Help! My Dog Won't Pee Outside! (Solutions)

We all adore our dogs; they are a great source of happiness and improve the quality of our lives. However, things can get a little rocky between you and your pup if it strays from its daily routine, like randomly choosing not to go outside to relieve itself.

There is not a single dog owner on this planet that enjoys their dog peeing on the carpet, and if you are dealing with this, we can help. If your dog won’t pee outside, there must be an underlying problem, which we will address below. Check out which of the following reasons is causing your buddy to pee in the house.

dog won't pee outside — Help! My dog won’t pee outside! (Solutions)

Reasons Why Your Dog Is Peeing in the House

As previously mentioned, there could be many reasons why your pup relieves itself inside your house. With patience and knowledge, you will find the root of the problem and easily solve it. One of the following reasons below may be what you are dealing with if your dog won’t pee outside:

Poor Potty Training

Poor potty training may be the primary cause of your dog’s accidents inside the house. This accident may be because your pup wasn’t properly trained, or they already developed different lifestyle habits before you. It might also be challenging to switch from using pee pads to peeing outside.

If this is the case, you would need to re-train your dog. Consistency is crucial when potty training your pup. Given your dog’s frequent urination needs, you should provide them with plenty of opportunities to relieve themselves when potty training.

We will discuss this further later on.

Brussels Griffon sitting in the backyard.

Marking

If your pup usually potties outside but, all of a sudden, refuses to do so, it could be a behavioral problem. This issue may be triggered by their sex hormones, which cause urine marking. Marking can be caused by a change in the environment and could develop into a habit.

As soon as you can, spay or neuter your puppy when they start urine marking. Training a dog to stop marking in the house will become more challenging the longer your pup waits to get spayed or neutered.

dog urine — The dog felt guilty peeing on the carpet.

Fear

Your dog’s fear of going outside could be the reason they keep peeing on your carpet or in your house. Your pup’s refusal to potty outside might have an underlying cause, like feeling vulnerable because of a bad experience.

The outside environment could also be frightening as a whole, which stresses them out. When on walks, remember to help them lessen their anxiety. Furthermore, if this issue only occurs when you leave your pup at home alone, it may be due to separation anxiety.

sad poodle — Poodles are smart and social – and a prone to separation anxiety. This can lead to problem behavior like excessive barking.

Overexcitement

Overexcitement is another reason your dog may urinate indoors. Overstimulation results in “happy peeing,” which is more frequent in puppies. This behavior can surface when returning home after a long day, when a visitor arrives, when playing with their favorite toy, or in any other overstimulating situation.

This behavior is typically not a recurring problem. However, some dogs may have moments of excitement more frequently. This behavior can be unanticipated, so make sure to be on the lookout.

maltipoo puppy smiling — A super happy Maltipoo puppy

Submissive Urination

Peeing indoors is a sign of submissive urination. If your dog was raised in an abusive environment or if it shares a home with other dogs, this will happen. Even when interacting gently with other dogs and people, dogs who have lived in an abusive environment may display submissive urination.

Similarly, dogs living in households with more than one pup may urinate inappropriately to show they are the alpha among the group. Even if your dog may be the only one in your home, it might exhibit submissive urination when you tell it what to do.

dog sits after pee — The dog sits right after peeing on the carpet.

Health Problems

Having health issues may also be the cause of your pup’s urinary accidents in the house.

Urinary Tract

One of these health issues is having a urinary tract infection. When bacteria enter the urinary tract through the urethra, UTI can occur, which will cause pain and inflammation. Your furry friend probably has a UTI if they frequently have trouble going outside, they urinate in the house, or they have blood in their urine.

Incontinence

Incontinence, a problem that plagues many neutered dogs, could cause your pup to have urination mishaps. However, young dogs that haven’t been spayed or neutered may also have incontinence problems. If they occasionally leak urine puddles on the floor or in the bed while sleeping, then they might have incontinence.

lab puppy sleeps on floor — A Lab puppy catching some Zzz’s on the floor

Diabetes

If your dog has diabetes, their blood sugar level will continue to rise if not treated at an early stage. They will produce even more urine as a result of the abnormally high glucose level and fluid loss, which will make them more dehydrated. In return, this makes your pup more likely to drink more water, causing more frequent urination.

English Bulldog drinks water at the park after playing.

Arthritis

If your dog is older and suffering from arthritis, it may also have accidents with its urination. When your pup tries to stand up or move around, the degenerative changes brought on by arthritis-related joint inflammation can hurt them.

Due to this joint pain, it might be difficult for a dog to get up quickly enough to make it outside to potty. They might prefer to relieve themselves while remaining motionless due to the severity of the joint pain.

dog lying on the floor — The dog is lying on a rug.

Cognitive Issues

Older dogs with cognitive disorders may experience confusion and agitation. This may also affect the nerves that control your dog’s bladder, which results in unintentional urination. They may drink more water as a result of a cognitive disorder, sometimes even immediately after drinking.

how to potty train an older dog in an apartment — How to potty train an older dog in an apartment? [Fast!]

How To Stop Your Dog From Peeing in the House?

After spotting your pup’s trigger, we can now move on to the how-to-help stage so that you can implement the proper training strategy. We will go into greater detail about how to deal with your furry friend’s potty-training issues below.

Re-Train Your Dog

Dogs with a cognitive disorder may benefit from having their training exercises repeated. Your pup will become more accustomed to pottying outside if you set a strict schedule each day. It is best to schedule a potty break before bedtime, after meals, and in the early morning.

You can also encourage your dog by giving them treats only after pottying outside to show that they did something good. Additionally, if they begin to urinate inside the house, get them outside as soon as possible.

owner waits dog poop — The owner waits for her dog to poop on the grass.

Clean Up Properly

Use an enzymatic cleaner as soon as you can in order to eliminate the urine smell from each accident. If your dog becomes accustomed to the smell of urine in the house, they will think that going potty inside is normal.

It is your responsibility to make urinating indoors seem like a bad thing to do. Cleaning any affected area will help avoid urinating accidents in the future.

floor cleaning — Floor cleaning after dog poop!

Seek a Veterinarian

Consider consulting a vet or even a dog behaviorist if you cannot seem to find the reason for this behavior. Be prepared to give the veterinarian a thorough history of your dog’s symptoms, including when they first appeared and any environmental changes that could cause these issues.

Your veterinarian will probably ask for a urine test to check for issues, such as a UTI. Urinary accidents may not be your dog’s only symptom, so x-rays, bloodwork, and even an ultrasound may be advised to help identify the underlying cause of your pup’s problem.

dog with medical results — A veterinarian checks the dog’s medical results.

Conclusion

With the knowledge provided above, you will have no trouble getting your dog to urinate outside once more. Following one of these steps will help your pup learn the proper potty technique. Understanding what caused them to pee inside is essential to the process.

If your dog won’t pee outside and accidentally urinates inside, remember it’s never okay to hit or yell at them. Trying to discipline your furry friend in this manner might backfire and make them more afraid to urinate in your presence. If your puppy is afraid to potty in your presence, this will cause more pee puddles in the middle of your home.

A veterinarian’s guidance can help with any of these problems. They will look into this situation and make sure you have the tools you need to keep your dog under control. So, if all else fails, look to someone knowledgeable in this field as soon as possible.