Peeing on the bed at night is more of a toddler’s behavior than dogs. In some cases, it could happen on puppies a few weeks old but as they get older, they learn to pee outside or on the potty pad. But the problem here is peeing on the bed and for dogs, it isn’t normal. Your canine companion is like humans too, they don’t want their comfort place to be dirty, most especially the ones they slept in at night every day.
So why does my dog pee on his blanket?
The reason for this bad behavior is more of a medical issue for your dog. It could be the following reason that’s why they keep on peeing on the bed:
*Emotional Distress
*Urinary Incontinence
*Urinary Tract Infection
*Kidney Disease
*Arthritis
The reason for peeing on the bed is different in each case and you have to be understanding of your dog especially if your dog is undergoing an emotional issue. We will help you understand the reasons further so that you can plan a better solution to address your dog’s peeing problem.
Why Urinating in Bed Happens for Dogs?
1.Emotional Distress
Emotional Distress on Dogs can happen for a variety of reasons. Take note that your dog is highly emotional and sensitive too. Look for the possible reasons why your Dog is in Emotional Distress that causes them to urinate in bed.
Stress – the stress could happen on dogs when they are surrounded by unfamiliar people or there are changes in your home and your dog is not familiar with it.
Separation Anxiety – the reason for separation anxiety is because the dog is overly attached to its owners that they are afraid whenever their owners left them. We think that it’s normal but for dogs, it isn’t.
Grief – your dog might be experiencing grief because of the loss of someone dearest to them or the loss of another dog or pet that they’re closest to.
Fear – one of the reasons for the emotional distress of your dog is their fear. Your dog might be experiencing something that they are fearful of like annoying sounds, unfamiliar objects, water, or new places.
Traumatic experience – the cause of emotional distress for your dog might be the traumatic experiences in the past and they were reminded of it because of certain things. The main reason for this is that they were reminded of the pain.
2.Urinary Incontinence
There will be a time that your dog is happy and content; it’s just that their urethral sphincter fails to function the way it should be. Urethral sphincters are two muscles and their main function is to control the exit of the urine in the urinary bladder. It is an involuntary muscle that when fails to contract and compress then here comes the leaking of your pet’s urine.
You will easily notice this because it will be frequent that your dog will urinate in the wrong places. In addition, it is a common occurrence on female dogs that were spayed and to the larger breed of dogs, Another reason could be that your dog is aging and certain problems on its body are failing. It could be a neurological reason that your dog is bedwetting.
Urinary Incontinence can happen to all dogs. Schedule a regular check-up with your vet so that your dog’s health will be monitored and so that you can prevent further damage to its body part and organs.
3.Arthritis
Arthritis is common in dogs that are aging. It is a medical concern that affects all dog’s joints, hips, and elbows. Whenever a dog experiences this, it causes pain in them that they will have difficulty getting up. Furthermore, they will just lie and sleep all the time because of the painful joints that may lead to urinary issues. It’s possible that your dog is experiencing too much pain that leads to urination in bed or your dog is in too much pain in bed that he refused to get up despite the need to pee.
If your dog is in old age, consider consulting your vet so that he can prescribe the right medication for your dog.
4.Urinary Tract Infection
Urinary Tract Infection or (UTI) is a medical issue which is common for dogs. Approximately 27% of dogs will most likely develop a Urinary tract Infection. UTI is caused by various reasons including bacterial & fungal infection, bladder inflammation, crystals, kidney stone, or cancer.
One of the signs that your dog is suffering from Urinary Tract infection is pain and loss of bladder control. Thus, your dog might pee on your bed because of the Urinary tract infection that they’ve been feeling.
5.Kidney Disease
Another reason why your dog will be wetting on your bed is because of Kidney Disease. It can occur on your dog because of the toxins from bad & unhealthy food. Because of this, the kidney will fail to stream all the toxins in the dog’s bloodstream.
There will be stages in Kidney Disease and you shouldn’t wait for it to become chronic because it isn’t reversible and can’t be cured. However, when it comes to acute kidney disease, it can be reversed. Hence, a regular check-up is a must especially if your dog is wetting on the bed suddenly.
In addition, kidney disease is oftentimes hereditary to breeds like Doberman Pinscher, Cocker Spaniel, Rottweiler, Poodle, Shih Tzu, and Samoyed.
What to Do When Your Dog Is Peeing on Your Bed
1. Help Your Dog in Emotional Distress.
When you find out that your dog is in emotional distress, the best thing that you could do is to comfort them. Give them a time wherein you will speak to them in your soft voice, hug them, kiss them or cuddle them. One of the best feelings for dogs is when they get to spend time with their owner especially when feeling down and lonely.
