Preventing Dogs from House Peeing: Effective Strategies

If your dog is peeing in the house, you're likely frustrated and eager to solve the problem. Dogs may urinate indoors for various reasons, including medical issues, incomplete house-training, or behavioral challenges. Understanding the root cause of this behavior is the first step toward addressing it effectively.

Why Do Dogs Urinate Indiscriminately?

I. Physiological Factors

• Age-related

Puppies: Puppies' urinary system is not yet fully developed and they cannot control their urination behavior well. Usually in the first few months of life, puppies have small bladders and weak muscle control, they need to urinate frequently and may urinate anywhere and anytime.

Older dogs: Older dogs with declining body functions may develop urinary disorders, such as bladder sphincter relaxation leading to incontinence, or declining kidney function affecting the normal production and excretion of urine, resulting in indiscriminate urination.

• Sex-related (unneutered condition)

Male Dogs: Unneutered male dogs will mark territory and attract the opposite sex by urinating during estrus. They will choose to urinate indiscriminately in some conspicuous places or places with the smell of other animals, which is an instinctive reproductive behavior.

Female dogs: Female dogs may also urinate indiscriminately during estrus, although it is not as obvious as male dogs, but hormonal changes will also have an impact on their urination behavior.

II Health problems

• Diseases of the urinary system

Diseases such as cystitis, bladder stones, and urethritis can cause dogs to experience pain or discomfort when urinating. To alleviate this pain, dogs may change their urination habits and urinate in inappropriate places. For example, bladder stones can irritate the bladder mucosa, resulting in frequent urge to urinate and difficulty in controlling urination.

• Endocrine diseases

Endocrine diseases such as diabetes mellitus and Cushing's disease may affect kidney function and urine production in dogs. For example, diabetic dogs with high blood sugar, the kidneys need to filter more blood, resulting in increased urine output, may not be able to get to a fixed location in time to urinate and urinate indiscriminately.

Also Read: How To Treat Cushing's Disease In Dogs

III. Psychological Factors

• Anxiety and stress

Dogs that are in a state of anxiety, such as separation anxiety (the owner is not at home for a long time), environmental change anxiety (moving, new pets or strangers entering the home), may relieve themselves by urinating indiscriminately. In this case, messy peeing is a way for dogs to cope with psychological stress.

• Attracting the owner's attention

Dogs may intentionally urinate indiscriminately when they feel neglected by their owners. They find that the behavior of messy peeing attracts the owner's attention, and even though this attention may be negative (e.g., scolding by the owner), it is still an interaction for the dog.

IV. Environmental and training factors

• Poor toileting environment

If a dog's toilet is too dirty, smells bad, or is in an inappropriate location (e.g., too close to a place to eat or rest), the dog may be reluctant to urinate there and choose another place.

• Lack of training

If the owner does not train the dog to urinate at a fixed point, or if the training method is incorrect, the dog will not know where it should urinate, and thus will urinate indiscriminately.

• Odor Misleading

After the home is cleaned and the original odor disappears, the dog may re-search for a place to urinate in order to mark the territory; or if there is an owner's scent on the sofa, bed, etc., the dog may urinate in those places.

How to Stop Dogs from Peeing in the House?

I. Health screening aspects

First take your dog to the veterinarian to check for urinary disorders such as cystitis, urethritis or kidney problems. This is because physical discomfort may cause your dog to be unable to control urination. If there is a disease, timely treatment, which is the fundamental prerequisite to solve the dog's indiscriminate urination.

• Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs): A common cause of sudden urination indoors.
• Bladder Stones: These can make it difficult for your dog to hold their urine.
• Diabetes: Increased urination can be a symptom of diabetes in dogs.
• Kidney Disease: Dogs with kidney issues may urinate more frequently.
• Cognitive Dysfunction: Older dogs with cognitive decline may forget their house-training.

Treatment of Urinary Inflammation

Frequent urination; dysuria; hematuria; urodynia

View Product

II. Training aspects

1.Fixed-point training

Choose a suitable location: Choose a specific place in the house, such as a corner of the bathroom or balcony, and lay a pee pad or place a small dog toilet. This location should be far away from the dog's eating and resting area.

Guidance and Reward: Observe your dog for urination signals such as sniffing the floor and spinning in a circle. When these signals are detected, immediately guide the dog to the designated spot to urinate. If the dog succeeds in urinating in the designated spot, give a reward immediately, such as a small snack, praise or petting.

Establish a routine: Determine the time to take your dog to a designated spot to urinate based on your dog's diet and daily routine. For example, 15 - 30 minutes after meals, after waking up from a nap, after playing, etc. Take your dog to the designated spot.

2.Regularize urination commands

Each time you guide your dog to a designated place to urinate, use a simple, fixed command, such as “pee”. After many repetitions, the dog will know to go to urinate when it hears this command.

III. Environmental Management

• Elimination of odors

When a dog pees in the wrong place in the house, immediately clean the area thoroughly with a specialized pet cleaner to eliminate the urine odor. This is because the dog may pee in the same spot again based on the urine odor.

