Your dog is finally housebroken. The joy is great. But then it happens. Your dog suddenly does his business in the middle of the apartment. Not always, but again and again.
Is it peeing in protest or is there another reason for the sudden uncleanliness? If your dog pees in the apartment, detective work is primarily required of you.
Your dog pees in the apartment: what now?
Here we explain how to get your dog housebroken again. Five different scenarios can be to blame for the uncleanliness:
- Illnesses, your dog has health problems
- Poor toilet training
- Insecurity or trauma
- Being alone is a stress factor
- Marking by males as territorial behavior
Diseases as possible causes
The first step is to find out if your dog has a medical condition. This may be responsible for its impurity. First of all, you should see your veterinarian rule out possible diseases.
A common cause is a simple bladder infection. In this case, your dog cannot control his urge to urinate.
You can recognize a bladder infection in your four-legged friend by the increased urge to urinate. Your dog feels weak. And he may have a fever. His urine has a very strong odor. And he shows that he has pain when urinating.
Kidney problems, diabetes, or Cushing’s syndrome can also lead to an increased urge to urinate. You can tell by the fact that your dog drinks significantly more than usual in return. All of these diseases require veterinary treatment.
You should always consider visiting the vet if your dog suddenly becomes unclean. Especially with older dogs, you always have to reckon with the fact that your dog already has kidney problems. This may account for its uncleanliness.
Herbal remedies help quite well against light incontinence.
Poor toilet training
Has your dog perhaps never experienced consistent toilet training? Then he can tend to be unclean.
After all, he was never really housebroken. Your dog has never really learned to do its business outside of the home. These are later the consequences of inconsistent toilet training.
In this case, you will have to restart his education in this regard. The older your dog is, the longer it may take for you to succeed. In this case, be patient.
From around four months of age, a puppy can consciously control its bowel and bladder. However, it can take weeks until puppies are housebroken. Or even months. This is entirely dependent on your animal. And also from your consistency as the owner.
Tips for insecurity or trauma
The third reason for sudden uncleanliness is usually not easy to recognize. You need to explore the reasons and causes here. Was there a situation that could have disturbed your dog? Has a family member moved out or did a new member join? In what context does house uncleanliness occur?
Your dog has a problem. It can be fear and insecurity. New life circumstances or traumatic situations that your dog had to experience.
Many reasons can cause your dog to suddenly pee in the apartment. These include insecurity and submissiveness. Dogs that are lower in the hierarchy pee out of insecurity. Is this the case with your dog? So you should try to show less dominance.
Young dogs pee when they are greeted
Often, younger dogs and puppies pee during greetings. Bend your knees and refrain from petting your dog’s head.
Keep calm, it will keep your animal-safe. Stroke your animal between the front legs. And if that works, you can allow more contact.
It can also happen that your dog urinates with excitement when you greet him. Tension, stress, or fear can cause this, especially in younger dogs. You lose control of your bladder muscles for a short time.
In this case, you should try to face your dog with a lot of calmness. Always take your pet outside before impending and very exciting situations. This is how your dog can get loose.
The ideal is to go outside immediately afterward. This applies, for example, to the beloved hour of play. Or when guests come.
My dog pees in the apartment: when he is alone
There’s another reason your dog pees. He has not learned to stay alone. Some dogs then tend to do their business in the living room.
Again, the reason is excitement. Or fear. Your dog has severe separation anxiety. He gets nervous. He no longer has control over his bladder. The result is a puddle in the apartment.
Did you unmask exactly this point as the cause? Then you should consult a dog psychologist. This is a serious problem. You have to work on this with your four-legged friend.
This will teach your dog to stay calm and composed. Otherwise, your animal will suffer for the rest of its life.
Territorial behavior: Why does my dog mark in the apartment?
Another possibility for impurity is your dog’s territorial behavior. Dogs mark their territory by dispersing small amounts of urine. This has nothing to do with urination per se.
Your dog wants to show that this is his territory. Other species are not welcome here.