If you have started to find random puddles of pee around your home, then this blog post is for you. As annoying as it is to clean up, it's important to understand that there are several reasons why dogs urinate inside and some may be a cause for concern. In this post we will explore the common reasons why dogs pee inside and what to do about it.

Housetraining

The first common reason why your dog may be peeing in the house is because they simply haven't finished the housetraining process yet. Housetraining can take a while and accidents along the way are common and part of the learning experience.

Handy tools such as indoor dog potties can help with the housetraining process so your dog has a place to pee inside if they can't hold it any longer. This means instant relief for them and no clean-up for you!

If your dog is fully housetrained and the peeing inside started to occur afterwards, then it may be due to behavioral or health issues.

Medical reasons

Senior dogs

As your dog enters their golden years, they may begin to suffer from different ailments and urinary incontinence could be one of them. This can effect both males and females and is when the dog loses control of their bladder and bowels and starts to urinate (and poop) inside.

This is common in senior dogs (especially spayed female dogs). Senior dogs are more likely to suffer from mobility issues, such as arthritis, which can make getting into a comfortable position to urinate difficult. This can cause the dog to hold their urine which they will eventually be forced to expel when they can't hold it any longer.

Health problems

Health issues such as UTIs or Cushing's Disease can also lead to a dog peeing inside. Dogs are great at hiding their ailments so peeing inside could be the first sign that your dog is in poor health. It's important to speak to your vet because the cause of the peeing inside may need medical intervention.

Behavioral reasons

Submissive urination

Submissive urination is more prominent in puppies and is a common behavior that they outgrow but it can also occur in adult dogs too. This type of urination is not due to poor housetraining but is actually a social issue.

It usually occurs when your dog is being approached or greeted. They will show submissive behaviors such as cowering, rolling over, pinning their ears or tucking their tail. This urination during greetings is actually their way of showing respect so disciplining them for it will only make matters worse.

Scent marking

Another reason why your dog may be peeing inside is because they are marking their scent. This is a very common and normal behavior in dogs, especially in male dogs. 

Dogs mark their scent to claim their territory over things. Their pee (and poop) contains pheromones (chemical signals) that hold information about their gender, age, overall health and whether they are fixed or not.

Scent marking is especially common in multi-dog households where each dog is in competition for their space, food and human interaction.

Anxiety

Another reason why a dog may pee inside is if they are anxious or stressed about something. This could be caused by someone leaving the house or a loud noise. Disciplining a dog for urinating inside due to anxiety will only make them more anxious and in turn, will make them pee inside more.

Instead, you should read your dog's body language during these instances to see what is causing the anxiety to better manage their environment and these anxiety related behaviors.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why a dog may start peeing inside. From medical to behavioral issues, it is important to figure out the cause of the problem in order to properly address and resolve it. It's always best to speak to your vet as it's important to rule out any health problems which could be causing this to happen.