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Causes & Solutions
It is only natural, as a dog owner, to ask questions when you notice your dog licking another dog’s urine. Though an incredibly common and normal thing to do, it is one of those ‘unusual’ canine behaviours that tends to raise eyebrows in the ‘human’ world.
There are a number of reasons that explain why your dog licks another dog’s pee, and this article examines them in detail. We also take a look at the potential risks involved and discuss some potential solutions for this somewhat unsavoury habit.
The first step in understanding why dogs lick other dogs’ pee, is in determining what drives them. This is something that they have been doing for many hundreds of years and that is written in their DNA.
While most of us think of canine communication meaning their vocalisations and body language, there are lots of other ways that these clever canines get messages to and from their furry friends. As crazy a concept as it may seem to you and I, they use their bodily secretions, including their stool, sweat, urine, and anal gland fluids, in order to speak to each other. Strange but true!
Their advanced sense of smell means that they can detect many different things from even a scant urine sample that has been left behind on the grass or sidewalk. They can actually determine the ‘donor’ dog’s age, sex, social status, and even the type of diet they’re on. It is even thought that they can detect certain medical issues.
A very obvious example of a dog learning something from another’s urine is when a male detects that there is a female in heat nearby, by sniffing or licking the urine she has passed. For an unneutered male, this message will drive them crazy and they can be frantic and vocal for days after, as they attempt to find the female and mate with her.
No, generally speaking your dog wanting to lick other dogs’ pee is entirely normal and is simply one of the many ways that they communicate with their own kind. It is quite a clever system and allows them to explore the other dogs’ scents and pheromones provides environmental enrichment and mental stimulation. Indeed, it is an important part of their canine socialisation. Even if a dog is constantly sniffing out another dog’s urine and spends lots of time smelling it, this does not indicate there is any problem.
As mentioned, there are a few reasons why you’ll find your dog licking another dog’s urine, and it should be reassuring to learn that all dogs do this and it is entirely normal and acceptable behaviour.
The hormones, pheromones, and other chemicals within urine can be analysed by dogs as they sniff and taste the urine that they encounter. Amazingly, they can gather detailed information about the dog who has passed the urine, and can sometimes even identify the individual from their urine smell alone.
Interestingly, it is thought that urine sniffing and licking is also a way for the more submissive dogs in a pack to show their respect for the dominant dogs around them. The more interest they show in their urine, the more they are letting them know that they’re happy being the submissive dog in the pack, and they don’t want to disrupt the social bonds that have been formed.
Your dog is a curious critter and will naturally want to explore the world around them. This is one of the many ways that they can interact with other animals of their kind. For them, it is interesting to learn more about the other dogs who have recently been near their territory, and they enjoy discovering more about them.
Keep in mind that they have been shown this sort of behaviour from as long ago as when they were still nursing from their mother, who would have been teaching them how to decipher the world. This will have included licking and sniffing all of the puppies’ urine. A dog licking another dog’s urine is as natural to them as wagging their tail or scratching their ear.
A male who has not been neutered is compulsively driven to breed and reproduce. If presented with a female in season, they can think about little else. The pheromones and oestrogen that they can detect in the urine send signals to the brain causing sexual arousal and they can even trigger increased testosterone production.
As owners, we may notice signs such as whining, shaking, painting, drooling, and hyperactivity. These dogs can seem crazed! They’ll also have an urge to mount and hump dogs who are nearby, as well as to urinate in small amounts, to mark their own scent. For these dogs, their main prerogative is to track down the female, by following the smell of her urine.
Of course, not only adult dogs will lick urine and it is also a behavior that we will see in puppies from a very young age.
A puppy is constantly learning at a rapid rate and the best way for them to determine how the world works is to leap at it, exploring it with every single sense. Of course, this includes both taste and smell. They gather lots of sensory information when they sniff or lick their mother’s or siblings’ urine, and this becomes a rewarding experience.
While it may seem like an unconventional way to grow and develop, puppies licking urine is an important milestone and one that is not to be discouraged. As they learn to assess the chemicals they are being exposed to, they are gaining a greater understanding of the doggy society around them.
Of course, there is no greater influence on a litter than their mother. They look to her to teach them a wide range of things including social cues and habits. As they witness their mother ingest the pee and poop that is being passed, they are going to try and copy her.
Though the mother is only doing this as a means to keep the environment clean, the pups will learn a lot along the way. Each exposure they have to the urine, they’ll realise how there are differences depending on who passed it, what they’ve been eating, their stress levels etc.
For many owners, the main thing they want to know is whether or not their dog is at risk from licking urine; whether it be their own or another dog’s. Let’s examine the potential consequences.
Though an uncommon issue, there is potential for certain medical issues to be passed from one dog to another via their urine.
With regards to bacterial infections, if a dog has a urinary tract infection (such as an E. coli infection) or has got an active Leptospirosis infection, there is the potential for disease spread. However, the hope would be that dogs who are unwell with these infections are not being walked in public.
When it comes to viral infections, there is theoretically a risk from Distemper, but in practice, we do not see this disease often, thanks to vaccinations.
Very rarely, certain worm infestations (such as roundworms) are passed into the urine. However, it is far more common for dogs to be infected after eating stool or raw meat.
You can greatly minimise the risk to your pooch by simply keeping them up to date with their vaccines and parasite prevention.
