Help! He's Peeing on Himself!

I'm at the end of my rope here. I gave Kingston a bath and blow-dry last night, and he was looking quite handsome. Until this morning. Took him out to potty this morning and he pee'd on his front legs. He does this ALL the time. He lifts his leg to pee and he ends up spraying his front legs and gets his fur completely urine soaked. It's quite frustrating. I have to wipe him down after each potty break. Does anyone else's Cav do this? Is there anything I can do to get him to stop peeing on himself?

Sadly no, lots of them do this!! Sometimes they are just easily distracted and not concentraing on where they are aiming...

Some people suggest that leaving a longer "wick" of hair at the end of the penis deflects the flow away from their legs - but others disagree - it's a topic that comes up quite regularly.


I keep the hair in front of the penis very short, and rub them down every day with a damp baby wipe, then a proper wash every week. It's not good to be bathing them all the time as it dries out their coat.


Is your boy neutered? This at least greatly reduces the smell {once the testosterone level drops}, also makes them less reluctant to scent mark.

Thanks for the reply Nicki. Yes, he's neutered. I'm wondering if it might help to trim the hair on the back of his legs a little shorter, but that's a last resort. Is there a way to encourage him to stop lifting his leg? When he squats to pee, he stays completely clean. I know this isn't a HUGE deal, but it would be nice to find a solution.

Hi..Murphy does this!..Cocks his leg up and it goes all over his front paw..he will have a run around so it would of dried off..But I trimmed Murphy's paws so it isn't as bad now

We have a similar problem with our Rio, he urinates all over his belly and his front legs

Trimming the feathering can help s generally they are spraying the longer hair, not the leg itself. Lots of boys do get urine on their feathering. Leo does this from time to time. Younger dogs often improve a bit as they get older -- they can be a bit wobbly when first lifting their leg. Jaspar on the other hand is meticulous and never gets pee anywhere on himself.

Peeing on front legs is just a normal hazard of having small male dogs with long coats! :wink:

Unfortunately, I have the same issue myself with Lucky.

Sparky squats so he is not bad, but Lucky lifts his leg and has bad aim.

I do allow his groomer to trim his feathering now (he has a LOT of it, and it grows fast). This helps a little. Karlin is right in our case, it is usually the longer hair he wets, not his actual leg.

Good luck.

Same for Charlie. Every morning I place him in a tub of water up to his belly. Use a little Dawn to kill the smell and towel dry his legs. He is so agreeable to it that I am amazed. Neutering is in his future.