My Dog Urinates on the Bed — How Do I Fix It?

Even if we're not aware of it, the simple fact of our dog urinating on the bed isn't just a health issue — it can also point to a serious behavioural problem.

Dogs are unpredictable life companions — any given day they might start doing strange things such as peeing on their own bed, or worse, on ours, with the huge hygiene problem that brings.

They might even start urinating around the whole house, as if marking their territory. But… do you actually know the reason a dog urinates on the bed? We explain them all briefly and clearly.

• Don't miss: Guide to teaching your dog to walk on the lead

Reasons a Dog Urinates on the Bed

An adult dog who already knows how to relieve themselves outside the house shouldn't ever pee on their own bed, let alone yours. Or at least, they shouldn't do it deliberately, since some illnesses or emotional states can make them urinate involuntarily.

The main reasons a dog urinates on the bed are:

1. Excess of nerves, excitement or agitation: This happens, for example, when we get home and our dog comes to greet us very happily. Some dogs get so happy that, entirely involuntarily, they end up peeing wherever they happen to be.
2. Fear or panic: If you're scolding your dog, or they've been scared by something and they pee… you should know your dog is going through a terrible moment of fear or panic, and that they've urinated involuntarily — it's something they can't control.
3. Old age or illness: Very elderly dogs sometimes have urinary incontinence problems — this is entirely normal and simply needs vet supervision. Unwell dogs may also urinate on the bed because of the illness itself, a lack of strength to go relieve themselves elsewhere, or the medication they're taking.
4. Puppies and young dogs: Puppies and young dogs generally need time and training to learn to urinate outside the house. While they're learning, it's entirely normal for them to also urinate inside the home, since learning will take them some time.
5. Dreams and nightmares: Strange as it may sound, dogs also dream, and of course, also have nightmares. Perhaps they're dreaming they're peeing and, without meaning to, actually do it (just as happens in humans). Or they simply had a nightmare and peed out of fear.
6. Poorly organised walks: Our dog, whatever their age, needs a walking routine to be able to relieve themselves outside the house. If we break that routine, or the number of daily walks is insufficient, it's entirely normal for the dog to urinate at home, on the bed or wherever they happen to be, because they simply can't hold it any longer. We recommend reading: How many walks does a dog need a day?
7. Marking their territory: This is without doubt the worst situation we could face, since if our dog urinates on the bed to mark their territory, they're telling us they want to move up in the pack hierarchy, that is, they want to rule over us, and that's not possible.

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons, so we simply need to watch and analyse our dog to work out which one applies. If we have doubts, a vet consultation can help us resolve them, or at least rule out some of the possibilities.

Urinating on the Bed to Mark Their Territory

We need to be entirely sure our dog's intention is marking their territory before taking action. That is, we need to rule out every other possibility mentioned above.

We'll know our dog is marking their territory if they urinate on our bed, if they urinate on their own bed, if they urinate in small amounts in different spots around the house, and if they do all this repeatedly or constantly.

If this is the case, we need to be very strict and settle it immediately. The first thing we need to do is not humanise our dog, that is:

• Don't let them get onto our bed or the sofa.
• Don't pick them up in your arms, and don't let them sleep on your lap.
• Don't feed them from our own food.
• Stop them from being the first to go in or out of the house.
• Treat them like a dog, with affection, with respect, but without humanising them.

You shouldn't scold your dog, let alone hit them, and urban legends claiming you need to rub their nose in the wee so they don't do it again don't help either — that's entirely absurd.

You simply need to show your dog who's in charge and what their place is — this doesn't mean mistreating the dog in any way, simply not humanising them. We leave you some more detailed advice here: How to be the pack leader.

Should I Scold My Dog if They Urinate on the Bed?

Logically, no — what we need to do is properly train them so they don't do it. Scolding them will only stop them doing it while their fear lasts, and fear is the worst way of teaching we could use.

If our dog urinates on the bed because of age or health problems and so on… we shouldn't even get annoyed. We'll simply clean up the urine to prevent bad odours, and that's it.

Even so, when we're out walking our dog and they urinate outside the house, on the street or in a garden, we should praise them a great deal with positive reinforcement, so they understand we'd rather they urinate on the street.

Obviously, if it's down to illness or incontinence, they won't be able to avoid urinating at home, but they'll surely do their best to try to hold it until walk time.

If our dog pees on the bed or at home simply to mark their territory, we shouldn't scold them or get angry either. We need to train them as explained above, so they learn they're not the one who marks at home.