Why Does My Dog Pee When Excited? [And How To Correct It]

Coming home to meet your dog filled with excitement and joy because you just returned is a lovely sight to behold. However, if you notice some form of pee from the dog during this ecstatic moment, it could be a turnoff. Sometimes, this is a normal behavior in dogs– it happens for certain reasons.

Dogs pee when they are excited; some reasons they pee are; separation anxiety, urinary tract infections, submission, over-excitement, struggle with inconsistency, pain, and other medical conditions. This may not be an issue only when it is caused by over-excitement.

Dogs are complex creatures, and you need to be properly informed before you keep a dog as a pet. At various points of the dog’s life, you would need to take some actions, and if you are uninformed, the results could be unpleasant.

Why Does My Dog Pee When Excited?

Dogs sometimes lose control of their bladder when excited and could end up peeing. This is a type of inappropriate urination called excitement urination. Excitement urination is more common in puppies than in older dogs. This occurs in both male and female dogs, and it signals to other dogs that it is not a threat.

It occurs more in puppies because the muscles that control their bladders are still developing while growing. Hence, they involuntarily pee whenever any form of play or cuddle leads to excitement. You should know that there is a slight difference between excitement urination and fearful or submissive urination.

It is normal for you to get bothered by this, but it is not a serious issue if it only happens when your dog is excited. It only means the dog is peeing out of excitement. Most dogs outgrow it as they grow older; however, others do not. The truth is, when this pee persists, it could be frustrating and even annoying.

You will need to be patient and train the dog out of the habit. A way of helping a dog that experienced excitement urination is by carefully understanding what triggers it. The triggers could be from meeting or greeting people, the kind of play it engages in, or even its favorite toy.

If a meeting or greeting people is the identified trigger, you can help the dog by staying quiet when you want to greet the dog. Do not greet the dog in a way that it becomes overly excited. While doing this, make sure you avoid eye contact, then crouch down the dog’s level.

If you have guests around, tell them to do the same thing. They should keep all forms of greetings with the dog on a lowkey. Also, rather than patting your dog on top of its head, you should pet it from under its chin. If you notice the dog is getting overly excited, you can ignore it for a few moments.

If certain forms of play trigger your dog, you should only play with it outdoors; so if it pees, the mess would be outside. Also, you can make sure the dog empties its bladder before playtime. You can achieve this by taking the dog to the bathroom to pee before playtime. When it uses the bathroom to pee, praise the dog for good behavior.

Whenever your dog obeys and behaves well, reward it with good treats. In addition, you can engage your dog in some exercises that teach impulse control. For instance, if playing with a toy triggers your dog to pee due to over-excitement, you can teach it to wait for the toy and not rush to come to get it.

However, if you tried everything mentioned and the dog still pees, ensure you do not punish or scold the dog. Doing that could only make the situation worse. What you can do instead is to clean up the mess thoroughly. You can use a white vinegar and water solution or an enzymatic cleaner to do this. Then, you might consider talking to a vet.

Other Reasons That Causes Dogs To Pee

If your dog tends to pee inappropriately even when not excited, then it could be an indication of an underlying health issue. Other things that could be responsible are urinary tract infections, urinary incontinence, changes in diet, bladder stones, diabetes, and kidney diseases.

Why Does My Dog Pee When Excited Or Scared?

If you notice your dog peeing when excited or scared, then it is due to the dog having either excitement urination or submissive urination. We have already explained why your dog could be having exciting urination above. However, submissive urination happens when a dog is anxious, shy, or scared.

Most dogs that display this are likely to have sometimes been punished for accidents in the past. Submissive domination occurs more when the dog sees someone socially dominant and tries to escape punishment. You can quickly tell your dog has a submissive issue if it pees whenever it is scared or unsure of a current situation.

Triggers of submissive urination include scolding a dog and any form of loud noise. Most times, aside from the pee, you could notice other submissive body languages in the dog like a tucked tail, crouching, avoiding direct eye contact, and rolling over. These body languages are a way of the dog saying, please do not hurt me.

Why Does My Dog Pee In The House When Excited?

Some dogs cannot control themselves when they become overly excited; you should expect to see this a lot from puppies. This happens when they see their owner after a period of absence, when they meet new people when it is time for a meal, when they play with friends, or when you want to play with them.

A dog that suffers from separation anxiety will pee when it sees its owner; the dog may become stressed during your absence, so it is overcome with nervous energy when you return home that it pees involuntarily. Another reason your dog could be peeing in the house when excited is that it has a urinary tract infection.

This is one of the signs of urinary tract infection, and you should take the dog to a veterinarian immediately. Other signs of urinary tract infections are peeing around the house, strong-smelling urine, blood in urine, peeing more than usual, peeing in small amounts multiple times.

Also, as a dog ages, it begins to struggle with inconsistency; they have difficulty controlling their bladder as they grow older. So, this could be the reason why your older dog urinates when it is excited. Another reason could be that the dog is in pain; dogs do a lot of strange things when in pain.

A dog in pain could experience heightened anxiety as a result of the discomfort, and this can cause changes in the dog’s behavior. If your dog suddenly experiences inappropriate urination and you notice some behavioral changes, it could be caused by pain. You need to take the dog to a vet for a medical check-up and treatment.

If your dog has a health issue, it could also cause it to urinate when it is excited, in pain, or afraid. There could be a medical condition that causes the dog to drink more water; this strains the bladder and, in severe cases, affects the kidneys. In most cases, only a veterinarian can identify the cause.

Final thoughts

The first thing to do to help a dog that pees when it is excited or scared is by ensuring there are no underlying medical issues. No amount of training will help a dog peeing from medical issues. As a dog owner, you should learn to redirect your dog’s energy; this will be necessary at various points.

Further Reading:

• Why Does My Dog Scratch the Carpet? [And How To Correct It]
• Why Does My Dog Scratch My Bed Sheets? [How To Help]