Why Does My Dog Pee On His Blanket Or Bed?

There are several reasons behind your dog’s inappropriate behavior. However, peeing on unusual things is one of the most common dog behavior problems. Here we will discuss why your dog or puppy might be peeing on his blanket or bed.

1- Urine marking:

The number one reason behind your dog peeing on things like his blanket or bed is “urine marking.” Your dog might be trying to mark his blanket or bed as his “ownership.” It is an instinct of dogs; they use their urine to write their name on something.

Urine marking usually happens when your dog sees a new thing and tries to mark it or feels insecure in the presence of any unknown human or animal.

Urine marking is also a sign of sexual arousal. For example, a male dog (especially if he is not neutered) will urine mark when he sees a female dog.

How do you know if your dog is urine marking or not?

When your dog is peeing on other things in the house, it’s most likely that he is urine marking.
He lifts his leg to urinate.
You find most accidents on verticle surfaces.
The urine amount is so tiny.

To stop urine marking behavior, you need to find out the actual reason and solve the issue.

Here’s a complete guide for finding out why your dog is urine marking and what you can do to stop him.

2- He smells pee there:

Dogs are “den” animals. So typically, they don’t spoil the place where they go to sleep. But at the same time, dogs are naturally coded to pee on the spot where they smell pee.

So your dog may have peed on his blanket or bed once by chance, and you were unable to detect. Now, he smells pee there, and he thinks it is acceptable to relieve himself on his blanket or bed.

You have to get a UV flashlight, turn off the lights, and throw a UV light on the dog’s bed and blanket. If there are urine stains, then there are good chances your dog is peeing on his blanket because of the urine smell there.

If it is possible, get your dog a new blanket or bedding. Otherwise, get a good enzyme cleaner suitable for use on fabric. OUT! Advanced Stain and Odor Remover is a great enzyme cleaner for fabrics and bedding.

According to the instructions given on the product, wash the blanket using the enzyme cleaner. (fill in the container with clean water, add enzyme cleaner, soak the blanker overnight, and then wash it with simple water.)

To clean up the bedding, use the sprayer to spread enzyme cleaner on the bed, let it sit there, and clean with a paper towel.

After drying, check with the UV flashlight again to figure out if there are urine stains left or not. If there are, wash again.

3- Strong emotions:

Typically, dogs pee out of strong emotions. For example, your dog will pee if he suffers from stress, anxiety, fear, or over-excitement.

What causes stress or fear in dogs? It can be anything; loud noises, thunderstorms, the owner yelling at him, a dominant dog around, or anything like that. This is called submissive urination. Excitement also causes the dog to pee.

Anxiety also hits dogs. The absence of their primary caretaker, a fellow pet dying, or changes in environment may put the dog in anxiety.

See, if your dog has strong emotions while in his bed, he might pee there.

Find out the reason why your dog is stressed and solve the problem. Moreover, don’t forget to wash to bed or blanket with an enzyme cleaner.

Here’s the list of best enzyme cleaners that destroy dog urine smell.

4- He was confined when he needed to go:

You can confine your dog in the crate for some time; it helps with potty training. Being Den animals, they won’t spoil the place where they go to sleep. Using the help of this dog instinct, you can train your puppy or dog to hold his bladder.

But there is a limit. If the confinement time was too long, your dog might not hold his bladder anymore.

You must keep track of the time when you are putting your dog into the crate. Puppies can hold their bladder for one hour every month of their age. For example, a four months old puppy should be able to control the bladder for four hours.

This rule applies until your dog is fully potty trained (when he is around one year old). At this time, he should be able to hold his bladder for almost half a day.

An important thing to mention is this rule may apply for large or medium dog breeds. This is because small dogs need toilet breaks more often.

So, when you are confining your dog, you should let him out for a potty break when he needs to go.

A potty tracker or schedule is a great thing to have. It will help you stay aware of the dog’s routine. Then, if you are leaving home, you can simply hand over your dog’s schedule to the person who will take care of the dog.

5- Sickness:

Sickness, such as a UTI, is prevalent in dogs and puppies. A UTI may cause your dog to lose his bladder control, and he will pee more often. Due to sickness, your dog might be peeing on his bed or blanket.

If you notice your dog is unwell, for example, if he is looking lethargic and uncomfortable, go and see a doctor.

6- Improper pee pad training:

Pee pad training is often not a good choice. But sometimes, it becomes inevitable. But if you follow the right strategy to train your dog to use puppy pads, you can avoid problems.

Otherwise, your dog may become confused between pe pads and other soft things in the house.

If your dog is trained to use a pee pad, there are good chances that peeing on the bed and blankets is a product of improper pee pad training. In addition, your dog might be confused between a pee pad and his blanket because both are soft surfaces.

Read these articles to get a better understanding of this subject:

Final thoughts:

There are a number of reasons why your dog might be peeing on his blanker or on his bed. It includes; sickness, urine marking, improper pee pad training, submissive urination, or long confinement time. If your dog smells pee on his blanket or bed, he will go there again.

You can figure out the actual reason and then find the appropriate solution.