Why Does My Dog Keep Having Accidents in the House?

why does my dog keep having accidents?

A house dog is usually completely house training by the time they reach around six months of age. So when an adult, house-trained dog starts having accidents in the house it can get pretty frustrating quickly. Here are some reasons as to why your dog may be having accidents in the house.

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

A dog may be having accidents in the house constantly because they may have a urinary tract infection and if you have ever had one, you know how terrible they can be. When cleaning up the urine, you may also notice a foul almost rotten tuna stench.
Urinary tract infections can cause polyuria and polydipsia, which means they are drinking a lot and urinating a lot. A dog may drink more with a urinary tract infection because it is the body’s natural way of trying to flush out the infection.
A veterinarian can diagnose a UTI by analyzing a urine sample to check for bacteria, pH levels, red and white blood cells, and crystals. If bacteria are present, your dog will be prescribed antibiotics for a week or so depending on the severity of it. Your dog will want to continue to drink water and it is important to have it available.

Medication Side Effects

Some medications will also make a dog urinate and drink more water than normal. Prednisone will definitely do this. If you are unable to let your dog outside to urinate, sometimes they just cannot wait any longer and will have an accident. Usually, if a dog is on Prednisone, the dose is tapered down slowly until it is complete. Once the dose of Prednisone is completed, it will take a few days for your dog to come back to normal, then it is like magic – poof! No more accidents in the house

Incontinence 

As dogs get older, sometimes the sphincter that allows them to hold their bladders weakens, thus leaking urine. 
If your dog is older and is having accidents in the house, contact your veterinarian’s office to schedule an appointment for your dog. They will definitely still want to perform a urinalysis to rule out infection first. If there are no bacteria present in the urine, your veterinarian can prescribe medications such a Proin or Incurin to help your dog with their incontinence issues. The medication will be long-term, but it is safer for your dog if you find the lowest most effective dose. Since the medication is considered chronic, blood work should be performed yearly to ensure their organ function is still healthy to metabolize the medication. 

Marking

If you have an intact male dog that is having accidents in the house, it isn’t an “accident” at all. That is your dog marking his territory, especially if there are new scents in the house. Some neutered male dogs do this too. In this case, if you have an intact male, it is time to get him neutered if you are not going to breed him. If you have a neutered male dog, then try to catch him in the act in order to discipline him correctly. 
Most of the time when a dog that is house trained is having accidents in the house, it is linked to some kind of medical condition, whether that be a UTI or incontinence. Before jumping to conclusions, set up an appointment with your veterinarian to determine the cause and how to fix it.

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