The crate and the bed for the dog should be the “Den” for them. Dogs find a comfortable space to get rest and feel safe in their den. They usually don’t soil their crates or beds because they go to sleep there. If you find your dog peeing on his bed on purpose, it will be called a behavioral problem.
Before reaching a conclusion, it is best first to identify if your dog is doing it on purpose or if there is some reason, like a medical condition or an accident because of incomplete potty training or being in confinement when needing to go.
The best way to find out whether your dog pees on his bed on purpose is to check if he does this only in a specific place or if this issue is everywhere and all the time. If he does so only on his bed, it’s likely to be a deed on purpose, but if you see your dog being unable to hold urine anywhere in the house or if he is in pain while urinating, it’s likely to be a urinary tract issue.
If your dog is on a fixed schedule but is peeing only on the bed outside of his scheduled time, it’s likely to be a deed on purpose.
Now, let’s discuss why your dog is peeing on his bed on purpose. Here are the possible reasons:
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1: Urine marking:
The number one reason why dogs pee on something that belongs to them or is new in the house is “urine marking.”
Dogs like to urinate on things to mark them as their own property.
Notice a few things:
- If the dog bed is new?
- If there is another pet around?
- If there is a new person around?
- Did your dog see another dog around?
- Did your dog encounter a female dog?
These instances may cause the dog to mark their bed as their territory. For example, if your dog sees another dog around, he will take him as a threat to his belongings, so he will mark his things with urine to tell the other dog that “this is mine.”
Similarly, if the bed is new, he will mark that to let others know that “this is now mine.”
The chances of urine marking will increase if your dog is not neutered or spayed.
I have a complete article on urine marking and its solution. You can read it here.
2: Pee smell in the bed:
Another reason why dogs pee on a specific surface is when they smell pee there. They will think that this place is a pee spot, so they will go there.
A dog’s sense of smell is much stronger than a human’s sense of smell, so if you cannot smell it, it doesn’t mean that your dog cannot.
Did your dog have an accident on his bed recently? Was he sick recently? Did he have a UTI or other urinary problem recently? Are you using an old bed for him?
In any case, if there are urine stains on it, your dog will pee there again and again.
To check this, get a UV flashlight (every pet owner should have one), turn off the room light, turn on the flashlight, and check the bed. If you see urine stains there, it means the dog bed is not clean, and there is a pee smell that your dog can detect.
It’s time to clean up that bed with an enzyme cleaner.
An enzyme cleaner is necessary because only this will break down and neutralize the dog’s pee completely. A normal household cleaner will not do the deed, some (that are based on ammonia) will even increase your problem.
Out! Enzyme cleaner is best for fabrics, clothes, bedding, and upholstery. However, it cannot be used on wool and leather.
Find out here; what’s the best enzyme cleaner for dog urine according to the surface type?
3: The dog doesn’t take the bed as his den:
Dogs usually do not pee on the place where they go to sleep because it’s their “Den.” Maybe your dog doesn’t agree that his bed is his den (because of improper training), or maybe he has been raised with very bad habits. (for example, a puppy mill do will pee on the place where he will sleep.)
In this case, I suggest you meet a professional dog trainer in person and work on fixing your dog’s bad habits. Direct interaction between your dog and the trainer is important at this point.
4: Improper or incomplete potty training:
Potty training a dog seems very straightforward when your read about it or learn from a video, but many things can go wrong when you actually start putting the process into practice.
- Did you put your dog on a schedule?
- Did you fixed a potty command?
- Did you fix one potty spot?
There are many questions you can ask yourself. Read this article to learn more about how to potty train a puppy.
Moreover, is your puppy fully potty trained? Maybe, he is not yet fully trained and needs more guidance.
How do you know when your puppy is potty trained?
- Your dog is over 9 months old
- He rings the bell to go potty outside
- He tells you other means that he needs to go
- The dog goes without an accident for weeks
Read this to know more about “how do you know how to potty train a puppy?”
5: Pee pad training went wrong:
Is your dog pee pad trained? Sometimes pee pad training goes wrong if not done right. If your dog seems to pee on other soft things in the house, it can be because of improper pee pad training.
Your dog might be unable to recognize the difference between a pee pad and his bed because of the softness.
Read more here: Why Does My Dog Pee On Soft Things? – (What To Do Next?)
6: He is not doing this on purpose:
If, after all these things, you don’t seem to find a problem, then your dog is not doing it on purpose. Meet a professional dog trainer in person or go to a vet to find the problem.
How to clean urine from a dog bed?
After your dog has peed on the bed, now you need to clean it with an enzyme cleaner.
Two things are must-haves in the cleaning process: an enzyme cleaner and a UV flashlight.
First, check with the UV flashlight what part of the bed has urine stains. If the urine is fresh, cover it with a paper towel and let it absorb the excess urine; while with old urine stains, you cannot do that.
Out! Enzyme cleaner is great for bedding (except for wool and leather). Here’s how to use it on the dog’s bed.
– If the urine is fresh, use a mist nozzle. If it is old, you can use a foam nozzle. For removing odors, use the stream function.
– Gently apply the product to double the mess area to be on the safe side.
– Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
– Blot the area with a clean paper towel or towel
– Let the area to dry out naturally
– vacuum after that.
After that, check with the UV flashlight again. If the urine stains are not gone, you can repeat the process.
Conclusion:
If your dog pees on the bed on purpose, he can be urine marking, or maybe he is smelling pee there. You need to clean the bed with a good enzyme cleaner so the dog urine stains can completely go away and your dog doesn’t urinate there again and again.
Click here to purchase UV flashlight on Amazon.
Click here to purchase the enzyme cleaner on Amazon.
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