My Dog Pees While Sleeping: The Key To This Frustrating Problem

I was shocked to come downstairs one day and find that my female, housetrained dog had wet her bed while she was sleeping. This is completely out of character for her, so I was wondering why she’d do something like this.

After doing some research, I discovered that this can happen with dogs for various reasons, and often, it’s not a big problem.

There are quite a few different potential reasons that why my dog pees while sleeping - let’s take a look at what the cause could be!

More...

In Female, Middle-Aged Dogs…

If your dog is female and has been spayed, there is a strong chance that your dog is suffering from hormone-responsive urinary incontinence. This problem is reported most often in female, spayed dogs and has rarely been reported in male dogs. Most commonly, it affects middle-aged or elderly dogs.

If this is the case, your dog might not even be aware that they are urinating. In fact, it is a hormone imbalance that is allowing urine to leak - they are not intentionally emptying their urine.

Symptoms of this condition include:

There are also certain breeds of dogs that are more likely to be affected by this condition:

Thankfully, this is a condition that can be managed with a simple prescription from the vet. After testing their blood and making sure there isn’t another problem causing the leakage, your vet will be able to advise you on how to handle this problem effectively.

Are There Any Other Problems That Could Cause My Dog To Pee While Sleeping?

Yes, there are. In fact, there are a huge number of problems that could be causing your dog’s urinary incontinence. The only way to really verify what is affecting your dog is to work with your vet to narrow down the list of potential problems.

Here are just some of the problems that can lead to urinary leakage.

Kidney disease

If your dog is suffering from kidney disease, it can lead to urinary leakage. Kidneys help to regulate the amount of water and waste in the body. Whenever this balance is not properly maintained, it can cause dogs to have accidents during the night.

Bladder or urinary tract infections

This is caused by bacteria and can cause problems with urination. The most common symptoms of these infections are frequent urination, uncomfortable urination, and accidental urination in the house. Bladder infections can be treated at the vet.

In a case like this video, it’s likely that the dog might be suffering from an infection:

Diabetes

Diabetes in dogs is a hormonal condition that causes their body to be incapable of properly regulating the amount of blood sugar in their system. Symptoms include:

If your dog is urinating accidentally and suffering from any of these other symptoms, you should have them checked out at the vet immediately.

How Can I Solve My Dogs Urination Problem?

The only way to stop your dog from peeing while sleeping is to diagnose what is causing the problem, but that can be costly and time-consuming at the vet if you have no idea what the cause is.

Try following these steps to get a better idea of what your pet’s problem is.

Step 1: Keep Notes

The first thing you will want to do is record every date where your dog has an accident in their bed while sleeping. It’s important to know if this is a frequent or infrequent problem, if it’s happening at an increasing rate, and how often it’s a problem.

Step 2: Look For Other Symptoms

After that, you will want to keep a close eye on your dog to see if anything else is out of the ordinary.

Is your dog eating differently than usual? Going outside more often? Drinking less or more? Keep track of any odd behavior that you notice on your dog. This will help you to diagnose the problem.

Step 3: Visit the Vet!

Once you’ve gathered your research, visit your vet and share it with them. Let them know what you’ve been dealing with as well as other symptoms that might be part of the problem. Your vet will help you to do the necessary tests to identify what the route problem really is.

Important Note!

If your dog is having very frequent accidents and seems dazed or confused, take them to the vet immediately. They would be suffering from a serious condition that needs to be treated right away. Only wait to observe your dog if they seem healthy other than the occasional accident.

Can My Dog Peeing While Sleeping Cause Them More Problems?

In many cases, urinary incontinence that happens while sleeping is not a big problem, but it does bring up some important concerns.

Your dog will be as surprised as you are about their leaky bladder. They may lick their private areas more than usual to try to clean up, and this can lead to problems like matted skin and redness. Help your dog out by rinsing them off if they have an accident.

Additionally, incontinence can make them more prone to infections. This is because their bladder is not being fully sealed. Bacteria can thus get into your dog’s bladder more easily. Have them checked for infections more frequently if they are diagnosed as urinary incontinent.

Urinary Problems Are Common

If your dog has problems holding their pee, don’t worry - it’s not usually a life-threatening problem. In fact, urinary incontinence in dogs is very common and can be treated at the vet easily and without much expense.