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Feb/105
Feb/105
How Can You Make A Dog Quit Peeing On The Carpet?
My dog is 2 years old and will pee on the carpet about every other day or so I don’t ever catch her but it is when we’re home. She’s crated during the day so maybe it’s at night. And it’s never the same spot twice so cleaning doesn’t help.
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8:07 am on February 16th, 2010
It would be helpful to know what breed she is and if the problem started recently or has happened her entire life to give a more specific recommendation…
First rule out a medical problem. Sometimes spayed females develop incontinence problems and need hormone replacement medication.
Behavior modification ideas… To truly break the cycle, you will need to deny her ANY opportunity to wander off and pee anywhere in the house. Since you are already crating her when you are gone you have a big advantage. Kudos to you for understanding the necessity of ‘denning instinct’ in dogs. Dogs naturally don’t want to ’soil’ their living/playing areas, and crating when unsupervised teaches them bladder control, keeps younger dogs out of trouble, and allows the balancing act of praising when you take her outside. Dogs sleep up to 20 hours a day, so try not to feel bad about crating her more often. Depending on her breed & size, it can take a long time for dogs to learn that the whole house is actually their den. Most dogs will keep their main areas clean but are perfectly willing to wander to a far room to eliminate… to them, they are still following the denning instict of cleanliness.
When she is crated, move the crate every few days to a new room, especially placing it near old peed-on areas. You can also put food/water bowls near frequently soiled areas to discourage returning to that spot.
Basically, it will come down to confining her ANY time you are unable to supervise her activities for a while. One method is called ‘umbilical training’ in which you set up a house rule (its not forever, but definitely for 2-3 weeks) that she is either crated, outside, or tied to you by a leash so that there is NO opportunity to wander off and ‘go’. Feed her on a shedule if not doing so already. Clean all soiled areas with a quality enzyme action cleaner. Bleach, lysol, etc. do not destroy odor sources.
Just like people, dogs usually need to pee when they wake up, so if nighttime is the most likely time, you will honestly need to confine her then too. As long as she gets half an hour daily of aerobic activity she will adjust to more crate time. Spend some time with her in every room in the house.
One very, very important concept is to understand how dogs think… it is NEVER effective to show/punish a dog for a mess it made even five seconds after they did it. Dogs can not put ‘abstract ideas’ together. This means that they simply can not associate the ACT of peeing with getting in trouble for it later. To punish after-the-fact is cruel and dogs think owners who do so as vicious and unpredictably aggressive masters. Or worse, calling a dog to you and then punishing for anything simply teaches the dog that it gets in trouble when it comes to you. Dogs have no concept of doing things out of guilt, or spite, or anger. They aren’t capable of feeling these emotions. The guilty look is nothing more than a dog waving a white flag of submission. The ‘guilty look’ is a dog trying to give you ‘Calming Signals’ and trying desperately to show you that it means no harm to you, and please calm down. Dogs LEARN to give calming signals after repeated punishment for being in the same area as a puddle on the carpet. They don’t understand getting in trouble for something even 2 seconds after doing it. The only acceptable time to tell a dog ‘no’ for peeing on the floor is when you catch them literally in the act of doing it. Even then, don’t go overboard, a simple NO followed by taking her out and balancing the correction with praise when she does go outside. Many owners create house training problems from being too harsh because dogs can learn that ‘as long as no one sees me it is okay’. Find a way to deny access to peeing in the house for 2-3 weeks and the problem should resolve itself.
I know it was a long answer, and some of it may not be relevant to your situation, but I discuss house training 7 days a week and always enjoy an opportunity to break some of the myths of understanding dogs. An excellent chapter/book is listed below about having sympathy for sometimes how much we expect from our canine companions. Hope my advice helps, and thanks for theopportunity in this forum!
8:32 am on February 16th, 2010
Create a space/crate/box where she is allowed to pee. Everytime after she has had water, just put her there. Show her the carpet spot where she has peed and say No or Bad Dog and then point to her space and say Good dog and smile at her or better still pick her up and take her there. It may take you a couple of weeks but don’t give up.
12:15 pm on February 16th, 2010
Leave the dog outside when she pee on the carpet. She will start to recognize one action with the other.
2:50 pm on February 16th, 2010
walk your dog often and try training him or “bribe” him with dog treats….:)
7:41 pm on February 16th, 2010
Try walking her more.