Labradoodle Peeing in House [How to Stop]

Labradoodles are naturally intelligent and easy to train, but, like any other dog, they might show inappropriate urination. Constant pee smell in the house is annoying and could pose some health dangers to the people living there. To tackle this inappropriate behavior from your labradoodle, you must first understand why the dog is peeing in the house. 

There are several reasons why your adult dog could be portraying inappropriate urination patterns. 

Medical Complications

When a dog struggles with a loose bladder due to a medical condition, it tends to leave small pee spots or urine in its sleeping area. You can clearly tell it is not intentional. Therefore, it is essential first to take your dog to the vet to rule out any health conditions that might be causing the Labradoodle’s incontinence. 

Most health issues could make your dog lose control of their bladder or are generally unable to go to the designated peeing areas. 

Some of the potential medical issues that could have inappropriate urination as a symptom include: 

• Dementia 
• Urinary Tract infection
• Diabetes
• Kidney Disease and bladder stones
• Tumors

Solution: If your dog gets tested positive for any health issues, proper treatment may resolve the urination issue as they gradually recover. By the time the dog is fully recovered, there is a chance it will not remember the initial peeing rules. Gently re-train them and be patient as they might take longer than usual to adapt due to the medical condition. 

Environmental Triggers

Once a vet has checked your dog, and they are clear of any health complications, you have to proceed now to check for environmental or surrounding triggers that might be making the dog act unusually. 

The most common behavioral problem is marking. This is when a dog feels the need to mark its territory. It can be caused by sex hormones or a reaction to feeling threatened by a new pet in the house. When marking, dogs pee on vertical objects, and they will mostly keep peeing on that specific point. 

Solution: Examine your home’s environment and try identifying things that could trigger behavioral changes in your dog. Once you have identified the change, try removing it and gradually re-introducing it in phases to avoid stressing the dog. If there is disturbing noise outside, try playing white noise to neutralize it and make it more bearable for the dog. If the dog is marking, spaying or neutering will reduce the behavior.

Urine Smell in the House

Most dogs know the right place to pee by following the odor. When they pee in the house by mistake and the pee is not well cleaned, the odor could trigger the dog to pee indoors, thinking it is the right place. 

Solution: Clean up thoroughly to eliminate urine smell in the areas where the dog has peed previously. Use detergent and scented soaps to fight the odor completely. Enzyme-based cleaners can get rid of scent permanently. 

Emotional Reaction 

Another cause could be as a result of excitement, anxiety, or stress. A new environment or new people in the house could make the dog stressed or excited. These feelings tend to make dogs confused, altering their pee patterns. Even the death of a family member could affect the behavior of the dog to the point of affecting their bowel movement. 

Solution: Allow the pet to go through the emotional phase as you train it back to its regular peeing habits. It is vital to understand the dog in this situation, try making the environment less stressful, and re-train. If someone is scolding or making the dog uncomfortable without knowing, help them understand the effects of their actions. 

Improper Training

How well have you potty-trained your dog? If your dog is poorly trained, they will be confused and might end up peeing in the wrong place. 

Also, if your dog frequently pees on specific items or areas, it might mean that is where they were trained to pee before you owned them. For example, you may notice your new dog pees on wooden floor parts or a particular corner of the house that resembles their designated pee place from their previous home. 

Solution: Begin by inquiring about the dog’s peeing habits from its previous home, then start re-training. When potty training, it is advisable to be patient and consistent to avoid confusing the dog. 

Overhydration

Although hydration is encouraged for dogs, they might need to pee frequently when they take too much water. The frequent urge to urinate might be overwhelming on them, making them pee in the house once in a while. 

Solution: Manage your dog’s water intake to a healthy average level. Consult your vet on how much water your dog should drink. Also, find out if the dog has another drinking point that you are unaware of, like an open tank.

Some self-serve dog water fountains can also be rate limited.

Aging

When dogs age, just like human beings, they might experience loose muscles effects that make it hard for them to hold their pee. They also develop dementia and memory problems, making it hard to remember things they have been trained for before. 

Solution: Experts recommend compassionate solutions when dealing with aging dogs. Take the dog out frequently or keep them in a comfortable kennel with pee pads when you are not at home. You may consider getting your dog to wear dog diapers to manage the situation. Training at an old age might be futile and frustrating. As the saying goes, you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. 

Change in Dog’s Schedule

When you reduce the dog’s walk time or change the feeding hours, the chances are high that they will react in a negative way. The change might trigger some behavioral changes. In general, dogs do not react so well to abrupt changes.

Solution: Try making gradual changes by switching between the new pattern and the old one. Excuse a few pee accidents when introducing new activities in the dog’s schedule as they are normal.

Disobedience or Attention Seeking

Your dog could also be peeing in the house as disobedience to catch your attention. This could be them just being naughty or seeking attention. 

Solution: When dealing with a naughty labradoodle’s habit of peeing indoors, avoid punishing them when you catch them in the act. When you punish them, they might become scared of you and start peeing in hidden places that will be hard to discover. Train good bathroom habits by rewarding them when they do it right until they understand what you are trying to teach them.

Final Advice

Establish your leadership role for your dog by being firm without necessarily hitting. Withdraw toys or snacks to express displeasure when the dog pees in the house. 

Learn your dog’s peeing habits and adjust to them. Different dogs have different peeing patterns based on size, breed, or age. At times, even the weather could determine how many times the dog pees. Observe and learn the frequency, then schedule potty breaks based on the observation. 

When taking your dog outside to pee, always take it to the same spot to cement the habit. Use specific words to tell the dog to pee. Whenever the dog takes itself to the designated pee spot, praise it and reward immediately. 

Another trick you may consider to change your dog from peeing in the house is redefining the meaning of that spot where they constantly pee. If they are always peeing at a corner in the living room, place their food and water there as most dogs would never soil their food. 

Ensuring your dog maintains a healthy lifestyle through a balanced diet, exercise, and a stress-free environment is essential. Take your dog for walks to keep it fit and mentally stimulated.