Top 12 Tips to Prevent Your Dog from Peeing on Your Bed

Bob Ross once said that we don't make mistakes, only happy little accidents. Unfortunately, the little accidents our pups make are anything but happy. Whether it's waking up to a smelly wet spot or coming home to find it waiting for you, it's very much not something any of us pet parents want to deal with.

If your canine companion is wetting the bed, you want to stop it, but how? Here are the top dozen tips I've gathered from my many years as a pet parent, along with some common questions at the end.

Tip #1: Take Them to the Vet

If your fur baby is peeing where they shouldn't and there's no obvious reason why, like a huge sudden change in lifestyle or schedule like the addition of a new baby to the family, then there's a pretty good chance there's a health problem going on.

A lot of different health issues can cause potty issues in dogs. The most common is a urinary tract infection or UTI. These very frequently cause accidents, but fortunately, they're easy to test for and easy to solve with some antibiotics.

Other kidney and urinary tract problems can also cause bedwetting in dogs. These can include kidney disease, kidney and bladder stones, cystitis (which is an inflammation of the bladder), and tumors in the bladder and surrounding area. Diabetes is also a common cause of bladder problems later in life, so if your dog is getting older, that could be a possibility.

All of these can be evaluated and diagnosed by a vet, so make sure to bring them in ASAP if they start having bladder control issues.

Tip #2: Make Time for Potty Breaks

Sometimes, potty accidents are caused by a dog really needing to go and not being able to. If you notice their accidents tend to happen when you're at work for a long day, and it seems fresh enough to have happened relatively recently before you get home, it's possible that they'd just done the deed because they couldn't hold it any longer.

The best solution to this is to make sure you're available to take them out when they need to go. Especially for younger or senior dogs, that might be every couple of hours. You may need to make sure you can take routine breaks from work to get home and take them out or have a friend or family member who can do it for you if you aren't able to (or if you work too far away for it to be feasible.) If all else fails, a trustworthy dog walking service might be the way to go.

Tip #3: Reduce Excitement for Younger Dogs

Puppies and younger dogs, especially those still going through their potty training, might be prone to letting a little urine go when they're really excited. A lot of the time, this is going to be when you're playing with them, taking them to a park, or taking them somewhere new and fun. Unfortunately, sometimes it's just because they hear a fun noise or they're bored and want to make their own fun. If that's the case, and they end up having that fun on your bed, well, that's where they dribble.

You might want to consider taking some steps to reduce the ambient levels of excitement your pooch can experience when you aren't around. It's not super likely that this is the cause of issues on your bed specifically, but it might be, so it's worth considering.

Tip #4: Reduce Fear and Stress in Older Dogs

Letting go of some urine is also a sort of defensive mechanism and natural reaction to fear, anxiety, and stress. Older dogs, especially dogs that are well-trained, might respond with stress-peeing if they're shocked, afraid, or stressed.

There are a bunch of different ways this can crop up, and a lot depends on the dog. Something like moving house can cause it, for example, so they might take to someplace they're comfortable (like your bed, saturated with your scent) and end up cuddling in fear. Loud and unexpected noises can trigger it as well, like nearby construction or fireworks.

Anything you can do to reduce their ongoing stress, fear, and anxiety is generally a good thing. This is also helpful to prevent things like night barking and other behavioral issues.

Tip #5: Check for Signs of Submission

Urinating is also a bit of a submissive behavior. This might occur if your dog is afraid, particularly if they're afraid of you and you scolding or punishing them. Even if you particularly don't do that, if your dog was formerly under someone else's parentage and they weren't treated as well, those habits might have been developed against your best interests.

What might happen then is that your pooch does something they know they shouldn't, or even just is scared by the aforementioned stress and anxiety. Then they either go to you to be submissive, or they go somewhere they know you would be and leave "proof" behind. It's sad to see but the only good way to handle it is to reduce the reasons why they might be submissive, and try to train them out of the behavior.

Tip #6: Change and Clean the Sheets

We all know that dogs have a very keen sense of smell. Urine carries unique scents that are sort of like a smell-based fingerprint for a dog. Dogs can tell not just that another dog left urine in a spot; they can tell which dog did it. They also can tell when they've marked a space, and they will frequently go back and check it out, possibly re-marking if they feel the need to.

Unfortunately, this means that just tossing your sheets in the wash might not be thorough enough to remove all of the little enzymes that soak into the fabric. It's even harder when it comes to the mattress. You'll want to use a stronger detergent and possibly an enzymatic cleaner that can break down those scent compounds more effectively than just soap and water.

