‘The Flex’ or ‘The Handstand’: What Your Dog’s Pee Style Says About Them

“She wees like a boy,” my friend exclaimed as my rescue dog Lucy cocked her back leg in the air and sprayed on to a lamppost – her head held high like she was the queen of the city (she is). We were walking our dogs and chatting about all the stuff that goes in and comes out of their bodies – a classic dog parent conversation. Unlike Lucy, my friend’s female dog is more of a squatter. 

And I guess that’s what a lot of pet parenting is, isn’t it? Becoming intricately accustomed to that very particular – and totally specific to them – way that our dogs sniff out a spot, before putting their bum to the floor or lifting their leg for a pee.

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So what’s going on with Lucy’s style of peeing? Is it unusual? I mean, it can’t be as weird as that pug who went viral for his incredible acrobatic form of peeing? Can it?

Yep, just look at that impressive handstand. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed greatness quite like it. So I got in touch with behaviourist Rima Chehlaoui, Even Better Dogs K9 Behaviour and Training, to call on her degree in canine behaviour to help us decode how and why dogs wee the way they wee – turns out there’s lots of ways a dog can wee. Here we go… 

How many dog pee styles are there?

Okay, let’s get something straight. “People often think there’s just two styles of weeing,” says Rima – “lifting a leg for males and ‘squatting’ for females”  – but there’s actually 12 official styles.

Allow Rima to explain:

This information comes from a research study from the 1970s in which 12 positions were identified using 60 intact male and 53 intact female adult beagles. 

So, do female and male dogs pee differently? 

OK, while it’s true that male dogs usually pee in The Elevate position and female dogs mostly use The Squat or Squat-Raise to pee – the reality is more nuanced and messy than that.

The study mentioned above, for example, found that while females squatted most of the time, it also showed that the girlies had more flair to their repertoire and were more likely to mix up their positions than the boys. In contrast, male dogs most often used The Elevate posture while some used The Raise – and they rarely used the Squat-Raise and Lean-Raise. 

So why does Lucy cock her leg in the air  – or per the list, use ‘The Elevate’ stance? “Just two percent of female dogs urinate in this position – compared to 97 percent of males,” says Rima. How, then, did my dog end up in this exclusive two percent club?

Well, Rima says that a study from 1985 (Ranson and Beach) showed that exposure to testosterone during prenatal development and infancy can influence the posture that a female dog wees in. “This usually happens in the womb and during the first 30–40 days postpartum,” explains Rima, “so the testosterone exposure masculinises urination postures – so that’s why some females lift their leg when urinating.” I don’t know how Lucy started out life – she was a stray in Greece – so perhaps she was born in a litter of male pups or spent her puppyhood with boy dogs. 

So what do all the other peeing styles mean?

Ultimately, Rima says that there’s no one ‘normal’ position for your male or female dog to pee in and they don’t necessarily mean anything. It’s totally normal for your dog – male or female – to adopt any of the 12 styles that Rima listed above. Every dog is unique. 

The main thing to note is that, “between the age of six and 12 months is often when male pups go from squatting to lifting their legs,” says Rima, “which indicates they’re reaching maturity.”

Rima also notes that there can be underlying reasons for urination – for example when they’re nervous, which is called “submissive urination”. “This is when your dog exhibits signs of stress or fear, then they wee,” explains Rima. “It’s a vital communication tool in the canine universe. It’s often used to deflect a perceived threat in conjunction with displaying appeasing and submissive body language. For example, low body posture, squinted eyes and flat ears.” (Sadly this is something I’ve seen Lucy do at the vets.)

In contrast, dogs also wee when they’re excited. “When they’re happy to see us pee can dribble out,” chuckles Rima. “Most will grow out of this.” Either way – excited or nervous – “it’s not something your dog can control, it just happens.” But Rima says if it becomes an issue, you should get in touch with a rewards-based behaviourist like her.

