Why does my puppy pee indoors right when I come home?
Puppies often have accidents indoors immediately after returning inside or when a specific owner comes home from work, leading to a sudden spike in daily accidents. This unpredictable behavior leaves owners feeling overwhelmed and stressed when trying to manage house training.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 22.6× more often in r/dogs than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Keep track of potty schedules using an Excel spreadsheet or tracking appsDid this help you?
- 2Pick the pup up mid-pee and put them on the patch to finishDid this help you?
- 3Use enzymatic cleaners on indoor accidentsDid this help you?
- 4Ignore demand barking until the puppy stops to reward calm behaviorDid this help you?
- 5keeping the schedule tightDid this help you?
- 6blocking bedroom access for a bitDid this help you?
- 7Not petting or greeting the dog when coming homeDid this help you?
- 8Greeting the dog outsideDid this help you?
- 9Using belly bands inside the houseDid this help you?
- 10Distracting the dog with a toy instead of pettingDid this help you?
- 11Teaching a touch cue to give the dog's brain a job during greetingsDid this help you?
- 12Taking the dog straight outside before certain people come inDid this help you?
- 13Crate-trainingDid this help you?
- 14Tethering the dog to the owner with an indoor leashDid this help you?
- 15Taking the dog out more frequently to the same spotDid this help you?
- 16Limiting freedom in a crate or pen if the dog does not go outsideDid this help you?
- 17going on an 3rd small walkDid this help you?
- 18Staying outside an extra 5 minutes to ensure the puppy fully empties their bladder.Did this help you?
- 19Scrubbing the floor with an enzymatic cleaner to remove faint smells.Did this help you?
- 20Treating the playpen like early crate training by taking the puppy out immediately before they go in.Did this help you?
- 21Only using the playpen while strictly supervising the puppy.Did this help you?
- 22Keeping a very strict and frequent schedule for taking the puppy outside.Did this help you?
- 23Rewarding the puppy for going potty outside.Did this help you?
- 24Considering using a bell to train the puppy to signal when they need to go.Did this help you?
- 25Using an enzyme cleaner to clean up accident spots.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have an English Springer Spaniel who just turned 5 and he pees every time he’s excited.”source ↗
“And yes, I let him out to pee very often. He’s very well potty trained, only pees outside (unless he’s excited or we show him an ounce of love).”source ↗
“Just wondering if anyone has an experience as same as mine, and if there’s anything you did to fix it.”source ↗
“Lately my 2yo started going potty (both pee and poop) inside the house. It happens a lot the past few weeks.”source ↗
“She never does it while we are home in the day and she wasn’t doing it when alone either until recently.”source ↗
“She will just do it inside while she is alone, otherwise she is very capable of holding it.”source ↗
“it’s only when we touch him. we try to ignore/not greet him when we get home. he doesn’t pee when we play with him with a toy, but as soon as we pet him (excited or not) he almost always lowers his body and flips onto his belly then dribbles on himself.”source ↗
“mine pulled the same stunt where she clearly knew it was wrong but still did it.”source ↗
“im having trouble with fully potty training her. She'll have up to like 3 accidents a day.”source ↗
“Well tonight she went into my bedroom and pooped on the bed, stepped in it then came out and jumped on the couch.”source ↗
“I’m not sure why she would have done this I feel like we are back tracking.”source ↗
“Meanwhile, he keeps having pee accidents inside right after coming back in, often with zero warning. We’re already at 4–5 pee accidents in \~24 hours, and reading about puppies with "only 2 accidents ever" is stressing us out!”source ↗
“My puppy is still peeing when he’s excited and/or meets a new person (on the street or in my home)”source ↗
“Since then, I'm the last 90 mins or so, he's peed and on the floor three times. And even pooped.”source ↗
“He's fine all day with everyone else. Then is an arsehole when I'm home.”source ↗
“We're lost. Also, we don't get mad at him. He's just a puppy. But, how do I break him like that.”source ↗
“My 12 week old puppy keeps peeing and pooping in her playpen even after she has gone outside multiple times and completely relieved herself.”source ↗
“She has no issues keeping her crate clean, so I’m confused about why the playpen seems to be different.”source ↗
“But if we put her in the pen, she will sometimes pee or poop shortly after coming inside, even if she just went outside multiple times and fully relieved herself.”source ↗
“After potty training for two months she is still having accidents inside and I feel like I am doing something wrong.”source ↗
“Even with a schedule that has stayed the same since shes been with us she is still pottying in a a handful of spots randomly throughout the day.”source ↗
“I usually reward her with freedom to run around and play when we get inside after a potty for somewhere between 20-30 minutes and in that window of playing she will have an accident.”source ↗
“But it is alwasy when I turn my back for 5 minutes that she has an accident.”source ↗
“Is there any advice for getting your puppy to signal that she needs to go outside?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7House-trained dog won't go to the bathroom outside after moving
- 3Puppy housetrained in one room but pees in another
- 4Why does my puppy pee in their crate during the day?
- 6How do I get my puppy to go outside in the rain?
- 6Why does my potty trained child have accidents only at home?
- 21Puppy suddenly won't use indoor patches and pees in apartment hallways