Suddenly, your dog is peeing in the house, and you do not know how to react or do about it. As a dog owner, you trained your dog to do daily activities, and now your canine friend seems to have forgotten everything you taught. This new dog’s behavior makes you nervous and disturbed, so what can you do to stop this and get your dog back to its old path of living?
Read here to find out what peeing in the house presents, the leading causes, and how you can prevent it.
Why Is The Dog Peeing in The House?
There are various reasons a dog would decide (or not decide) to pee in the house. Whether it is due to marking behavior, anxiety, urinary issues, or dealing with an older dog, you need to address the issue since peeing in the house should not turn into a repetitive action. (*)
Cognitive Issues
Senior dogs can have some mental or neurological disease, leading to peeing in the house. For example, dog dementia (cognitive disorder) leaves the dog confused and restless, which can make your dog pee in inappropriate places. In addition, any other nervous issue the dog might have can disable the dog from controlling the bladder.
Since the cognitive function in dogs declines as they get older, it can lead to behavioral changes, such as urinary accidents.
Dog’s Anxiety Issues
Anxiety has a way of changing everybody it touches. Unfortunately, it is no different with your dog. Combined with fear, stress can cause trouble and destructive behavior in your dog’s life and yours.
If your dog is feeling anxious, overly excited, or afraid of something, it is no wonder it will peep inside. Anxiety can come from many things, such as loud noises (e.g., fireworks), strange faces, and new visitors. Also, verbal reprimands and insults can cause anxiety in your dog. That is why positive reinforcement is significant for the dog’s wellbeing.
Changes in appetite might also signal anxiety issues, so as pet parents, you should pay attention to what bothers your dog in the first place. For example, loud sounds, sirens, and strangers can scare the dog. If you must bring strangers home, at least try introducing the dog to the new people slowly to avoid fearful situations.
Also, if the dog shows submissive postures, it can lead to submissive urination. Submissive urination happens due to anxiety or harsh treatment in the past.
So, to reduce the anxiety in your pup, ask your visitors to greet the dog calmly, with positive talking and interaction. Ask them to approach the dog from the side instead of the front. Also, ask visitors to pet the dog’s chin instead of the top of the head.
Urine Marking
If you notice your dog suddenly peeing inside, it might be because the dog wants to mark its territory. This territorial marking happens to both an adult dog and a senior dog. But, the most typical urine marking would be a new puppy. Also, this behavior is typical in male dogs.
Urine marking behaviors happen due to some changes in the house. For example, if there is a new family member, new baby, or new pet, your dog might feel the need to pee to mark its spot.
Also, if a family member visits your house or a new cat or dog starts living in the house next door, your dog might pee inside again. All the dog wants to say, though, is that the house is their territory.
Marking can happen for many reasons, such as a new home, a new dog, or even new furniture.
Getting the dog spayed or neutered will decrease the need to pee and mark spots in the house.
Once the dog pees to mark territory, you should clean the area as soon as possible. If you leave the smell, the dog might see it as a sign to do more marking.
Urinary Tract Infection Issues
This issue that leads to inappropriate urination is not uncommon in senior dogs. Most dogs in old age usually have some urinary tract issues or urinary bladder stones. In most extreme cases, some older dogs can have cancer in the bladder. (*)
Urinary tract infection happens when through the urethra, a bacteria gets into the urinary tract and leads to inflammation. This situation is harrowing for the dog and will change the dog’s routine.
The dog might get urinary stones or crystals when there are more significant changes in the urine pH. So, to ensure the dog has this problem, see its actions. For example, if it is peeing in the house, if it urinates more often, if you see blood in its urine, or feel a lot of urine odor, your dog might have unary tract issues.
Urinary infections can happen to dogs of all ages. Urinary infections cause dogs to pee more often and more urgently. However, a visit to the vet for proper antibiotics will quickly solve the more frequent urination.
Arthritis Issues
Senior dogs have arthritis issues more often, which leads to pain and discomfort. For example, joint inflammation can cause a lot of pain when the dog tries to stand up and walk.
This pain can make the dog unwilling to stand up and go out to the usual potty training. Adult dogs can quickly get up and go out, but an older one cannot do this so quickly.
Since the joint pain can cause a lot of trouble for the dog, it might suddenly prefer to pee where it sits or lays down.
Kidney Disease Issues
Sometimes, dogs pee in the house if they are facing kidney problems. Whether your dog is facing a kidney disease or a kidney infection, it can be very irritating to your dog and might lead to many urinary accidents. In addition, if you do not treat this medical condition, it can lead to more severe infections.
