Thus micturition is a voluntary act in which the cerebrum permits the operation of the reflex and voluntarily relaxes the sphincter urethrae. Micturition is a learned behavior. Toilet training of human infants represents the assertion of control by somatic commands over the autonomic pathways. Initially, control is not possible because the descending spinal pathways have not matured. Later, children learn when and where micturition is appropriate, using culturally specific cues.
Similar controls are present in other species.
Pets can be trained to recognize appropriate places for urination. This skill builds on naturally occurring tendencies not to soil a nest or to employ micturition in social behaviors such as territorial marking. General Reference Romer, Alfred Sherwood, and Thomas S. Parsons 1986. The Vertebrate Body, 6th ed. Saunders College Publishing.