How to Stop Inappropriate Urination in Dogs

Canine Inappropriate Elimination

About 10 to 20 percent of all behavior problems in dogs fall into the category of “inappropriate elimination.” This term refers to the unseemly practice of dogs either urinating or defecating (or both) on the floor or furniture inside an owner’s house.

Puppies less than nine weeks old are too young to know any better, but for adult dogs there’s often no excuse. Some offenders were never properly housebroken in the first place and that’s usually the owner's fault. Others were housebroken but, for some reason, have suddenly started having accidents inside the house again after years of appropriate behavior.

The first step is to find out why your dog is having accidents inside the home. Dogs do not naturally soil their dens, so why the home? Homes have doors, preventing many dogs from leaving at will to eliminate properly, and homes are much larger than the average den, so the dog can soil many feet away from their normal living area.

Thus, a confined dog that is “caught short” can often find a low-traffic, out-of-the-way place inside to do their business. A problem like this obviously needs attention, but before rushing headlong into behavioral treatments for house soiling, find out whether there is a medical reason underlying your dog’s behavior and address that first if necessary.

Medical Causes of Canine House-soiling

Medical conditions that increase thirst and urination, or in which the bladder or gastrointestinal tract are irritated, may contribute to the house-soiling problems in dogs. The list of such problems is lengthy, but a few of the more common conditions include:

• Bladder infections or stones
• Diabetes
• Cushing’s disease
• Cognitive dysfunction in older dogs
• Gastroenteritis, intestinal parasites, and pancreatic problems

It is important to have your veterinarian perform a thorough physical examination to rule out underlying medical conditions as a cause of inappropriate elimination behavior. This is particularly relevant if your dog has had a sudden breakdown of house training behaviors.

Urine and Fecal Marking Behavior in Dogs

Dogs, like many other species, use urine and feces as a method of communication – a mark that signals possessions and territoriality. Marking typically involves the deposition of small amounts of urine in strategic locations around the house. Unneutered male dogs are champion urine markers, usually by leg lifting, but some neutered males and even females mark their territory with urine too.

Neutering male dogs corrects this problem in about 60% of cases, but many dogs persist in marking for months or years after the surgery. Bitches that urine-mark do so for similar reasons: Unneutered bitches may show an increase in the frequency of urine-marking around the time of estrus.

The behavioral approach to treating territorial urine-marking in neutered males and females involves:

• increasing owners’ leadership status
• thoroughly cleaning urine-marked sites with an odor neutralizer

If these measures fail to address the problem, treatment with medication may be the only solution.

Canine Submissive Urination

Dogs that exhibit this type of behavior typically squat or roll over and urinate as they greet their owners or strangers at the door. This behavior is really a gesture of appeasement.

The problem is often temporary, occurring mainly during puppyhood and mostly occurring during the first year of the dog’s life. Submissive urination occurs most commonly in certain breeds (e.g. cocker spaniels) and is more common in females.

If you can’t wait until your pup has matured beyond the super-submissive stage, avoid making dominant gestures toward them. For example, when you greet your pup, don’t look at, talk to, or touch them. Give them a wide berth until you are seated, then allow them to approach at their own speed.

A reverse dominance program can be employed too to build your dog’s confidence. Do not use any harsh or confrontational training methods. Rather, encourage your dog to do what you want using positive reinforcement.

Allow them to eat without having to work for the food, pet them without them having to obey a command first, and have a variety of toys available at all times. Finally, you might consider playing games that allow them to think they have won.

Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Does your dog urinate and defecate ONLY when you are away from home? If so, in all likelihood, anxiety is triggering the behavior. Dogs with separation anxiety typically have a dysfunctional history, following their owners around the home, looking distressed when about to be left alone, whining or barking immediately after their owner leaves, failing to eat in their owners’ absence, and greeting them exuberantly when they return home.

Psychological problems like submissive urination and separation anxiety should be addressed separately and not treated as a simple house-soiling problem.

Treatment for Canine House Soiling

If your dog is confused about the “proper” place to perform their duties, a retraining program is usually all that is required. Success can be achieved in a matter of days, and certainly less than one week. It is best to start when you will be around for a while (over a weekend) so that you can give the training your undivided attention.

First, put the dog on a regular schedule of feeding and exercise, but provide water at all times. The basis of the retraining program is to direct the dog to a selected toilet area outside the house and, at the same time, to prevent inappropriate elimination within the home.

You can do this by escorting your dog from the house on lead to the chosen bathroom area and keeping them moving (walking up and down) while using certain cue words, such as “Hurry up,” or “Do your duty.”

This should take place in one selected area only so that the dog learns, visually and by sense of smell, the significance of the selected area.

When to Take Your Dog Out for a Bathroom Break

Provide regular “bathroom” excursions:

1. First thing in the morning
2. Around noon
3. In the late afternoon
4. In the evening
5. After a meal
6. After playing
7. When your dog wakes up from a long rest

If the operation is a success and your pup goes outside as desired, praise them and offer them a treat. And don’t take them back inside immediately. Play with them for a few minutes and spend some quality time together.

If a mission is unsuccessful after five minutes or so, bring your dog back into the house and confine them to a specific area, like a crate or gated area, to prevent any in-home accidents. Fifteen minutes later, take your dog out again – to the same spot in the yard – and again encourage them to urinate or defecate using the method described above. Repeat this process until it meets with success.

If the program is working well, and your dog quickly learns that there is a bathroom outside, they should still not be allowed unlimited access to the house until deemed truly trustworthy.

Watch them closely at first and if they start to sniff the ground and circle suspiciously as if about to soil in the house, make a loud noise to distract them, and then take them outside to the proper place and give praise if they go in the appropriate area.

Under no circumstances should your pet be punished for soiling in the house … ever.

How to Clean Up Potty Accidents

It is vitally important to thoroughly clean all soiled areas with a professional odor neutralizer. Compounds such as Odor-Nil®, Odor-Ban®, Nil Odor®, Nature’s Miracle®, and Anti Icky Poo® are just a few of the enzymatic and/or bacterial products that destroy odors at the source.

Soak the area for a sufficient time to allow the enzymes to work. Covering the area with a washcloth soaked in the solution will help delay evaporation and prolong the compounds’ actions. Smooth surfaces, like linoleum floors and wood floors, are easier to clean than carpets, since the floor under the carpet must be treated as well. If the slightest trace of odor remains, your dog is likely to be attracted back to that same area to eliminate again.

Medication for Inappropriate Elimination in Dogs

If your dog does not respond to retraining, your veterinarian may choose to recommend medication, usually of the antidepressant variety, especially tricyclic antidepressants. These drugs have a side effect of causing delayed urination, which will help ensure that the dog has a greater volume of urine in their bladder before they feel the urge to urinate. They will thus feel the need to urinate less frequently. However, the drugs also have a useful secondary effect of reducing anxiety, which often contributes to marking problems.