Tip #7: Deep Clean the Mattress

Similar to the above, you need to deep clean your mattress to get rid of the scent so your pooch doesn't come back to repeat their accident. Mattresses are harder to clean, unfortunately, so you'll need to get really deep with your cleaning, clean multiple times, and keep your dog away from the bed and bedroom entirely for quite a while as you do it.

I would also recommend getting a mattress cover that isolates the mattress from the bedsheets so that if they do repeat, it can't soak back into the mattress itself and will be easier to clean. It's still a pain, but less of one.

Tip #8: Consider Replacing the Mattress

If you can't successfully clean your mattress well enough to stop your dog from doing the deed, you might consider replacing the mattress. Be careful if you decide to do so, though. You don't want your dog to immediately soil the new one because you put old sheets on.

Usually, you might need to make sure they can't be in the bedroom at all, and that means no sleeping with you at night either. It's sad, especially if you're used to it, but it's probably better for both behavior and health.

Tip #9: Train Away Territorial Marking

If your fur baby is marking their territory, you need to train the behavior away. First, though, how can you tell the difference?

Territorial marking is usually a relatively small amount of urine, enough to smell but not enough to soak the area. They tend to mark new objects, so they might go some time in between "accidents" while the scent lingers in their sensitive noses and then re-mark when it fades. If you have more than one dog, it can also trigger another to either avoid the area or counter-mark, causing more problems.

Cleaning is the same, but training can be tricky. You may need to work on "leave it" commands, and watch them to catch it in action so you can stop and redirect the behavior. If you can't watch them that closely, your only option might be crate training instead.

Tip #10: Get Rid of Pee Pads

Puppy pads can be useful when a puppy is too young to control themselves, but as they get older, it just teaches them that there are soft objects they're allowed to pee on, and to a dog, your sheets or pillows might look a whole lot like pads.

Wean them off of the pads as soon as you can and teach them that it's never okay to go in the house.

Tip #11: Keep Your Door Closed

If your dog is marking or having accidents on the bed, but they don't anywhere else, just keep them off the bed and out of the bedroom. There's not a whole lot more to it than that, right?

You might have to deal with them whining and begging outside the door, and you won't be able to let them sleep with you, but that's better than having to clean your mattress and sheets every other day when they can't hold it in.

Tip #12: Be Kind to Doggy Dementia

I put this one at the end because it's kind of sad. Incontinence is an issue that starts to crop up in elderly dogs when they start to develop "doggy dementia" and either forget their training or just aren't able to control themselves.

There's no amount of added training, scolding, or behavioral redirection you can do to solve this. It just means your companion is nearing the end of their life, and you need to do what you can to make it comfortable for them. They can't help it, but don't hold it against them.

Common Questions: Dogs Peeing on the Bed FAQ

Now, let's wrap things up with answers to some of the more common questions I see when we're talking about dogs going where they shouldn't.

What health issues can cause bed wetting in dogs?

Dogs, unless they're poorly trained or not trained at all, generally have pretty good control over their bladders. They aren't going to widdle just anywhere. That means there's potentially something wrong, and you'll need to check it out.

Talk to your vet to check for and rule out:

• Urinary tract infections.
• Cystitis, an inflammation of the bladder.
• Bladder and kidney stones.
• Kidney disease.
• Diabetes.
• Urinary tumors.
• Cushing's Disease

Any of these can lead to accidents, and in fact, accidents can be one of the first signs for some of them. Mostly, they can be cleared up with the right medical care.

What behavioral issues can cause bed wetting in dogs?

A well-trained and housebroken dog isn't going to go on your bed, but they can do so if they have behavioral problems.

These can include:

• Poor or incomplete training.
• Poor bowel control when excited.
• Poor bowel control when fearful or anxious.
• Territorial marking habits.
• Submissive behaviors.

These can usually be trained out of your fur baby, but it will require dedicated effort and attention, especially if they're already aged out of being a puppy.

Will I need to replace my bed if my dog is peeing on it?

When dogs pee somewhere, among other things, they're leaving scent markings in that space. This is important for territorial marking even when that's not their original intent. Unfortunately, dogs are prone to returning to the "scene of the crime" and becoming repeat offenders if they still smell lingering scents.

Sometimes, you can clean your bed well enough to eliminate all lingering scents. Other times, no matter how deep you clean, some of those little doggy enzymes will linger. In these cases, you might consider replacing your mattress since there's no real way to clean it more deeply. Just in case, a protective, waterproof cover on a new mattress is a great help.

So, it's not required, but in some situations, it might be helpful. Mattresses are expensive, though, so I get wanting to do everything you can to avoid it.

Do you have any questions about anything we went over in this article? If so, I'm always more than happy to help however I can, so be sure to leave a comment down below, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!