A dog peeing from stress is a dog asking for help and it’s therefore important helping out these dogs gain better coping skills and more confidence. Although it might not seem like it, when we watch shows featuring well-adjusted dogs like Lassie or Rin-Tin-Tin, dogs can perceive several situations or exposure to certain triggers as stressful. This profound stress may evoke peeing behaviors which are just the expression of how aggravating these triggers and situations are. Helping these dogs out often takes a multi-faceted approach. We will look at some tips on how to manage the situation, reduce stress and instill more confidence in these affected dogs.
A Closer Insight into a Dog Peeing From Stress
There are various forms of anxiety peeing in dogs. You have dogs who pee because they are suffering from separation anxiety, dogs peeing because they find certain people or dogs intimidating and then you have dogs peeing because they are suffering from a profound form of generalized anxiety.
These dogs are prone to getting stressed and anxious in various situations. They may be stressed from outdoors noises, they might be unable to cope with changes and events like a new move or a new dog or a new baby/spouse/visitor etc, they may a hard time living with children.
There are several theories why this form of peeing may take place. One theory has it that it’s an instinctual behavior to cover up unfamiliar smells (for example, the dog anxious about the visitor will pee on his luggage, the dog anxious about a new baby may pee on the baby’s blanket).
Another theory is that, unlike many confident dogs who like to leave their “pee-mail” outside explicitly for other dogs to investigate, these dogs may pee indoors on beds, carpets or rugs because they are “introverts” and are therefore trying to disguise the smell of their urine so to stay protected from dangers.
In any case, one thing is for sure, a dog peeing from stress is doing so because it provides a sense of relief for the dog. This form of anxiety peeing in dogs requires management, reducing the dog’s anxiety with calming aids and behavior modification.
Tips for Curbing a Dog Peeing from Stress
The following are just a few tips for curbing a dog peeing from stress. Because dogs may pee for many various reasons, it’s important to ascertain the underlying cause so to tackle it correctly. Dogs may pee on things for several other reasons (substrate preference, incomplete potty training, separation anxiety). Seeing a dog behavior professional for a proper assessment is ideal when trying to curb the behavior of a dog peeing from stress.
Vet check: a vet check is always in order especially when a well house trained dog is starting to have accidents out of the blue. Dogs may have accidents in the home when they have a urinary tract infection, presence of bladder stones, as a part of aging or side effect from certain medications (prednisone comes to mind). In intact female dogs, inappropriate elimination may take place as they are nearing their heat cycle. Bringing a fresh pee sample in a clean tupperware container to the vet may be a good place to start to sort through or rule out potential medical causes.
Management: management is important to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. Peeing behaviors can become quite a habit if not tackled. If a dog is peeing on a rug, access to the rug should be prevented or made difficult (crate, baby gate, boxes placed on rug), should a dog pee on the bed, the bedroom door should be closed. These are simply things one can start doing immediately, while the underlying problem is sorted out. Of course, this is just a small piece of the puzzle, the dog should be helped to feel less stressed otherwise there are risks the dog will pee in other areas or develop other behaviors associated with stress.
Proper cleaning: it’s important to clean any soiled areas with an enzyme-based cleaner. If the product is being used on a rug or carpet or other material, it’s important to ascertain that the product is safe to use on such materials. A popular product is Nature’s Miracle, but there are several others such as Petzyme and Angry Orange. Sometimes, urine stains are not easily detected. In those cases, it helps to use an ultraviolet black light for proper detection.
Back to basics house training: it’s not a bad idea to treat the dog like a puppy again and revisit house training for at least 4 weeks. Crate your dog when you cannot actively supervise. When you are home, actively supervise. This means paying close attention to your dog. It helps if you don’t have visual barriers (tables, stools) that block view. Learn how to recognize pre-potty cues. Interrupt and take the dog outside promptly upon noticing any ensuring to reinforce outdoor elimination with loads of praise and high-value treats. Let’s take a closer look at these.
Learn your dog’s pre-potty cues: Before going potty, most dogs will perform some behavior sequence like sniff the area, circle or start lifting a leg. When you are actively supervising your dog, you need to watch for pre-potty signs so that you can interrupt him before he gets a chances to pee. Below is a way to interrupt him. In some cases, you may need to clap your hands to interrupt and then redirect as explained below.
Train a “going to the door cue:” Make this behavior extra fluent. Use this cue when you notice your dog is giving pre-potty signs. Basically, train your dog to follow you to the door and outside and make this very rewarding. You can use a verbal cue like “let’s go!” Rehearse this several times to make the behavior very fluent. Simply say “let’s go” in an exciting tone of voice as you rush towards the door. Give a food reward. Then, progress to saying “let’s go” rushing to the door and giving the food reward right when you are out, and then progress to saying “let’s go” rushing to the door and praising and giving the food reward right after your dog goes potty outside.
Train your dog to go potty on cue: yes, you can train a dog to go potty on cue outside by making the activity extra rewarding. With a good reward history, your dog should choose going outside more and more over using the carpet. Here’s How to train a dog to go potty on cue. By training a dog to go potty on cue, a dog may be less likely to go un-cued inside the home.
Never punish for having an accident: it might sound a bit odd to not punish a dog for going indoors, but scolding an already stressed dog just makes matter worse. It won’t do anything to address the stress and it will cause the dog to start peeing in places the owner can’t see (under a bed, behind a desk) or when the owner is away.
Create positive associations: If a dog is nervous around a new family member or a guest, that person should feed the dog his meals and start doling out loads of treats (or the owner should feed the dog in his/her presence). When this person is away from the dog, the treat delivery should stop. Same with other triggers. If the dog is nervous about storms, treats should rain from the sky during the storm and things should become terribly boring right afterward the storm has rolled out.
Invest in calming aids: DAP diffusers, Adaptil collars, Rescue Remedy and several supplements may help get the edge off.
Confidence building exercises for dogs: brain games, clicker training, basic obedience and the sport of agility are great ways to teach a dog to become more confident which is very important in anxious dogs. Also, maintain a dog on a routine (scheduled walks, meal time, training, play etc) can help them feel reassured.
See a professional: seeing a vet behaviorist and considering anti-anxiety meds may be necessary, especially for severe cases. Anti-anxiety meds alone don’t normally work and must therefore be used in conjunction with behavior modification. Generally speaking, it’s usually about 25 percent meds and about 75 behavior modification that is needed to see results.