3 Helpful Tips to Stop Your Dog from Peeing on the Carpet

When you have pets, especially dogs, you may already be accustomed to them having accidents on your carpet and floors, but is this really the way it has to be? In other words, is there something you can do to reduce the number of accidents your pets have so that you’re not having to deal with it on a regular basis? Fortunately, the answer is “yes,” and the tips are a lot easier to implement than you think.

Introduction

Figuring out how to stop your dog from peeing on the carpet starts with learning why they do this in the first place. Dogs and cats pee on the floor – usually in the same place every time – to mark their territory and claim dominance. They’re not doing it because they don’t know how to pee any other way, but they aren’t doing it to make you angry either.

The trick is to teach them and use positive reinforcement so that they learn how to go outside in a more appropriate manner. If you think this is difficult, don’t worry. It is usually much easier and a lot faster than you imagine it to be. Below are three main ways you can train your dog to stop peeing on the carpet and go outside to do its business.

1. The Puppy Pad Method

With this method, you’ll be using those absorbent pet pads that they sell inexpensively at most stores. The pads come in a variety of sizes, so the first thing you need to do is make sure the pad you purchase is big enough for your dog to lie on. Otherwise, it simply won’t do you any good.

A good place to put the pad is in a room that has a wood or tile floor, as this is easier to clean than carpet is. When it’s your dog’s usual time to go to the bathroom, bring your dog to the pad to let it know where it is. Let your dog sniff at it and get used to it, but leave the area if it doesn’t actually use it within five minutes of going over there.

Let the dog use the pad to pee for several days, then place it a little closer to the door leading outside. Every few days, move the pad closer to the door until finally, you can move it outside so your dog can start getting used to urinating outside. Eventually, you can remove the pad from your outdoor area and your dog will start going outside for its bowel actions without using the pad.

Oh, and don’t forget to give your dog lots of praise whenever it does what it’s supposed to do, and never punish your dog for having an accident. Eventually, it will learn how to go outside like it should, and in the meantime, make sure you remove and dispose of the pads (most of them are disposable) on a regular basis so the smell doesn’t become too bad.

2. Using a Strict Schedule

Okay, maybe it isn’t a super-strict schedule, but it’s a schedule nonetheless. The first step you should take is to become familiar with how many times per day your dog tends to go to the bathroom, because you can’t move to the next step if you don’t know this.

Dogs tend to urinate when they wake up, before they go in for the night, after meals, after drinking a lot of water, and sometimes even in the middle of the night. Start by bringing your dog outside during these times and even at other times so that it can get used to the fact that it needs to start peeing outdoors.

With this method, you’re likely to be surprised by how quickly your dog picks up on what it’s supposed to be doing. Of course, this doesn’t mean your dog won’t have accidents, and don’t punish it when those times come. Praise and positive reinforcement, when your dog does it right, is a much more effective method when house-training a puppy or dog.

In addition, to accommodate your dog’s needs, you also have to be willing to revise the schedule whenever you need to. At first, you’ll be going outside frequently until you start to learn which times are most effective. As your dog gets more used to its schedule, you’ll be able to go outside fewer times throughout the day, and only when your dog needs you to.

3. The Kennel Method

The most important part of this method is finding the right crate for your dog. If it’s too small, your dog will be cramped and uncomfortable, and if it’s too large, it is very possible that it will become your dog’s preferred area of going to the bathroom. Instead, purchase a crate that is large enough so the dog can stand up in it and turn around without being uncomfortable.

Once you know your crate is the right size, make it as enticing as you can so your dog will want to stay in it. Place a blanket in it for comfort, and make sure you include a few of your dog’s favorite toys or chews. This way, being in the crate will become something it looks forward to each day.

Next, you never want to keep your dog inside the kennel for long periods of time. This is not only cruel, but the dog can become bored and might become destructive because of this boredom. Instead, keep your dog in there when you’re working on something in the house or away at school, so it can learn it doesn’t have to stay in there all the time.

When you decide to let your dog out of the kennel, take it straight outside immediately for a bathroom break. Do this every time your dog gets put inside the kennel for a while, and it’ll quickly learn that its bathroom breaks will always occur right after its time in the crate. Naturally, you always want to reward your dog’s good behavior with a treat because this is the only way it’ll learn how to go to the bathroom properly.

Conclusion

The remarkable thing about all three of these methods is that they don’t take as long as you might think to be successful. In fact, in most cases, they will take anywhere from two or three days to about two weeks, which is not a long time when you consider the task itself. The key is to be consistent, not to give up, and make sure you use positive reinforcement when your dog does it correctly.

Learning how to stop your dog from peeing on the carpet isn’t difficult or time-consuming, and there are other methods that are just as effective as those mentioned above. The important thing to remember is that your dog is a smart animal, so if you’re consistent enough and patient with it, your dog will learn not to pee on your carpet but to go outside every time when it has to do its business.