A dog peeing on a baby’s things may be an annoying and frustrating ordeal to deal with. On top of that, why is the dog doing this? Is the dog peeing on baby’s things out of spite or jealousy? Is this something to be concerned about? When dealing with a dog peeing on baby’s things, it’s important to be very observant and determine how the dog is dealing with the new baby emotionally. Dogs may sometimes have a hard time living with babies, especially if not much time was spent in getting the dog used the new baby even before the baby came home.
Dog Peeing on Baby’s Things
It may start with a little trickle of urine on the curtains. Then, a day later, there is poop in the bedroom. Afterward, next thing you know, the dog may start peeing on dirty baby clothes, the baby bad, and anything the baby touches. What’s going on?
First of all, let’s consider what poop and urine really is from a dog’s perspective. From a human’s perspective, urine and poop are waste products. Things we privately produce and quickly dispose of with a flush of the toilet. Even talking about these things makes us somewhat uncomfortable. We often use euphemisms such as wee or tinkle and say to go potty.
Dogs on the other hand must think the pee and poop are the most fascinating things in the world. They indeed use their evacuations as informative messages posted on bulletin boards. Pee and poop provides loads of information to other dogs. A simple trickle of pee of poop may mean many things like “this is mine” or “I am stressed” or “I come in peace” or “I am an intact female in heat looking for males.”
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A dog peeing on baby’s things may therefore have different meanings. While dogs have a special organ, “the Jacobson organ” to analyze these special chemical messages left behind, us humans are often left wondering what Rover is trying to say.
Babies From a Dog’s Perspective
A new baby in a dog’s eyes is like a new odd looking, odd sounding and odd smelling member added into the dog’s social group. Some dogs may not have a hard time accepting a new baby, whereas others are known to have more difficulties.
For this reason, preparation is key. It can never be emphasized enough the importance of bringing a blanket home from the hospital smelling like the baby (with some treats) and allowing the dog ample time to get used to the new smell.
Attention towards the dog should be reduced gradually as well in the days prior the baby’s arrival. Afterward, the baby is introduced using treats (dog sees baby, treats are fed, dog hears baby crying, treats are fed) so the dog gets classically conditioned to the idea that the baby brings good things into his life.
Most new parents though are often too excited (and too busy!) to think about the dog and it is really understandable with all the hustle and bustle going on! Dogs that seem to have bigger trouble accepting a new baby are those that were used to getting lots of attention or dogs who tend to get easily stressed by disruptions in their routines.
Reasons for Peeing
A dog who is having accidents around the house or a dog who is peeing on a baby’s things may be communicating a problem. He or she may be purposely urine marking in hopes that things “smell normal again.” This may be occurring as a result of anxiety. In easy wording, the dog is marking to “familiarize the area” and make it smell normal again. This may feel comforting to the dog.
If your dog is peeing on your baby’s stuff, therefore you must try your best to keep your baby’s items out of your dog’s reach so he cannot mark on them, especially when your dog is unattended. The more the dog marks on the objects, the more he will want to continue doing so. Rehearsal of the troublesome behavior should therefore be avoided.
To help prevent your dog from urinating on a baby’s stuff, wash them well as traces of urine smell (and any of your baby’s messes) may evoke more marking behaviors. Use a good odor neutralizer product made specifically for pets. One with enzymes works best (such as Nature’s Miracle) as this will remove most traces of smell and therefore can help break the habit. Now, this is though half of the job.
If you want to go to the root of the problem, you will need to work on the underlying anxiety that is triggering the need for the dog to pee on the baby’s things. You can try to make-up with what was not done at the beginning.
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Simply keep your dog away from the baby for some days. Now, after having washed the baby’s belonging, let them have the scent of the baby again. Call your dog over and let him sniff as you hold your baby’s belonging in your hand. After a sniff, give him a treat. You want him to change his state of mind towards the baby. Continue allowing him to sniff anything that is related to the baby and treat, sniff and treat, sniff and treat. He must learn that the smell brings good things.
Afterward, you can try to purposely leave an item the baby handled or used (and that is ready to be washed again) and place a few treats on top. After your dog eats the treats, remove the objects. Do this with several items several times a day. Dogs by nature do not like to soil on places where they eat.
Moving Forward
After some days of repeating the above exercise several times using objects the baby touches often, you can then progress and start letting your dog see the baby from a distance.
Have your husband walk out of a room with the baby in his arms. Every time he sees the baby, feed treats. When the baby is out of sight and back in the room, no more treats. Do this several times in a row, until your dog seems more comfortable towards the baby.
Also, you may want to start providing your dog with more attention but in a structured way. Let him work for food, attention and play. Let him sit for his meals, sit for having the leash clipped on, sit for going out the door, sit for petting. More structure will increase his confidence and a good routine is a must. Make sure he gets walked and always gets praise when he goes potty outside.
And if you ever catch him in the act, peeing on a baby’s stuff again, consider that punishing may make the situation worse and actually increase the marking. In his mind you will only confirm that ”that smell really brings bad things” and this creates more conflict and confusion. Not only, your dog may also learn to never pee in your presence again as he associates your presence with punishment. This may trigger dogs to pee in the house when you are not around or not looking.
Instead, if you catch your dog in the act, interrupt him and immediately escort him outside to potty. Praise and reward for going potty or marking outside. This may take a while to take effect, but if you are consistent, you may notice some changes in his attitude towards the baby’s stuff.
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