Dogs often mark their territory by peeing. Peeing on your own sleeping place, on the other hand, is not normal for healthy dogs – neither as a puppy nor as an adult.
However, this phenomenon is observed much more frequently in puppies. Incidentally, peeing at a young age is completely normal for humans.
A lack of training is rarely the problem here. Much more often it is due to emotional anxiety and illnesses.
To find out the actual cause, the following 2 factors are crucial:
- State of consciousness: Is your dog awake or does he pee in his sleep?
- Amount of urine: Is it just a few drops or is he emptying his full bladder?
The 6 most common causes of urinating in the basket are:
cause consciousness
ConditionUrine Amount#1 StressAwakeLittle#2 ArthritisAwakeFull Bladder#3 IncontinenceIn SleepVaried#4 Urinary Tract InfectionAwakeLittle#5 ThreatAwakeLittle#6 Kidney ProblemsVariedVaried
Then let's take a closer look at the individual points.
Are you worried or unsure? Then click here to start a live chat with a veterinarian.
#1 Stress
Peeing in the basket may be due to emotional or environmental stress. Typical causes here are:
- Strong fear – for example of being alone, of being punished or being locked up.
- Grief – e.g. due to the loss of a mother, a family member or other pets.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – e.g. from violent handling or being attacked by another dog.
- Environmental stressors – e.g. fireworks, loud trains or loud household appliances. [1]
In addition to peeing in the dog bed, other stress-related symptoms also often occur:
- Sudden aggression
- Restlessness & nervousness
- Tremble [2]
As a rule, dogs are awake while urinating and pee relatively little. If stress is actually the cause, the following measures can help:
- Take your dog for a long walk twice a day.
- Spend a lot of time with your dog and pamper him with cuddles.
- Play soothing music in the background and reduce noise.
- Boost your dog mentally with this intelligence toy from Amazon.
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Emotional and environmental stress can cause even adult dogs to suddenly wet the bed. This can be treated relatively well with regular walks, several strokes of petting and mental activity.
#2 Arthritis
Arthritis is the technical term for the inflammation of the joints. Both people and dogs can get it.
Affected dogs often experience so much pain when getting up and walking that they prefer to pee in their own dog bed instead.
You can usually recognize such an illness by the following symptoms:
- Stiff gait
- Difficulty getting up
- Swollen joints
- Aversion to climbing stairs [3]
In addition, affected dogs are usually awake when peeing and empty their full bladder all at once. Depending on the underlying cause, the following measures can help:
- Pain-relieving medications
- Cooling compresses
- weight loss
- Physiotherapy
- Diet change [4]
While the cause is not always curable, the symptoms of arthritis in dogs are very treatable. Pain is completely unnecessary here.
Dogs with severe arthritis sometimes have so much joint pain that they prefer to pee in the basket instead of going outside. Other symptoms include a stiff gait and swollen joints. Medication is usually used for treatment.
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#3 Incontinence
If your dog pees in the basket while sleeping, incontinence is often responsible. This most commonly occurs in neutered female dogs.
The reason? Removing the ovaries greatly reduces estrogen production. The problem? The urethral sphincter is controlled by estrogen. [5]
This severely limits your ability to hold urine. In addition to hormones, there are also other potential causes:
- Medication
- Prostate disease
- Spinal injury
- diabetes
- Kidney disease [6]
Incidentally, incontinence can occur in dogs of all ages. According to studies, only around 1% of male dogs are affected by it. [7]
The amount of urine varies greatly here. In most cases, when dogs are incontinent, they usually wet the bed while they are sleeping. But you also often lose a few drops throughout the day.
Treatment depends on the underlying cause. If the problem cannot be resolved, the following measures may be helpful:
The almost 30,000 positive reviews on Amazon confirm that many owners prefer to use diapers instead of the daily mess.
Dogs with incontinence can no longer hold their urethra, so they pee more often on their sleeping area. Neutered bitches are most commonly affected. Medication, dog diapers and solving the cause help to treat it.
#4 Urinary tract infection
Not only people but also dogs can get a urinary tract infection. In most cases, bacteria in the urinary tract are responsible for this.
According to studies, one in seven dogs (15%) is affected by it. [8] However, peeing in the dog bed is just one of many typical symptoms:
- Very frequent urination
- Whining when peeing
- Frequent licking of the genitals
- Blood in urine [9]
By the way, the dog is usually awake when urinating in the basket. In addition, it is usually just a few drops of urine or a small puddle.
Antibiotics are usually administered for treatment. The infection should be gone within a few days. From then on, your dog should no longer wet the basket.
You should also provide your dog with plenty of water. This allows the bacteria to be flushed out as quickly as possible.
If the cause is not bacterial, then surgery may be necessary. However, this is relatively rare. [10]
Around 15% of all dogs suffer from a urinary tract infection at least once in their lives. Affected dogs not only pee very frequently, but also often on their own sleeping place. Medication is usually sufficient for treatment.
#5 Threat
Both male and female dogs use urine to mark their territory. However, they typically do this when walking the dog or in the garden.
However, if your dog feels threatened, they will also strategically mark their territory in the house. Sometimes they even pee on their own sleeping place.
The following things are often viewed as a “threat”:
- A new pet that shares in the dog's food.
- A new baby in the family who suddenly gets all the attention.
- A new dog in the neighborhood who is perceived as significantly stronger.
As a rule, they do not empty the entire bladder, but only let out a few splashes.
In order to get your dog house trained again, you should accustom him to the new “threat” step by step. You should also reward peeing outside with treats.
A new pet or baby can be viewed by dogs as a potential threat. Peeing in your own basket is used to mark your territory. However, this can be remedied by gradually getting used to it.
#6 Kidney disease
Kidney disease in dogs can be either acute or chronic. Under certain circumstances, this can also lead to your dog wetting his own bed.
Acute kidney problems are usually triggered by swallowing toxins, cleaning products or alcohol. Chronic problems, on the other hand, predominantly occur in old dogs.
Other typical symptoms include:
- Strong thirst
- Diarrhea
- Stinky urine
- Unexplained weight loss
- Frequent urination
- Vomit [11]
In this case, the dog is usually awake when peeing and tends to leave behind smaller amounts of urine.
While acute kidney problems can usually be easily treated, chronic kidney disease can sometimes be incurable. [12]
Here too, treatment is carried out individually based on the relevant cause. A visit to the vet is essential here.
Peeing on your own sleeping place can indicate existing kidney disease. Other symptoms include severe thirst, diarrhea and vomiting. Depending on the cause, treatment should be clarified with the veterinarian.
More tips
A visit to the vet is particularly recommended if your dog was previously house trained and suddenly peed in the basket several times in a row.
In very rare cases, the following illnesses can also be responsible:
- Bladder stones
- Spinal injury
- Kidney stones
- Tumor disease
- diabetes
During treatment, you should also reward any outdoor peeing with a treat. An easy-care dog bed (like ours) is also recommended.
The following helps best to clean the dog bed:
- First, soak up the fresh urine well with a kitchen paper towel.
- Dab the area until it no longer releases moisture.
- Wash the affected area with BactoDes (from Amazon) and a soft cloth.
- Be careful not to make the bed too damp.
- Pat the area dry with a paper towel.
If the urine stain is still visible or smellable after drying, I recommend repeating steps 3-5.
However, this shouldn't be the case with BactoDes. It’s not for nothing that this “odor eliminator” has around 3,000 reviews on Amazon.
Waiting and letting the urine dry is the worst option here.
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