Although we are not aware of this, the simple fact that our dog urinates in bed is not only a health problem, but it can also lead to a serious behavior problem.
Dogs are unpredictable life companions, one day they can start doing things as strange as peeing in their bed or worse, in ours, with the great hygiene problem that this entails.
They can even start urinating all over the house, like marking their territory. But… do you really know why a dog urinates in bed? We explain them all briefly and clearly.
Index of contents
- 1 Reasons a dog urinates in bed
- 2 My dog urinates in bed to mark his territory
- 3 Should I scold my dog if he urinates in bed?
Reasons a dog urinates in bed
An adult dog that already knows how to relieve himself outside the home should not pee in his bed never, much less yours. Or at least, you shouldn’t do it voluntarily, as some illnesses or moods can cause you to urinate involuntarily.
The main reasons why a dog urinates in bed are:
- Excessive nerves, excitement, or agitation: It is something that happens for example when we get home and our dog comes to greet us very happy. Some dogs become so happy that they end up involuntarily peeing where they get caught.
- State of fear or panic: If you are scolding your dog, or he has been scared by something and urinates … you should know that your dog is going through a terrible moment of fear or panic and that he has involuntarily urinated, it is something that they cannot control.
- Advanced age or illness: Very old dogs sometimes have urinary incontinence problems, it is something completely normal that simply requires veterinary supervision. Sick dogs can also urinate in bed due to the disease itself, the lack of strength to go to urinate elsewhere or the medication they are taking.
- Puppies and young dogs: Puppies and young dogs in general need their time and training to learn to urinate away from home. While they are learning, it is completely normal that they also urinate inside the home, because learning will take time.
- Dreams and nightmares: Although it sounds strange, dogs also dream and of course they also have nightmares. Perhaps they are dreaming that they pee and inadvertently do so (as it happens in humans). Or they just had a nightmare and peed themselves out of fear.
- Lack of organization on walks: Our dog, whatever his age, needs a routine of steps to be able to relieve himself outside the home. If we break this routine or the number of daily walks is insufficient, it is completely normal for the dog to urinate at home, in bed or wherever he catches, because he simply cannot take it anymore. We recommend you read: How many walks does a dog need per day?
- Mark your territory: This is undoubtedly the worst situation that we can find, since if our dog urinates on the bed to mark his territory, he will be indicating to us that he wants to ascend the hierarchy of the pack, that is, he wants to rule over us and that it’s not possible.
As you can see the reasons are numerous, so we simply have to observe and analyze our dog to know what it is about. If we have doubts, a consultation with the vet can help us resolve them, or at least rule out some of the possibilities.
My dog urinates in bed to mark his territory
We must be totally sure that our dog’s intention is to mark his territory before taking action. That is, we must discard all the other possibilities discussed above.
We will know that our dog is marking his territory if he urinates on our bed, if he urinates on his bed, if he urinates in small amounts from different places in the house and if all this is done repeatedly or constantly.
In the case of this problem, we must be very rigorous and settle it immediately. The first thing we must do is not humanize our dog, that is:
- Do not let him climb on our bed or on the sofa.
- Do not pick him up or let him sleep on our lap.
- Do not feed our food.
- Prevent him from being the first to enter or leave the house.
- Treat it like a dog, with love, with respect, but without humanizing it.
You should not scold your dog, much less poke him, nor do urban legends that say that you have to run your nose through the pee so that they do not do it again, that is totally absurd.
You simply must indicate to your dog who is the alpha male and what is his place, this does not mean in any case mistreating the dog, just not humanizing it. We leave you some more detailed advice here: How to be the Alpha male.
Should I scold my dog if he urinates in bed?
Logically no, what we must do is educate him correctly so that he does not. By scolding him we will only get him not to do it for as long as his fear lasts, and fear is the worst way of teaching that we can use.
If our dog urinates in bed due to age, health, etc… problems. we should not even be angry. We will simply clean the urine to prevent it from producing a bad smell, end.
However, when we are walking with our dog and urinate outside the house, on the street or in a garden, we will congratulate him and much with positive reinforcement, so that he understands that we prefer that he urinate in the street.
Obviously, if it is due to illness or incontinence, you will not be able to avoid urinating at home, but you will surely put all your effort into trying to hold on until the time you walk.
If our dog pees in bed or at home simply to mark his territory, we should not scold or anger him either. We must educate him as we have indicated above so that he learns that he is not the one who dials at home.