Puppy Peeing While Walking? 7 Possible Reasons Why (2024)

A cute Golden Retriever puppy running in a grassy field.

Housetraining a puppy can be difficult. Puppies have very small bladders, and they may need to urinate frequently or struggle to know when to urinate. That means you may even catch your puppy peeing while walking!

If your puppy is peeing while he or she is walking, it could be due to a number of different reasons or even a combination of factors.

Why does my puppy pee while walking? Reasons for a puppy peeing while walking include the possibilities that they were forced to hold it too long or do not yet have full bladder control. Other possibilities include being overly excited, demonstrating submission, a urinary tract infection, marking behavior, or a congenital defect known as ectopic ureters.

If your puppy is peeing while walking and you want to know why, read on to learn more.

7 Reasons for Puppy Peeing While Walking

There are many reasons why your puppy may be peeing while he or she is walking. Understanding the reason for this behavior can allow you to begin to correct the problem.

1. Urinary Tract Infection

Puppies can get urinary tract infections that can prevent them from holding their bladder. Other symptoms include painful urination, bloody urine, foul-smelling urine, and lethargy.

Antibiotics can be prescribed by a veterinarian to clear up the infection. 

What To Do

Take your puppy to a veterinarian for a proper diagnosis and a prescription for antibiotics. Encourage your dog to drink plenty of water to help flush out the bacteria that is causing the infection.

2. Submissive Urination

Dogs sometimes pee when they get nervous or feel submissive. Your dog may be intimidated by you or something else he encounters during the walk and may be peeing to show submission.

What To Do

Continue to walk your dog regularly to help him get used to the things around him so he will be less likely to get nervous or feel intimidated during walks.

3. Overly Excited

Dogs like experiencing new things, and they can get really excited on their walks. Sometimes a puppy can get so excited that he loses control of his bladder.

What To Do

Introduce your puppy to new things regularly so that they are less exciting and your puppy will be able to remain calm in different situations.

Introduce your puppy to new people and places slowly and in a positive manner. This is part of puppy socialization, a process that should begin as soon as you bring your puppy home.

4. Was Forced To Hold It Too Long

If you don’t take your dog outside to use the bathroom enough or don’t walk him as you should, he may be holding in his pee too long and simply have to go immediately when you walk him.

What To Do

Take your puppy out for walks often, and encourage him to use the bathroom each time you take him for a walk.

Remember to reward appropriate behavior right away (these tiny training morsels are perfect) so that he forms a positive association with “going” where and when he’s expected to.

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5. Marking Behavior

Puppies can begin marking at a young age, and when they smell another dog or are in a new place, they may try to mark their territory by peeing.

What To Do

There’s nothing wrong with letting your dog mark his territory, but if he is stopping during a walk to do it, you may want to give him a stern command and continue to walk to let him know it’s not okay to stop for this behavior.

6. Too Young To Fully Control Bladder

Young puppies have small bladders, and they simply can’t hold their pee in very long.

Your dog might not have full control over his bladder yet and will need to pee more often and more urgently until he gets older.

What To Do

Be patient, and take your puppy for walks more often so he doesn’t have to hold his bladder for so long.

7. Ectopic Ureters

Some dogs are born with a condition called ectopic ureters, which means the urethra does not attach to the right part of the bladder.

Puppies with this condition do not have the ability to store urine in the bladder and may dribble pee as they walk.

What To Do

This condition can be diagnosed by a veterinarian and requires surgery for correction.

When Do Puppies’ Bladders Mature?

A puppy’s bladder does not fully mature until they are around four to six months old.

When the bladder is not mature, puppies may not be able to hold their urine in and are more likely to have accidents, even when they are house trained. 

Puppy UTI Symptoms

Puppies sometimes summer from urinary tract infections. If you suspect your dog may have a UTI, watch for these symptoms: 

  • Bloody urine
  • Extreme thirst
  • Lethargy
  • Frequent urination
  • Straining to urinate
  • Inability to control bladder

Puppy UTI Treatment

UTIs are caused by bacterial infection and require antibiotics for treatment. A veterinarian can prescribe an antibiotic to quickly take care of the problem.

You should also allow your dog to drink as much as he wants to help flush the bacteria from the body.

Related Questions: 

Why Is My Puppy Peeing Every 5 Minutes?

If your puppy is peeing frequently, he or she may have a urinary tract infection. You will need to have a veterinarian diagnose the problem and provide an antibiotic for treatment.

How Often Do Puppies Need To Pee?

Puppies cannot hold their bladders for very long. They should be let out or walked every two to three hours during the day.

Also be sure the puppy is taken outside right after eating, playing, or waking from a nap.

Conclusion

If your puppy seems to be urinating frequently or pees while walking, it could be due to health problems, immaturity, excitement, or a lack of training.

It’s a good idea to find out the reason for your dog’s urination problems so you can correct the problem as soon as possible. 

If you need some humor to help keep things in proper perspective, check out the amazing stunt the Chihuahua below is able to pull off.

Last update on 2024-04-18 at 16:42 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API