will not pee just to spite you. They will also not pee to get revenge or attention or even if they are mad at you. They will pee in the house if they are afraid, anxious, marking their territory, or if they have a health problem. It can also be due to not having any other options as it has been too long since they have been out. There is a lot more to a dog peeing in the house than spite or revenge.