We are generally not going to be worried about this behaviour. A dog licking another dog’s urine is normal and to be expected. Having said this, there may be some situations whereby we’d want to contact a vet. This would be, for example, if your dog starts showing signs of being unwell after urine exposure. This may include signs such as a fever, jaundice, lethargy, or urinating within the home. These signs would warrant an urgent vet visit, where tests can be carried out to determine what is going on.
If your dog seems obsessed with other dogs’ urine, there could be a few things going on. If they’re not neutered, you’re likely dealing with exposure to the opposite sex, and there will be hormones flying! If your dog is neutered but seems obsessed by other dogs’ urine, it could be that they’ve developed an unhealthy obsession or compulsive disorder. For these dogs, we generally see success by providing lots of mental and physical enrichment, so they have plenty of other things to focus on. It is also wise to keep them away from places where lots of other dogs urinate, at least until their behaviour starts to improve.
It is instinctive for a male to lick a female’s urine, and this is not something we’ll be able to stop (nor should we try). Though any male will do this, those who have not been neutered are going to have a much greater interest in female urine and in their privates (vulva).
A pheromone is a chemical signal from one dog to another and is one of nature’s ways of getting dogs interested in each other, in order for them to reproduce. Exposure to pheromones within urine can have a range of effects on a male, including getting them sexually aroused, making them momentarily forget their training, and even leading to aggressive behaviour among males.
Dogs will follow pheromones great distances in order to locate females to mate with. The natural chemicals increase the dog’s desire for the female and they are encouraged to find them, show attention to their private parts, mount them and mate. Of course, all of this is essential for reproduction and survival of the species.
It is the vomeronasal organ within the nasal septum that detects the pheromones which have been sniffed or licked from the urine. After exposure, some dogs will curl their lip (Flehmen response), to try and get as much exposure to the chemicals as they can. This is helpful when there are not many pheromones within the urine, as it maximises the dog’s detection abilities.
Now, an adult dog who licks their own urine is somewhat less ‘normal’, and this is not something that every dog will do. Still, licking their own urine from time to time is nothing to get worked up about. As an owner, it is wise to keep an eye on things, and to consider a vet or behaviorist visit if the behaviour continues or worsens.
If a dog senses there is something different about their urine, this will be intriguing to them. Urine that is more concentrated than usual, that contains blood, sugar, bacteria, or protein, or that has a new smell, may be something that they want to sniff or lick, in order to learn more about it.
If there is a medical issue, you may well notice other symptoms such as excessive drinking, passing urine more often, urinary incontinence, or lethargy. These signs would warrant a vet check, and your vet should analyse your dog’s urine as well as checking them over, in order to get to the root of the matter.
There will be some dogs that have been conditioned to ingest their urine. This happens, for example, in dogs who are not well toilet trained or who don’t get enough chances to toilet outside, and who are told off for making a mess. These dogs may clean up any toileting accidents themselves, as they’re worried they will be in trouble.
We also see very young dogs who ingest their own urine and stool, as this is something they’ve seen their mother do and it can become a habit. This is usually resolved when owners are able to toilet train adequately, and to be the ones cleaning up any indoor messes before their pup has a chance.
Hopefully by now you’ve learned that it is entirely normal for your dog to lick other dog’s pee and that this is not a behaviour that needs correcting. However, if it is happening very frequently, or there are times when you’d rather it is not done, there are things that you can do to help reduce its occurrence.
With anything a dog does, there will be training that we can do to alter their habits and/or redirect them. For something like urine licking, it should work to teach an approved training method, an example of which is the ‘Leave it!’ command.
We say ‘Leave it!’ as they show interest in the urine, gently tugging them away by using their lead. When they listen to us and come away, this is rewarded with positive words and tasty treats. If your dog keeps showing interest in the urine, you may need a tastier treat! When done consistently, your dog should soon realise it is in their favour to ignore the urine.
Most dogs are easily distracted and this is something we can use to our advantage. If there is a puddle of urine you’d rather your dog ignores, you can distract them by e.g. throwing a ball in another direction, or calling them to you for a quick training session. The aim is to distract your dog to the point where they’ve forgotten about the urine, and then move on with the walk.
If you’ve got any concerns for your dog’s health, do not hesitate to contact a vet. This may be the case if they’re suddenly showing much more interest than before in their own urine or that of other dogs. Similarly, a check-up is a good idea if your dog develops additional symptoms such as a change in thirst or appetite, smelly urine, genital discharge, or fatigue.
Dogs lick pee for a wide range of different reasons, most of which are entirely benign and can actually enrich their life and their relationships with other dogs. For the vast majority of dogs, it is a non-problematic behaviour that needs no type of intervention.
For a small number of dogs, you may need to consult with your vet or to contact a canine behaviourist. This is the case if they become obsessive over urine licking, or if they start to develop medical symptoms alongside the urine licking.
As you spend time outdoors with your dog, keep an eye on what they’re doing. A few sniffs and licks of another dog’s urine is not a major issue, but try to distract your dog if they’re doing it often or are becoming obsessive.
If your dog is unwell, particularly if they have an issue which can be passed to other dogs, try not to walk them in areas where they could make other dogs unwell from their urine exposure. It is best to wait until they’re better, before bringing them for outdoor walks.
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