Why Does My Dog Have Potty Accidents In The House?

Do you have a puppy, young dog, or an untrained dog as a pet?

Has your dog changed routine or environment recently?

Does your dog only have accidents when you are not at home?

Do you have an unneutered male or unspayed female dog?

Does your dog exhibits restlessness or pacing at night, getting “lost” in familiar places, staring off into space, or seeming to forget familiar people?

Puppies or young dogs often have accidents in the house because they simply don’t know any better – they may not have ever been completely housetrained, especially if they recently came from a shelter or rescue. You need to housetrain your dog from scratch even if your dog is a bit older. This means very frequent trips outside, rewarding with a treat for pottying outdoors, and constant supervision in the house to prevent any opportunity for accidents. Most pups and young dogs will catch on within a few weeks, as long as you’re patient and consistent.

Dogs are creatures of habit – any change in their daily routine or surroundings can sometimes cause them to become confused and begin having potty accidents. This can sometimes happen if an owner’s work schedule changes or someone in the household moves out. It’s also important to realize that housetraining is very location-specific for dogs – so just because they understand the rules at your house, doesn’t necessarily mean that they will understand not to potty inside when you visit friends or relatives, or in a new house if you have recently moved.

If your dog only has accidents when you’re not home, it may be suffering from separation anxiety – having accidents in the house is a common sign of this problem. You can set up a video camera to record your dog when you leave the house if you suspect that this may be the cause of your dog’s accidents. It’s normally quite easy to tell when watching the video if your pup is anxious or upset – if so, it’s best to talk with your veterinarian since many pets with separation anxiety need prescription medication to treat the problem effectively.

For male dogs that have not been neutered, urine marking is normal behavior – they lift their leg and pee on things to “leave their mark” for other male dogs and to help attract females. While it’s normal behavior for male dogs, it’s extremely inconvenient for owners and can make housetraining a challenge. Because of this, it’s recommended to have male dogs neutered if they are not show or breeding animals. Some unspayed females will also urine mark, although this is less common than in males. In females who do mark, spaying is recommended to help resolve the problem.

Older dogs sometimes develop a problem called canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) – this is similar to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Many affected dogs will sometimes forget their housetraining and have accidents in the house, even if they were previously very reliable about going outside.

If your dog was reliably housetrained in the past and recently began having accidents, it’s always best to have a check-up done by your veterinarian before doing anything else. This is because there are several common illnesses and medical problems that often cause dogs to have accidents in the house – some possibilities would include a urinary tract infection, bladder stones, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, Cushing’s disease, and prostate or bladder tumors. You should always rule this out before attempting any training or behavior modification to fix the problem.