You can notice kidney infection by the dog’s frequent urination, weight loss, thirst, or lethargy. You must deal with these health issues immediately. Otherwise, it might lead to life-threatening situations.
Diabetes And Cushing’s Disease
Persistent cortisol production (Cushing’s disease) or diabetes can be one of the many medical reasons why dogs start peeing inside.
Due to these diseases, urinary accidents often happen in the dog’s environment.
Senior Dogs Issues
Once your little puppy turns into a senior dog, various kinds of medical issues can happen. For example, the daily routine of old dogs might change because their bladder is no longer that strong, and they cannot stay full as it used to while they were young.
With older age come prostate problems, but also issues with urinary accidents all over the house. In addition, age contributes significantly to inside peeing, so consider asking for expert advice on dealing with senior dogs.
So, if your old dog cannot survive the long road to the outside before peeing, you could buy some doggie diapers.
Separation Anxiety Issues
The root cause of repetitive urinary accidents might be separation anxiety. This behavioral issue happens because many dogs cannot stand seeing their owner go out and leave them.
Once the dog owner leaves the house, the dog might start barking, running, indulging in destructive behaviors, and eventually peeing in the house.
Bad Weather Issues
You can see any dog run outside with their dog walker when the weather is sunny. But how often can you see dogs living their best when it rains? Bad weather can be a huge turn-off when it comes to peeing outside.
Although this is not a medical issue, it can make any dog owner nervous. Even though your dog is young, strong, and healthy, it might refuse to go pee outside and cause urinary accidents inside when the weather is terrible.
No matter if it is raining, pouring, snowing, or if the weather is simply windy, it can make your dog stay inside and pee inside.
Also, significant weather changes (from the sun to rain) can make your dog suddenly peep into the house.
Home Changes
Whether it is a significant change or a small one, changes in your home and consequently changes in the dog’s routine can lead to your dog peeing in the house. In addition, urinary accidents can happen if you bring other dogs into the place, change the furniture arrangements, introduce a new pet, or have a baby.
Even moving to a new house with various home renovations can make the dog pee inside.
How To Stop The Dog Peeing In The House
To prevent your dog from peeing in the house, you must first find out the cause. Is it a medical condition or a behavioral one? If it is a medical condition in question, consider asking for professional help. Use the following tips to avoid peeing in the house behavior in dogs.
Find Out The Cause
Constant supervision can help you find out the cause of this behavior. Is it medical or behavioral? Consult the vet. Check the environment, the surroundings, and places where the dog moves.
It is most likely a behavioral issue if they only pee at home but do all other activities like usual. They might be dealing with a medical condition if they have urinary accidents and other problems.
Take The Pet To The Vet
To prevent this behavior in your pet, ask for professional advice. You can make the pet go out to pee as much as possible, give the pet many potty breaks, and introduce puppy pads in the house. Once you realize what the cause is, ask the vet for further advice and help.
Many prescriptions can help lower the anxiety levels in your pet, or other medications can help your older dog urinate in appropriate places.
For example, you can use belly bands for male dogs to avoid any unwanted accidents. A visit to the vet will help you if everything you tried did not work and you notice no improvement in the urinary accidents.
However, a visit to the vet requires a history of the symptoms. Also, you need to know when the accidents started, how the dog changed, and all the changes you made in your home.
Of course, the veterinarian will run a urine test to check for any medical issues.
Use Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is significant once you notice the pet peeing inside. Instead of yelling and screaming, you should calm down and praise the dog anytime it goes to pee outside. This way, you can prevent the dog from peeing inside again.
Also, offer some treats or play with the dog to praise the action of peeing outside. The positive response will motivate the dog to go out to pee again.
Do not scold the dog and make it fear you since it will negatively affect you. Do not scream and raise your voice. Instead, take the dog out once it starts peeing inside and let it finish outside.
Calm The Excited Dog And Introduce New Things Slowly
To prevent the home peeing behavior, do not let the dog in overexciting situations. If you have to introduce a new member or thing, do it slowly so the dog will not feel anxious and threatened.
FAQs
Final Words
Your canine friends might suddenly start peeing inside due to many factors that can have either behavioral or medical nature. As a canine owner, you must be careful and responsible enough to discover why and remove it from your dog’s life. In the end, even the dog itself does not want to pee in your home, but if you are not listening to what they try to tell you, you might encounter puddles of pee any time you enter your home.
Related topic: Do dogs get bored?
*photo by kinek00 – depositphotos