• Limit the range of movement

If the dog has not yet fully learned to urinate at a fixed point, you can restrict the dog to a smaller area that is easy to clean and has a designated urination point, such as the kitchen or the bathroom, when the owner is not at home (if the space permits and it is safe to do so).

IV. Aspects of psychological concerns for dogs

• Reducing Anxiety

If the dog is urinating inside the house because of psychological concerns such as separation anxiety, the owner should take steps to alleviate the dog's anxiety. For example, leave some items with the owner's scent for the dog before leaving the house, or use some music or aromatherapy products (specially designed for pets) that can relax the dog.

• Increase Companionship and Interaction

Give your dog enough companionship and interaction to fulfill its emotional needs. For example, schedule enough time to play and walk with your dog every day so that your dog won't seek attention and attract its owner through messy urination.

How to Train Your Dog to Poop and Pee?

1. Preparation

Choose a suitable place: Choose a fixed area in your home, such as a balcony, bathroom or some quiet corner, and lay down a pee pad or newspaper.
Prepare cleaning supplies: Prepare special pet cleaner for cleaning the place where the dog urinates in a messy way and removing the smell of urine in a timely manner.

2. Observe defecation signals

Common signals: Dogs usually have some special behaviors before defecation, such as sniffing the ground, circling, restlessness, or starting to pace back and forth in a certain place.

3. Guided Training

Timely guidance: Once the dog is observed to have defecation signals, quickly and gently guide it to a fixed defecation site, you can use simple commands, such as “go to the toilet” or “pee”, etc., and at the same time, you can gently pull the leash to guide the dog to go.

Waiting for defecation: After bringing the dog to a fixed place, wait patiently for it to defecate, don't disturb it and give it enough time and space.

4. Reward Mechanism

Reward after correct defecation: When the dog successfully defecates at the fixed location, reward it immediately. Rewards can be small snacks, such as chicken jerky, cheese grains, etc., or warm praise and petting.

5. Establishing regularity

Diet and defecation time routine: Determine the time of defecation based on your dog's dietary pattern. Generally, dogs may have a need to defecate within 15 - 30 minutes after eating. So you can take your dog to a fixed place to wait for defecation right after he eats.

Daily Activities and Defecation Routine: In addition to meal times, dogs may also have a need to defecate after waking up from sleep and after playing. So you should also pay attention to observe your dog's defecation signals at these time points and guide it to a fixed place to defecate in time.

6. Correcting Errors

Clean the defecation area: If your dog has defecated in a non-fixed place, immediately clean the area thoroughly with a special pet cleaner to remove the odor of urine and feces.

Don't punish your dog: Don't scold your dog for defecating in the wrong place. Scolding may frighten and confuse your dog, and may even cause him to urinate indiscriminately more frequently.

7. Other methods

Use inducer: You can use a defecation inducer, spray it in a fixed place and the dog will go straight over to the toilet.
Newspaper method: Use newspaper dipped in your dog's urine and place it in a designated spot to guide your dog to the newspaper to defecate.
Space restriction method: Reduce your dog's range of motion and place kennels, food bowls and dog toilets in the restricted area to help your dog find a place to defecate more quickly.

FAQs

What smell will stop dogs from peeing?

• Citrus Odors

Dogs usually dislike the odor of citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons and grapefruit. You can place citrus peels in areas where your dog often urinates, such as corners or next to furniture. This odor is more pungent to dogs and can act as a deterrent to keep them away from these areas.

• Vinegar Odor

The odor of vinegar is also effective in repelling dogs. Dilute white vinegar and spray it with a spray bottle in areas where you don't want your dog to pee. Be aware, however, that vinegar has a strong odor, so make sure you have good ventilation when using it to avoid an overly pungent vinegar odor permeating your home.

• Certain Spice Odors

Spices like cinnamon emit odors that dogs don't like much either. You can stop your dog from peeing by sprinkling a small amount of cinnamon in a specific area. However, be careful not to let your dog accidentally ingest it, as cinnamon can be harmful to dogs if ingested in large quantities.

• Deodorant or disinfectant odors (used in moderation)

The smell of some deodorants or disinfectants that are specifically used for household cleaning can be unpleasant in dogs. However, use them with caution as these chemicals may be hazardous to your dog's health if he or she licks them. After use, make sure surfaces are completely dry and that no harmful substances remain.

How should I punish my dog for peeing in the house?

Conclusion

In conclusion, stopping dogs from peeing in the house requires a combination of strategies. Establishing a routine is fundamental, as it helps dogs understand when and where they should relieve themselves. Supervision and limiting freedom, especially when the dog is not fully trained, can prevent accidents from occurring. Thoroughly cleaning up any messes with enzymatic cleaners is crucial to avoid the dog being attracted back to the same spot.

Providing suitable outdoor potty areas and ensuring they are clean and accessible is also important. Addressing any underlying medical issues is a must - not all house - peeing problems are due to behavioral issues. And finally, positive reinforcement is key. Rewarding the dog for appropriate behavior outside will encourage it to repeat that behavior in the future. By implementing these steps consistently, dog owners can successfully train their furry friends to keep their homes pee - free.