Beagle Peeing in the House: Stop It in Its Tracks

Housebreaking a beagle can be a challenge, but it’s well worth the effort.

The sweet-natured dog is known for its loyalty and love of family—which makes it even more important to train your pup properly from the start.

They’re also sensitive and need a lot of love and understanding in order to grow into well-behaved adults.

If you find your beagle peeing in the house, don’t panic and get frustrated.

Learn in this post how this problem comes about and how you can rectify it.

First, is Your Beagle Housetrained?

Without knowing your dog, I would say that the first thing you need to ascertain is if your Beagle is housetrained or not.

By that, I do not mean in the process. I mean completed.

Obviously, a puppy that has not been trained properly will simply urinate anywhere it pleases, but it’s a different story from one that has gone through the right teachings.

If your Beagle has been housetrained successfully and reverted to peeing randomly, you should take the following actions.

Rule out any medical issues

Sometimes, there are problems that we cannot see right away but will be apparent when we pay closer attention.

If you notice that your beagle is now peeing all over the place, it could be due to a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), a condition that affects up to 27% of all dogs in their lifetime.

Symptoms include frequent urination, straining to urinate, crying or whining when urinating, or even possibly having blood in their pee.

Needless to say, a trip to the vet must be arranged immediately.

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Could be urinary incontinence

This condition usually happens to senior dogs, but that does not mean that younger dogs are safe.

When it happens, you will notice your dog leaving small puddles of urine around the house, and this is unfortunately out of your dog’s control.

Luckily, there are medications that can help your Beagle here, so be sure to check that out with your vet.

Take note that if you see large puddles instead, it is not likely to be urinary incontinence.

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Forgetting the training

Potty training takes time, and even when you think that the training is successful, your Beagle can still potentially regress.

This is often due to a weak understanding or confusion of the rules it was taught.

Did you move its pee area? Were there changes made in the house that might confuse your dog?

All of these can lead to your Beagle forgetting its training.

Even after good training has been given, you as a dog owner will still need to constantly reinforce and remind your dog.

When this happens, you might want to restart the basic training steps to remind your Beagle what it should do and make use of yummy treats to bring the point home.

Aging dog

An aging dog is also more likely to forget its training.

Not just that, as dogs age, their bodies begin to deteriorate and they lose some of their ability to control their bladders.

Other age-related problems such as dementia can certainly play a part in your dog urinating all over the house.

Besides that, they may also develop diseases in their kidney and bladder which are often not easily detected immediately.

If you notice any signs of deterioration in your senior dog, a visit to the vet should help you both out.

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Behavioral issues

There are both internal and external factors that can cause your beagle to urinate accidentally or on purpose.

When it comes to male dogs, particularly ones that have not been neutered, marking their territory with pee is normal behavior.

This can be corrected though, but it does take time for it to change.

On the other hand, external factors such as stress, anxiety, or even excitement can cause your beagle to release a small amount of pee.

Were there sudden loud noises such as thunder, fireworks, or a door slamming shut?

Was your dog exposed to strangers without proper supervision?

Is there a new member in your family such as a newborn or new puppy?

For puppies, they can easily get very excited and accidentally urinate, and this is something that they will eventually grow out of.

How Long Does It Take to Housetrain a Beagle?

The amount of time it takes to housetrain a beagle depends largely on you.

Taking time each day to train your dog will accelerate this process and you can typically see results in 4 to 6 months.

I would also advise you to make use of a proven training method such as crate training, paper training, or indoor potty training to ensure success.

During this time, you need to be extra patient, consistent, and give your puppy lots of attention.

Difference Between Inappropriate Urination and Territorial Marking

Sometimes, we might unknowingly ‘blame’ our dog for not peeing in the right place and get frustrated having to clean up accidents.

But how do we know that it is purely an accident and not a natural instinct instead?

Both male and female dogs will mark their territory, and there are some telltale signs when this is happening.

How to Tell if Your Beagle is Marking?

Peeing on upright objects

This is one of the most common signs that your dog has marked their territory.

They will often pee on things like a sofa leg or even your car tires to claim their territory,

This is especially true if you have recently moved into a new home or apartment.

You may also see urine marks that are higher off the ground than usual and they’ll look like they were sprayed up there deliberately by someone.

Peeing a small amount

This is a more subtle way that dogs will mark their territory.

They might pee in small amounts on the same spot over and over again, or even just once or twice.

Instead of the regular puddle that signifies normal peeing, you will find just a small patch that can sometimes go undetected.

Only peeing, no passing of motion

Another sign that your beagle might just be marking is that it only pees in the house but is emptying its bowels in its potty.

That tells you that most likely, it is trying to mark its territory rather than a natural need to go.

Peeing at doorways/entrances

In some cases, you might notice your beagle having ‘accidents’ only at doorways or even near your bedroom door.

They do understand that the house belongs to them and their owner and they feel a need to protect it.

Marking is just a way for them to let other dogs know that.

Change in the way it pees

A female dog might change the way it pees when it is marking.

Similar to how male dogs pee, a female dog might lift one of its legs up and spray a small amount.

This behavior is more apparent when a female beagle is in heat.

How Do I Stop My Beagle From Peeing in the House?

A proper training regime should be established to housetrain your dog right from the day you bring it home.

Similarly, if you have had your beagle for some time now and you see it regressing, there are some tips that might help you out.

These methods are useful whether your dog is accidentally peeing or is just marking.

Controlling the areas it can access

A dog needs discipline, but if you allow it to roam around the house without supervision, it will misbehave.

If there is no one at home to look after it, all the more you will need to curtail its area of exposure, and this can be done easily with the use of either playpens, crates, or installing baby gates.

Cleaning up after accidents

There is no need to reprimand your dog if it had an accident.

What you should do is clean up the spot with an enzyme cleanser.

They are very effective at removing stains and scents, which means your puppy is less likely to return to that spot to mark it again.

Getting your beagle spayed or neutered

This point is highly debatable, and parties from both sides of the table have touted their advantages and disadvantages.

Well, it depends entirely on you, but our opinion is that if you have no intention to breed your beagle in the future, then going for the operation might be the wiser choice.

There has been a number of studies that show that sterilized dogs are less likely to mark and other behaviors such as humping will also be eliminated greatly.

Establishing hierarchy

To put it simply, if your beagle does not know who’s boss is, it will most likely continue marking everywhere it goes.

If you want to establish a stronger bond with your beagle and lessen the chances of it marking, then the best way is to establish yourself as the alpha.

If you are not familiar with dog pack hierarchy, then let us give you a quick rundown here: The boss of any pack is always the biggest, strongest and oldest male.

In fact, this is why male dogs tend to mark more often than females do; they subconsciously want to let everyone know that they are in charge.

In a similar sense, you should also help establish which is the top dog in your household if you own more than one.

Hiring a professional

If all else fails, the solution might be to engage either a dog trainer or behaviorist.

These two occupations are distinct, so don’t make the mistake that one can replace the other.

A couple of sessions with one would most certainly help you in the right direction.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

In Conclusion: Beagle Peeing in the House

Beagles are very intelligent dogs and will quickly learn the rules of your household.

While peeing in the house is a point of frustration, a few simple tricks will help it to change its behavior quickly.

If you want to learn more about doggy behavior such as why do dogs sleep with their bums facing you, how long is a day for a dog, why do dogs sleep with their tongues sticking out, and many more, continue to browse around our site!