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Why Do Dogs Pee on Fire Hydrants? Canine Behavior Explained

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By Nicole Cosgrove

Dog peeing on yellow red and white fire hydrant with grass and flowers around it and brick building in background

If you’ve noticed your dog is peeing on fire hydrants when you’re out walking, you may wonder why he does this. Fire hydrant peeing is a classic dog behavior often highlighted in cartoons and comics. While there may be a few reasons why dogs pee on fire hydrants, the main reason is territory marking, or urine marking as it’s also called.1

As you walk your dog around the neighborhood, you probably notice he’s very much into sniffing and investigating the ground and objects in the environment, such as parked cars, bicycles, fire hydrants, and garbage cans. It’s natural for dogs to sniff and nose around because it helps them discover new things and detect changes in their environment.

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About Canine Urine Marking

Many people think that only male dogs mark their territory by peeing on things. The truth is, however, that both males and females take part in urine marking.

Your dog’s environment consists of your home, the routes you take when out walking, the yards you visit with your dog, and other familiar places, like parks. When something changes in your dog’s environment, it may feel the need to pee on it to claim it as part of its territory.

When a dog partakes in urine marking, it’s letting other dogs know that it’s been there and that the item it pees on is ‘theirs’. When another dog walks by and smells the urine, that dog will know that another canine has been there. Urine marking is how dogs claim territory, regardless of whether the territory is on their usual turf or in a public space.

Dog in the sand near fire hydrant
Image Credit: TheShiv76, Pixabay

Dogs Like to Pee on Vertical Items

In addition to fire hydrants, dogs also like to pee on trees, light posts, fences, and other items that stand vertically. Dogs prefer peeing on vertical objects because the pee left behind is at nose height for other dogs to easily sniff and discover.

Peeing on a vertical item also causes the urine to stream higher, so the scent spreads further. When your dog pees on a fire hydrant or another vertical object, the scent will linger longer than it would on the ground. This assures your dog that his pee will be detected easily, so other dogs passing by will know he’s already been there and has claimed the territory as his.

How Dogs View Their Pee

To us, our pee is nothing more than liquid waste we quickly flush away in the toilet. But dogs look at their pee differently. Dog urine contains pheromones which are chemical scents that reveal a lot of interesting information about the dog that left the urine behind.

When your dog sniffs dog pee when he’s out walking, he can decipher many details about the dog that peed there, like the sex of the dog, its reproductive status, general age, and even what the dog recently ate.

Dogs have what’s called a vomeronasal organ located in the nasal cavity. This organ is what helps your dog recognize the pheromones left behind in dog urine that act as a personal signature.

Is Urine Marking a Bad Thing?

Dog Pee on Grass
Image Credit: Ching Louis Liu, Shutterstock

Urine marking is a natural behavior for dogs. If you take your dog for regular walks, you have to accept that he’s going to mark his territory. If it bothers you that your dog is peeing on fire hydrants, walk your dog where there aren’t any fire hydrants like in a countryside park or a field.

Some dogs mark their territory more than other dogs. For example, unneutered males mark more than their neutered counterparts. If your male dog isn’t neutered and he’s marking his territory like crazy, get him neutered to cut down on the behavior.

Unspayed females tend to pee more and do more urine marking than spayed females. This is because unspayed dogs want to send the signal to male dogs in the area that they’re available for mating.

During the heat cycle, the urine contains certain pheromones and hormones, which signal a dog’s reproductive status to other dogs, which is why females in heat attract males. If you have an unspayed female dog that’s peeing on virtually everything when you’re out, get her spayed to bring the urine marking under control.

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Conclusion

The next time you see your dog circling, sniffing, and peeing on a fire hydrant, you’ll know why. Your dog is simply doing what comes naturally, so don’t worry.

If your dog isn’t fixed and is always peeing on just about everything when you’re out and about, get your dog spayed or neutered to bring the behavior under control.

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Featured Image Credit: Liz Tracy Photography, Shutterstock

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