My anxious dog is peeing in his crate. Is it medical or behavioral?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | neutered | 4 years and 6 months old | 72 lbs
My dog is 4 years old and very anxious. He is crate trained. In the past 2 weeks, he has started urinating in his crate. He has never done this. We started Trazodone last week and it is still occurring. Should I take him to be tested for an infection or is it because he is anxious? We moved Oct 13 but hasn't had any issues until now.
4 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on November 21st, 2018
Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The increased urination you describe could be due to a urinary tract infection, urinary stones, metabolic condition, a tumor, among other possibilities. I agree with you that if this is something relatively new, it may be due to a medical reason. I recommend that you have Opie evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Further diagnostics would include abdominal imaging and lab work. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on February 13th, 2020
Hi. It could be anxiety or a marking behavior, but obviously there are many other possible causes like UTI. renal disease, bladder stones, cystitis and more. I would recommend and exam and lab work with a.UA to start
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on November 8th, 2017
Thanks for asking about Brownie on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like you have two separate questions here. One about anxiety and one about frequent urination. For the anxiety, 7-10 months is a common time for dogs to become more nervous about the world. An ADAPTIL pheromone collar may help. Try to have really special treats on you and give them to her whenever you think she might be starting to get nervous about something. It's possible something in your environment changed enough with the move that she's no longer comfortable (for example moving from a farm to a city apartment). If she seems very nervous, I would recommend talking to her veterinarian to see if other medications would be helpful. It's much easier to control anxiety than to treat the side effects of anxiety such as aggression. For the urination, if she's urinating more frequently than normal, it might be worthwhile to run around urine test at her vet's office. Sometimes we get false negatives (so the test is wrong - for example getting a negative pregnancy test when you really are pregnant would be a false negative), so a second testing could show different results. Your veterinarian may want to do x-rays or an ultrasound of her bladder to look for bladder stones, which would cause discomfort without necessarily changing her urine. Make sure she goes to the clinic with a full bladder so they get a sample straight from her bladder if needed. Also, collect her first urination of the morning the day of her recheck appointment, store it in the fridge, and bring that to your appointment. Good luck to you and Brownie! I hope she's back to normal soon. Let me know if this was helpful advice or setup a consultation if you need further help.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on October 31st, 2017
Hi there and thanks for posting! It is possible Archie is urinating inappropriately out of stress or anxiety due to the move. It could also be due to a urinary tract infection or (less likely) a prostate issue. I would recommend having Archie seen by his veterinarian to rule out other medical causes of the inappropriate urination. After all else has been ruled out, it may be due to the recent move changes. For that, there are supplements and medications such as serotonin re-uptake inhibitors that can help lessen anxiety and therefore help with the inappropriate urination behavior. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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