In times like this, you need to distract your dog from being stressed and lonely. One of the things that you could do together is to have a nice walk every day or let your dog interact with other dogs in the park. In addition, when your dog is sleeping, play soothing music for your dog to calm down and to sleep harmoniously. If you find your dog not in its usual state, it’s better to visit your vet clinic and have a consultation for proper medication and activities to divert your dog’s stress.
2. Check-Up for Urinary Incontinence
Urinary Incontinence can’t just be treated at home but it needs to have medical guidance and treatment. Most of the time, the treatment will be on a trial basis and when it works then that’s the time that there will be medication. 70% of aging dogs that underwent the treatment are successful thus no need to worry and take the necessary action.
What you can do for your healthy dogs is to prevent Urinary Incontinence from happening. Here’s some prevention to keep your dog away from Incontinence and dog peeing in bed situations.
*Don’t let your dog stop from peeing because they are in the house instead give them a more frequent time to go outside to pee.
*Don’t scold them for peeing everywhere because they might fear the punishment. Provide waterproof pads and train your dog to pee there.
*Provide healthy foods to avoid Kidney Disease and Urinary Tract Infection.
*Give your dog water all the time.
*Provide daily exercise and prevent your dog from accidents by building a dog fence.
Furthermore, you can buy washable diapers for your older dog. Clean them every day and provide a safe place wherein they will not feel bad not controlling their pee.
3. Treat Your Dog’s Arthritis
Physical therapy is one of the treatments that you can do for your dog to strengthen the joints and its muscles. Include daily exercise for your dog to keep them healthy and to prevent obesity. In addition, you can make their exercises more fun through swimming or introducing new places.
Moreover, a healthy diet and nutritious meals can also help a dog with arthritis. Avoid carbohydrates that will lead to higher sugar that causes more pain for your dog. Avoiding processed food can help your dog decrease the inflammation of joints and muscles.
Here are the things you could do to help your dog with arthritis:
*Acupuncture
*Laser Treatment
*Ultrasound
*Magnetic and Stem Cell Therapies
You can also provide a drug called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) for your dog suffering from arthritis.
4. Cure Urinary Tract Infection
Antibiotics can help you when your dog is suffering from UTI. However, it is still best that you seek medical advice from your vet for proper medication, diet, and exercise.
Urinary Tract Infection can be too painful for your dog, make sure to ask for pain management medication and ask for anti-inflammatory medicine, and pain killers. Since UTI is caused by bacterias, make sure to help your dog intake antibiotics to stop the infection.
In addition, provide more water for your dog to drink and avoid foods with too much acid. Provide fruits filled with water to help the flow and bacterias to wash out.
5. Medical Treatment for Kidney Disease
Kidney Disease is a serious condition that ultimately needs hospital care for your dog. When this disease is left untreated. It can cause more damage to your dog. Contact your vet so that she can assess the dog’s condition and so that she can help you figure out the right food and exercise.
How to Prevent Dogs From Peeing on the Bed
You can prevent your dogs from peeing on the Bed by giving solutions to the causes stated above. If they are still puppies, give them potty training and provide a puppy pad. Give them more frequent time to go outside so that they can pee there.
Another solution is providing your dog its own bed or keeping them in its crate to practice controlling their bladder and so that they will not soil their own Bed. In addition, you can also see a veterinary behaviorist to assist you in your pooch behavior. Most importantly, keep your dog healthy and always happy.
Non-medical Reasons Why Your Dog Pee on Bed
There’s this natural instinct for dogs as well that makes them pee on the Bed. It is what they called territorial behavior or urine marking behavior. It is the behavior of dogs that mark the places to indicate that it’s their territory. In addition, it is also their communication to warn other dogs to keep away from their belongings.
Insecure dogs will start peeing on his bed just so that they can protect their belongings from other dogs. It is unusual for dogs to pee on their bed without a medical condition but if the dog is in fear of intruders they will also mark their own bed.
How to Get Rid of the Dog’s Urine Odor
Dog’s can be a pain in the ass if they keep on peeing in the house. It’s even more frustrating when you have cleaned the urine but the odor remains in your house. Here’s how you can get rid of the odor:
Use a Towel or Rug to soak up the dog’s urine. Do not spread the urine but just use the towel to dab and soak.
After soaking up, use an enzymatic cleaner to cleanse the odor. Enzymatic cleaners break up the molecule of the pet’s urine. It will prevent your dog from going back to the place to pee.
Baking Soda is a natural neutralizer as well. After cleaning up, put a baking soda powder to ensure that the odor will be gone. Allow the powder to stay on the floor or carpet for 24 hrs and vacuum it the next morning.
Don’t reprimand your dog for accidentally peeing in your bed especially if the reason behind it is a medical concern. Help your dog get treated and distract them from experiencing emotional stress and trauma. Make sure to get rid of the odor in the house because when the dog smells it, they will pee in the same place again and again.