One of the habits that creates the most headaches for many owners is that your dog urinates everywhere This annoying behavior it can be quite difficult to eliminate depending on what are the causes that originate it. Now, in most cases, it has a solution.
If you are concerned about this behavior problem in your dog, you will need the right information to solve this situation. For this reason, on our site we want to advise you and give you some instructions that could help you.
Why do dogs pee?
For dogs and many other animals, both urine and feces are not simply a way of eliminating waste from the body, but also a form of communicationwith others of the same or different species. This behavior is, therefore, instinctive, aimed at transmitting information of all kinds, such as: age, sex, fertility, he alth status, etc. In this way, they recognize each other by smell.
Finally, it is known that this behavior is a form of territorial marking, since when dogs urinate in various corners and objects, leave their scent in the areas they want to make their own This behavior is more common in males, although some females also tend to do it, especially during the heat cycle. In addition, it is common for our furry to always urinate in the same places during the walk. So it reinforces its marking and eliminates the smell of other dogs.
How many times does a puppy urinate?
If our friend is still a puppy, it is possible that he has not yet had enough time to learn to relieve himself in the right place. Also, even if you have already learned this behavior, if you are still young, may not yet have full control of your urinary sphincters and therefore sometimes leak your pee, especially in situations where you feel nervous, happy, and even afraid.
In this way, it is common for a puppy to urinate many more times throughout the day than an adult dog If you are going to start taking him for a walk, we recommend that you establish a routine and take him for a walk at least 3 or 4 times a day For more information, you can read this other article on our site about Walking the puppy on a leash for the first time.
My dog urinates at home and he didn't before, why?
As we have mentioned, urine helps them mark their territory. Thus, if your dog has suddenly started peeing in the house, his behavior is most likely related to marking and stress
Dog marking
Marking in dogs is a behavior that usually occurs in males once they have started their hormonal development (approximately, from 7 months of age), usually, raising a hind leg Although it can also occur in females, especially when the heat stage approaches.
If we neuter our male dog before he has initiated this behavior, we can avoid it because the number of male hormones that initiate it will not increase. Contrary to popular belief, if we do it later, it is possible that we will not solve it, since it will have already learned the behavior (similar to what happens with the behavior of mounting).
The marking itself does not have to be annoying if our dog has learned to do it outside the house. We must understand that is part of its nature.
Stress in dogs
Now, it may happen that our dog increases this behavior due to stress. A dog in a negative mood will mark his territory more often because he feels insecure, so he seeks to protect and delimit even more his territory. For example, if we have recently welcomed another dog and our dog has not had time to adapt properly to the new inhabitant.
In case your dog is stressed, we recommend you go to your veterinarian, who will be able to tell you the best remedies to reduce stress in dogs.
My dog urinates at home when I'm not there
Another cause that explains why my dog urinates everywhere, especially when he is alone, is closely related to stress. We're talking about separation anxiety.
Separation anxiety in dogs
Separation anxiety refers to a very high state of nervousness when the dog does not have access to its owner. This means that the dog feels a strong bond of attachment towards her guardian, which generates an inability to be alone
Due to the stress and nerves our pet suffers, he ends up losing control of his sphincters and urinating (and/or defecating) unintentionally.
Wake-up call
Following the previous line, if our dog feels lonely, it is likely that sometimes he also tries to get our attention. In this sense, it is possible that he has learned to get our attention in this way if he has related the behavior of urinating with our paying attention to him, even if we have scolded him. In this way, if our dog feels ignored, he can resort to this tactic so that we stand by him.
For more information, here are 8 other things dogs do to get attention.
My dog urinates everywhere - Other causes
In addition to all of the above, it is likely that our dog has urinary incontinence problems for other reasons, such as the following.
You need to walk more often
Our dog may not go outside as much as he shouldand, therefore, he has no choice but to do so at home. This occurs especially in dogs that only go out once a day or that do not have a fixed schedule that allows them to understand that there is a routine.
He alth and aging problems in dogs
Inadequate elimination may be related to some organic pathology, such as a urinary tract disorder, kidney disease, and even neurological damage. Also, older dogs can develop urinary incontinence. Therefore, we must pay attention to the signs of aging in dogs.
What can I do if my dog urinates everywhere?
That your dog urinates everywhere can really be a difficulty in your day-to-day with him and be an obstacle to harmonious coexistence with him. Despite the difficulty of solving this problem in some cases, it is not impossible, but for this we will need to find the cause and what is its solution In case we cannot identify the origin and we think that our dog is a hopeless case, it is best to contact an ethologist who can guide you.
The measures to take into account to redirect different causes are the following:
What does your dog need?
Understanding what are the specific needs of our dog, for example if he is active and needs more exercise than we provide, it will be key to satisfying his well-being and that he does not have stress or frustration and that, therefore, he does not develop behavioral problems, such as excessive marking, as we have discussed in this article, or others, such as barking or eating disorders, like for example that your dog stops eating.
That is, before proposing that our dog obey a basic education, such as the proper elimination of urine and feces, we have to make sure that he is well, with all his physical and mental needs covered.
Many times we provide our dog with a proper diet and a safe home, but we fail to offer him daily exercise As a general rule, our furry should take two or threewalks a day to be satisfied, and give him the option to pee outside the house several times a day at a set time, so he can understand that there is a routine.
Spend more quality time with him
The lack of attention is also usually a recurring problem, and that is that it is not enough to just walk our dog, but We must also spend quality time with him to satisfy his social and cognitive needs, through games or activities that are interesting to him.
Lack of attention can result in behaviors that are annoying to us as long as we pay attention to it. In the same way, if our dog urinates everywhere with this intention, it is best to ignore him, so that he will not get the prize he is looking for (our attention) and will stop performing this behavior.
Education
If we talk about a puppy, it is natural that he still does not understand where to relieve himself correctly. In addition, as we have commented, even if he wants, he still does not control his sphincters to decide where to do it. We must, therefore, be patient.
Whether our dog is still small or an adult and needs to learn this habit, we must gradually teach him this routine through long walks that encourage him to do it outside. And in turn, through the positive reinforcement, that is, every time the furry act appropriately, we will reward him with caresses, flattery and treats.
Avoid punishment
We understand that it is often difficult to lose patience and we may come to think that scolding our dog can help him understand that he is doing something wrong. But nothing could be further from the truth, since a reaction as disproportionate as punishment will only generate distrust in our dog towards us, since he is not capable of understanding the reason for our anger and can even create a bad learning
It could be the case, for example, that this urinates out of submission and/or fear (due to a lack of sphincter control), as we explain in this other article Why does my dog urinate when I pet him? Or maybe he needs to hide from you to pee and is therefore unable to pee while you walk him because you're with him and he's afraid of the consequences.
Use repellent products
In pet stores, there is a wide catalog of enzymatic products suitable for pets (non-toxic), specialized in the elimination of urine, whether on the carpet, sofa, walls… These products eliminate the smell of urination and, in this way, prevent the dog from marking the same zone.
However, these products alone are not a solution. It is necessary to act globally and, as we have mentioned, find the cause and the solution to the problem.
Take him to the vet
If you suspect that the fact that your dog urinates everywhere is due to age or a pathology, take him quickly to the vet so that he can make a diagnosis. Above all, if we have observed a sudden change in our dog's usual behavior, as well as other unusual behaviors.
