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Peeing on the Bed in Dogs
What is Peeing on the Bed?
Peeing on the bed is common in puppies and older dogs, although with older dogs it can be a sign of a medical condition. In fact, if your dog is over a year old and has previously been house trained, peeing on the bed can be a sign of something wrong such as anxiety or fear. The most commonly reported reasons for peeing on the bed include:
- Marking
- No access to outdoors
- Drinking too much water
- Submission
- Excitement
- Fear or anxiety
- Improper house training
- Medical conditions
Why Peeing on the Bed Occurs in Dogs
There are several reasons, both behavioral and medical, that dogs pee in the bed. Some of these include:
Marking
Some dogs will urinate in areas to mark their territory from other animals (and sometimes other humans), but when they start doing it indoors it can be a problem for you. In fact, your dog may actually be marking you because it is your bed. Many male dogs will mark things that they consider to be their property and yes, this includes you. So, they will mark things that contain your scent such as your bed.
No Access to Outdoors
If you leave your dog alone too long and he really has to go, he will. Urinating in your bed may be his way of letting you know that you did not let him out when he needed to go.
Drinking Too Much Water
Sometimes, dogs drink more water than usual. This may be from eating something with excess salt (sodium) or from a medical condition. When it is hot outside and he has been outdoors, he may come inside and drink a lot more water than he usually does, and this can cause him to accidentally wet the bed.
Excitement
When dogs get excited some of them seem to lose control of many things, including their bladder. If your dog is young, this behavior may relent with time.
Fear or Anxiety
Some dogs get so nervous or scared that they will lose control of their bladder no matter where they are. If they just happen to be hiding in your bed at the time, they will pee in your bed.
Improper House Training
If your dog was never properly house trained, you will need to start over from scratch. This can happen to a puppy or even a dog who is already trained if they are moved to a new house. You will most likely need to retrain your dog.
Medical Conditions
Genetics may play a part. Breeds predisposed to these types of accidents are the Labrador and Golden Retrievers, Siberian Huskies, and English Bulldogs.
Diabetes is a disease caused by the pancreas not producing enough insulin and happens in one out of every 500 dogs. Other signs include weight loss, excessive thirst, vomiting, and lethargy.
Urinary tract infections are one of the most common reasons for peeing the bed in dogs. Females are more susceptible than males, but both can include signs of increased body temperature, general ill appearance, lethargy, and excessive licking in the urinary area.
Other conditions can include those such as obesity, which can cause incontinence due to weakened muscles. Kidney disorders include kidney stones, kidney infections, Addison’s and Cushing’s disease. Trauma such as injury or accident that causes damage to any part of the urinary tract or urethra.
What to do if your Dog is Peeing on the Bed
If your dog is peeing in the bed and you have tried retraining him, you should take him to see a veterinarian right away. The veterinarian will assess your pet to determine if the behavior is medically related or not. A canine who is peeing in your bed may indeed have a medical condition that needs treatment immediately so do not wait too long. Often, if a dog has pain upon urination, lack of urinary control, or a health condition that causes frequent urination, he may pee on the bed once and then continue in the same spot each time an urgent or painful need strikes. Additionally, your veterinary team will have access to specialists in canine behavior who can give assistance in the case that a medical reason is not found.
Prevention of Peeing on the Bed
To stop your dog from peeing in the bed, you can ban him from your bed or even from your entire bedroom. Many pet owners find this undesirable because they like their dog to sleep in bed with them. In that case, you will just have to show your dog who is the boss.
Marking
If your dog is marking your bed, he will need to be neutered. If this does not work, there are sprays that you can use in your bed that will deter this activity.
No Access to Outdoors
It is easy to prevent this problem. Just let your dog outside more often. If you are unable to be home as much as he needs, you can install a doggy door so he can go out whenever he needs to or have someone come take your dog outside for you during the day on a regular basis.
Drinking Too Much Water
If your dog is drinking too much water, he is most likely doing so because he has a medical condition that causes extreme thirst such as diabetes.
Excitement
If your dog is in the habit of peeing a little when he gets excited, crate training can help with this issue. Place him in the crate every time he has an accident and leave him in there when one of his triggers is about to happen such as a partner or pet arrival.
Fear or Anxiety
Similar to excitement, you should block your dog’s access to the bed when you know he is about to have an anxiety attack. Some dogs are afraid of a lot of things and must be crated often.
Improper House Training
Retraining your dog includes crate training as well as other techniques that your veterinarian can suggest.
Medical Conditions
There is no way to prevent medical conditions, so the only thing you can do is to treat is after your veterinarian has found the problem. However, annual wellness checks will identify problems that may lead to potentially serious health conditions. Early detection can be valuable.
Cost of Peeing on the Bed
Marking, no outdoor access, drinking too much water, excitement, and fear can all be treated on your own but your veterinarian can be helpful in finding out what to do so the cost for these conditions will likely be nothing more than the cost of a veterinary visit, about $75 to $100. Housetraining can be done on your own or you can involve your partner and family as well. The cost of house training includes the cost of a crate, which should be about $50 to $200 depending on the size of your dog. Diabetes treatments can be about $3,000 and kidney disease therapy may be over $7,000.
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Peeing on the Bed Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
Chihuahua And terrior mix -
Butter
1 Year
6 found this helpful
6 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Urinating On Bed
I have a female spayed foster dog that is peeing on my bed. Sometimes she pees on it right after I've changed the sheets She is in a pack of 8 small dogs. She is definitely the beta dog for now but tests that regularly.
I have two dogs that,never housetrained completely. One was a never out of a cage breeder and the other has a brain injury. So, house training new fosters is difficult because they see others peeing in the house, etc.
I would say that this bed wetting pup is otherwise 80% house trained but is getting worse I believe.
What can I do? I'm afraid to adopt her out with this problem. I've never dealt with this.
Help! 1:10 am and I just changed my,sheets for the 2nd time tonight.
Thank you
Karen.
April 19, 2018
6 Recommendations
It isn’t easy to get a dog to stop urinating on the sheets, especially if Butter can smell urine on the mattress; the quick way would be to ban her from the bedroom, however this isn’t always practical. He have some training guides on dog training which I’ve shared below but your household situation will make it difficult to train Butter. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
https://wagwalking.com/training/pee-outside
https://wagwalking.com/training/pee-outside-1
https://wagwalking.com/training/not-pee-on-the-rug (I don’t have one for bed)
April 19, 2018
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Chihuahua
Princess
3 Months
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Urine Marking
I have a 3 and a half month old female chihuahua she's completely house trained i use to live with my boyfriend but recently we broke up and he moved out, he would let her do whatever she wanted with him. So she tried to climb on me to lick my face when i sat down on the bed and i told her no and got her off me and she tried again so i set her on the floor and she started barking at me so i told her no again. I leave the room for a bit and come back and she had peed where i was sitting so i took her off the bed and denied her on my bed for the day but every time i left the room she would pee on my bed in a different area. She dont do it everyday it only happens when i tell her no, now it's gotten to the point she's spraying my blankets and pees where i was sitting before i left the room. I really need help.
chihuahua mix
Sabastion
11 Weeks
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Urinating
We just adopted a puppy (we think chihuahua and min pin) and he is peeing and pooping on the oldest dogs bed. We have two other dogs and he does not pee on their beds. He tries to play with the older dog and she barks and runs away from him. Could this be because he wants the older dogs attention or is it dominance?