How do we know when dogs are marking and when they’re just weeing?

Like us humans, sometimes a dog’s just gotta go. “Dogs need to eliminate the contents of their bladder,” says Rima. But unlike us – although I’m sure some cis men might disagree – dogs also use their wee to mark their scent, warning others to back off what they consider to be their patch.

So, that’s urinating to get rid of waste and to mark their territory. “Marking looks like small amounts of wee in lots of different locations. This is a communicative behaviour, a bit like saying ‘I Was Here’, it’s a calling card.” 

Male dogs are more likely to mark their territory by peeing on objects that other male dogs have peed on, while female dogs tend to sniff before peeing but may not select a spot to urinate based on other dogs’ urination. But again, this isn’t a set rule – and I’ve definitely seen Lucy wee on top of other dog’s wee (she’s even taken a wee on top of my wee when I got caught short in the park!).

And scent-marking means dogs can size each other up. A study by Dr Betty McGuire found that the smaller the dog, the more likely they were to raise their leg at a higher angle – hence that pug perfecting his handstand to get his pee as high as possible! “It might be uniquely beneficial for small dogs to exaggerate their body size and competitive abilities through relatively high scent marks if this enables them to avoid direct conflict,” wrote Dr McGuire. “In contrast, large dogs, with greater competitive abilities, would have less incentive to avoid direct conflict.”

FYI: if your dog kicks up their back paws afterwards, that’s also a form of marking. “Dogs have sweat and sebaceous glands in their paws that secrete scent – think pheromones,” explains Rima, “the kicking disperses the scent.” She also tells me that lions, wolves, coyotes and other animals do this too. (“Dependant upon the surface, scratching can cause damage so regularly check their paws,” warns Rima.)

Why do some dogs like to change their peeing position?

“There is no right or wrong position, it is just what is comfortable for your dog,” says Rima. Some dogs will use just one style of weeing, she continues, “while some will use a few different ones and some will start off using one, walk a step or two then use a different one!” 

Rima says you might also observe your dog weeing in one way in their garden and differently when they’re out and about. It’s definitely something I’ve noticed with Lucy – while she cocks her leg up when she’s on our walkies, I’ve only seen her squatting in her garden. And a research paper from 2004 found that the further away from home that female dogs were, the more likely they were to wee frequently and aim their urine at objects (aka marking). 

Some positions are also just more efficient for getting rid of waste – The Squat, for example, means the bladder can be emptied all at once. This is often the position that Lucy assumes for her last wee in the garden before bedtime.

When should my dog’s peeing position cause concern?

Vets take an interest in peeing postures for a reason. “If your dog has always urinated in a specific way and then it suddenly changes, or if your dog is urinating more than usual or is straining, this could indicate something medical,” says Rima. “Always look out for signs of discomfort and any behaviour changes in your dog and seek vet advice.” 

So there we have it. A comprehensive guide to dog pee. Who thought it would be so fascinating? But that’s the dog mum life for you!

Resources

Anisko, Joseph J., and Randall H. Sprague. “Elimination Patterns in the Laboratory Beagle.” Behaviour, vol. 47, no. 3-4, 1973, pp. 257–67.

Ranson, Ed, and Frank A. Beach. “Effects of Testosterone on Ontogeny of Urinary Behavior in Male and Female Dogs.” Hormones and Behavior, vol. 19, no. 1, Mar. 1985, pp. 36–51. Accessed 1 Apr. 2020.

McGuire, Betty, and William Gough. “Body Size Influences Urinary Posture but Not Hindlimb Laterality in Shelter Dogs.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior, vol. 21, Sept. 2017, pp. 38–44. Accessed 17 Apr. 2019.

Wirant, Sharon Cudd, and Betty McGuire. “Urinary Behavior of Female Domestic Dogs (Canis Familiaris): Influence of Reproductive Status, Location, and Age.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science, vol. 85, no. 3-4, Mar. 2004, pp. 335–48.