Why do Dogs Pee on Tires? Do dogs Mark their Territory? — Doggy Talent

Dogs do a few weird things that you may not find a reason to, no matter how much you love your dog. One of such strange activities is when your dog starts peeing on tires. Think about the time when you’re admiring a car, and your dog started peeing on its tyres. It’s kind of an embarrassing moment for dog owners when their dog starts peeing on someone else’s car tyres.

So what is it that dogs love peeing on car tyres? It may sound fascinating to know that researchers have investigated the logic behind your dog’s activity.

Researchers have found out four logics behind why dogs love to pee on car tires. One of them is that dogs try to stake a claim on their opposite sex after they reach sexual maturity.

This is explained much like the same way that humans hold their partner’s hand in a public place to display their claim.

Other reasons are equally fascinating, and you wouldn’t want to miss anyone of them.

Reasons for Dog Peeing on Tires:

Reaching sexual maturity –

Like humans, dogs also reach sexual maturity and hit puberty after a certain age. The puberty in dogs brings behavioural changes in the dogs. Your puppy can hit puberty anywhere between the age of 6 to 12 months. If you are unsure when your pet will reach puberty or if he has already hit puberty, you can consult your vet for that.

Now once female dogs hit puberty, they reach the heat period twice a year. They want to mate when they are in heat desperately, but they don’t find easy ways to signal male dogs. So, your female dog starts peeing on tyres as a way to signal male dogs around them to mate with them.

Even if the male dog doesn’t see the female dog peeing, he can smell it later. Once he smells the pee, he instantly knows that a bitch in heat is nearby. This takes us to the second reason why dogs pee on tyres.

Marking their fragrance –

Dogs pee on a particular place to mark their territory. They want every dog around to know that this place is owned by them, so don’t use up the spot. This is a similar thinking pattern to why dogs poop at particular sites.

The territory marking is similar to how humans wear perfumes to entice other humans. Many people use just one scent for an extended period. So whenever people smell that fragrance, they remember the person who wears such perfume.

Now dogs don’t have perfumes. They have the fragrance of poop and urine. Car tyres are an ideal meeting spot for these dogs. Yes, it might sound stupid, but there have been cases where a group of dogs specifically pee on a particular car tyre. If some dog from outside pees on it, it might mean he wants to join them.

The connection with vertical objects –

The theory says that dogs like to pee on vertical objects because of their level and height. According to Bonnie V Beaver, author of Canine Behaviour, a whopping 97.4% of dogs prefer peeing on vertical objects because of their preference to pee by raising one leg. Vertical objects like trees and car tyres have support for the raised leg, which is the reason why dogs pee on car tyres.

The other reason is that they want their pee to get smell at the nose level of other dogs. Dogs like other dogs to sniff and smell their pee, which would be easier if the pee is at the nose level. Bruce Fogle, the author of Know your Dog, explains that tyres retain the smell of dog urine. So, if they come back to the tyre sometimes later, the smell is still there, which is the reason why they pee on tyres.

Dogs love the stinky smell –

While us humans get pleased by the fragrance from flowers, good food and so on, we can also identify the stinky smell and move away from it. Dogs, in contrast, love sniffing on objects that smell bad. They want to smell butts, faeces, gutter water and whatnot. Bad smell perhaps makes them happier.

Now tyres roll over a lot of bad-smelling objects including faeces, dead animals, rotten food, poop etc. which smells really bad. Now tyres also hold this smell for a longer period of time. So, dogs love to pee and stay around car tyres. While it is not a very popular logic, it’s still rational in this way.

Is Dog Pee Bad for Tires?

Well, dog urine contains ammonia which is corrosive in nature and can adversely affect your car tyres. Your car cleaner must have told you someday to avoid waxing or cleaning products containing ammonia. These products might destroy the paint of the car or the tyres.

But it takes a right amount of urine to affect the tyre. Dogs pee a small amount of urine, while a gallon might be needed to ruin a car tyre. Perhaps dog pee might moisturise the car tyres which is good for its health when you haven’t washed it for a while.

Your tyre could crack and dry out if a group of dogs keep peeing all day on the tyre. Under normal circumstances, it hardly affects the tyres in any way. You should be more concerned about the corrosion of the paintwork of your car due to urine. If dogs urinate on your vehicle, you should wipe it off and clean it frequently to avoid corrosion.

While it doesn’t have a critically adverse effect on tyres, it can be embarrassing for dog owners if their dog starts peeing on other’s car tyres in public. People who love their car might start quarrelling when they find your dog peeing on car tyres. Training him to avoid such a situation is essential.

How to stop dogs from peeing on car tyres?

You don’t need to worry if your dog pees on your car tyres. We would explain further how to clean urine from car tyres in a safe way that doesn’t affect your car. It becomes a serious problem if your dog has developed a habit of peeing on other people’s car tyres. It can be a seriously embarrassing moment if you claim yourself to be a brilliant dog trainer.

If you train your dog right, he won’t pee indoors. But now it’s time to put a restriction on some places outdoors too, the most important of them, the car tyre.

Counter the smell –

Apply a stain remover on the car tyre on which your dog pees. He would come back to check if the tyre is still smelling. The stain remover neutralises the smell of urine. When the tyres don’t smell after a short time, it will discourage your dog from peeing on it again. If you apply that stain remover quickly a few times right after he pees, he might leave the habit soon.

Scold your dog –

Dogs obey their owners and refrain from doing activities that their owners don’t like. If you use a harsh tone and reprimand your dog every time he starts peeing on car tyres, he would realise it’s wrong and stop doing that. Using a harsh and loud tone is useful only if you try to be consistent with it. Try to stop him from peeing by scolding him every time, and you would see that he would stop doing it soon.

Reward your dog –

Being a good owner, you must know what your dog likes it eat. There are things that your dog loves, but you don’t give it to him because it’s unhealthy. Reward him with his favourite snack every time he refrains from peeing on tyres after scolding. He will try to make you happy by peeing on the spots you allow him to, in order to earn rewards. Also, praise him with a pat on his back every time he obeys you.

Train your dog –

While training your dog, use commands like “no” or “stop” and pull him away. He would stop peeing on tyres once he gets accustomed to these commands. Try to command him every time he tries peeing on tyres to let him know that it’s a wrong activity.

Commands should be complemented by rewards or praises to make him feel that he has done an excellent job. You should command him to stop every time he starts moving towards car tyres to pee. A trained dog is much easier to handle and will try to make his owner happy.

You can also try tricks to divert his attention when he heads towards the tyres to pee. Use a ball or a stick and throw it away, so your dog starts running towards it to get it back. He would forget the tyre and start playing with you. Let him pee once he’s away from the cars.