The act of dogs urinating in your house is for obvious reasons a concern. If you are in need of some solutions, look no further.
Dog peeing in the house is a common problem among dogs but is often resolved in our dogs early years.
So what do you do if your dog is still urinating at home? Puppy or adult?
First we will discuss some of the possible medical and behavioral causes of a dog peeing in the house and how to stop your dog from urinating in the house.
Most pet owners housetrain their beloved dogs to urinate outside the house but “accidents” happen.
Behavioral urinating in the house occurs when there is no underlying medical problem. The other type of house soiling occurs when a health problem causes the dog to urinate inside the house. But, firstly we will discuss the behavioral problems.
Behavioral Problems
House soiling is more common in male dogs that are not neutered but it can also happen to female dogs, senior dogs, and adult neutered dogs.
Inadequate house training
If your dog is not properly taught that outside is the only option for peeing, then it is not fair to expect the dog to urinate only outside the home.
You can only expect the dog to do what he or she has been taught.
If your dog is completely trained and starts urinating in the house again, there are several potential behavioral causes for it.
Peeing to show submission
When your beloved dog interacts with new people or animals. Your pup is showing interest and friendly behavior but when interaction becomes too scary for your pup. This is when things can change.
Then your adorable fluffy dog can show submissive behavior and may urinate inside the house. Dog peeing in the house due to submissive behavior can occur at any age but most common in tiny puppies.
Mostly submissive urination occurs when a dog owner or stranger scolds or punishes the dog.
In this situation your dog will exhibit the submissive postures. Such as frightening, lowering the body, raising the front paws, flattening the ears back, licking the lips and dog showing his teeth.
Overexcitement
Yes, overexcitement can also cause the dog to urinate inside the house. The signs of urination from excitement are different than the submissive urination.
Your beloved dog will show cheerful behavior such as jiggling, wiggling, and jumping as they joyfully urinate on the floor. This often leads to the spraying of urine everywhere.
Marking territory
Do you know? Your pup can urinate in the house to mark its territory. It is also known as scent marking.
It mostly happens when your dog feels insecure or frustrated. Then your dog will start urinating in a small amount at specific places inside the house and ultimately it becomes a pattern. Most male dogs and some female dogs that scent mark raise a leg to urinate
Separation Anxiety
Some dogs urinate when left alone or separated from their owner. If a dog urinates in the presence of its guardian, peeing in the house may not be due to separation anxiety.
You may notice that your dog looks nervous or upset before you leave him alone.
Dog peeing at night
If your dog is peeing only at night, this can be due to a lot of reasons. Sometimes it’s just a matter of not being supervised before house training is complete.
Other times, your little dog has a small bladder and it empties faster than a senior dog.
Rule Out Possible Medical Causes First
If your dog urinates indoors or at the wrong times, it’s important to visit a vet to rule out medical reasons before taking any other action.
If your dog suddenly begins to urinate in a home (or in other unacceptable places), then it may be due to a urinary tract infection.
This is one of the most common causes of house soiling and one of the most common health problems in dogs.
The following are some other common medical reasons for improper urination.
- Kidney disease
- Cushing disease
- Diabetes mellitus
- Hypercalcemia (high blood calcium)
- Pyometra (uterine infection in unspayed females)
These are all complicated and progressive diseases. It is important that such conditions be confirmed and controlled before they result in irreversible damage.
Why is older age dog, peeing in the house?
Some old age dogs urinates in the house due to incontinence, a medical condition in which the dogs urinate and leaks without being aware.
Old age dogs may develop forms of dementia, leading to peeing in the house. These dogs can forget about house training or simply forget where they are.
Other health problems, such as renal failure, also appear in old age dogs. You should immediately contact your veterinarian for proper diagnosis.
In some cases, dementia can be treated to some extent with medications and supplements.
Many people who live with old age dogs with urinary tract problems. Are also choosing to use dog diapers or placing beds and other places they visit with absorbent pads.
Why is my new dog peeing in the house?
When a new dog moves into your home, he often feels the need to mark the territory and recognize his new place as his own land by urinating it.
Since many recently adopted dogs have already been housebroken, this can be a one-time event.
If this is happening again and again then you have to house train your new dog again like a puppy.
How do you stop a dog from peeing in the house?
If your veterinarian finds any underlying medical conditions, then your dog will be treated first. Sometimes that’s all that is needed to solve the problem of house soiling.
If your beloved dog does not have a medical problem causing house soiling. Then your dog can be treated with behavioral modification therapy.
If your dog is not neutered, then your veterinarian may recommend this operation. This procedure can help up to half of the male dogs that urinate at home to scent their territory.
It is important to start early and be consistent with house training. Early rigorous house training will help your dog to understand where and when to urinate.
Sometimes you have to re-train the dog if you have adopted the new dog or your dog doesn’t remember the previous training.
You should monitor your dog for behavioral and physical changes. This will allow you to work quickly to solve problems before the dog falls into patterns that require more intensive treatments.
You should try to find out the potential trigger of behavioral change. If possible, get rid of the trigger or teach the dog how to live with it, or change any objects that can calm the dog’s anxiety.
You should always avoid punishing or screaming at your dog for peeing in the house.
You should immediately clean the place and eliminate the smell so your dog doesn’t recognize the urine smell. And think that indoors is an acceptable place to urinate.
So in conclusion, the quality of your dog’s response to behavioral therapy depends on your commitment to teaching him new behavior.
It is important to be patient with the dog when he is in the learning stage. This can be a slow process.
In some cases, it may take several weeks for the dog to respond to treatment and several months to achieve complete success. Some dogs may require long-term treatment and training.
