Why Does My Dog Wee On His Bed?
A surprisingly common question asked by many dog owners is “How do I stop my dog weeing on the bed?”. Let’s face it, even with a premium quality Taylor & Tails dog bed, which can be wiped and spot cleaned, no one wants to be dealing with dog wee on a regular basis.
Wee accidents can happen with any dog, regardless of breed. The complication is that there are a large number of reasons your dog may be weeing on their bed, so before you begin to fix the problem you need to identify the cause. This article will cover some of the most common reasons dogs urinate on their beds, so you can begin to make positive changes, both for yourself, and your pet.
Medical Reasons For Dogs Urinating On The Bed
First and foremost, if your dog is regularly weeing in its bed and other places around the house, you should rule out whether there is a medical reason.
Diabetes is one of the most common hormone-related diseases in dogs, particularly in females. Although most dogs are 7-10 years old when they develop diabetes, it can affect pups as young as 18 months old. There also seems to be certain breeds that are more likely to have diabetes, including springer spaniels, dachshunds and poodles. 1
Some studies suggest that 1 in 300 dogs will develop diabetes in their lifetime, so it’s definitely a condition to look out for.2 A diabetic dog will have an increased need to urinate, along with an increase in their thirst, weight loss, general tiredness and vomiting.
Urinary tract infections are another condition that disproportionately affects female dogs, although both sexes can be affected. If your dog has previously been well house-trained but has suddenly started experiencing bladder problems, a UTI may well be the cause.
A dog with a UTI will often attempt to wee very frequently and may strain or whine as they try to pass urine. Other signs to look out for are frequent licking of their genitals and dropping urine that has a strong odour.
If any of these symptoms sound relevant to your pooch, get them checked over by your vet as soon as possible.
Behavioural Reasons For Doggy Bed Wetting
Other than medical issues, there can also be behavioural reasons your dog may be weeing in his bed. Here are a few of the most common reasons, based on our experience working with dogs.
Anxiety or Nervous Temperament
Anxious or nervous dogs are prone to weeing throughout the home, including their bed. This stress response is rarely an isolated symptom, so you may also note them exhibiting other anxious behaviours, such as trembling, excessive paw-licking, frequent barking or hiding.
Yelling or reprimanding an already anxious dog will only add to their stress. Instead of focusing on the symptom of wetting the bed, begin by addressing the anxiety itself.
Over-Excitement
You open the door after a day at work and your dog greets you with an excited stream of wee all over the floor and their bed. Sound familiar? Over-excitement is another reason many dogs wee in their bed, particularly puppies who are still learning to control their bladder.
Along with reducing the excitement level at home by encouraging your pup to calm down, remind your dog where he is supposed to relieve himself and practice good house training.
Changing The Behaviour
Unless your dog has an ongoing medical issue, wetting the bed is usually a relatively straightforward problem to solve. We recommend enlisting the support of a dog trainer, who will have encountered this many times before and will be able to support your dog in adopting the right behaviours with minimal stress to them, and you.
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