diff --git a/testgres/node.py b/testgres/node.py
index 7121339f..f7d6e839 100644
--- a/testgres/node.py
+++ b/testgres/node.py
@@ -1107,13 +1107,12 @@ def _psql(
         else:
             raise Exception("Input data must be None or bytes.")
 
-        dbname = dbname or default_dbname()
-
         psql_params = [
             self._get_bin_path("psql"),
             "-p", str(self.port),
             "-h", self.host,
             "-U", username or self.os_ops.username,
+            "-d", dbname or default_dbname(),
             "-X",  # no .psqlrc
             "-A",  # unaligned output
             "-t",  # print rows only
@@ -1135,9 +1134,6 @@ def _psql(
         else:
             raise QueryException('Query or filename must be provided')
 
-        # should be the last one
-        psql_params.append(dbname)
-
         return self.os_ops.exec_command(
             psql_params,
             verbose=True,