The other day, we had a message about how our products can help with preventing dogs from ‘doing their business’ on carpets, so we thought we’d take it upon ourselves to come up with a guide, using Pet Fresh Odour Eliminator, of how to stop dogs relieving themselves in places they shouldn’t. Hope you enjoy!
Why?
Dogs of any age can regress to peeing around the house for a number of reasons. The most common being that they are stressed. This stress, again, can be for a number of reasons, but separation anxiety is usually the factor - this is where your dog is upset that you have left them for a period of time.
Another reason may involve moving to a new house. If a previous owner had a pet that did their business on a spot in the house, dogs will pick up the scent and start to do this in the same area, because they think this is what they should be doing.
Dogs may also do this due to old age. Canine Cognitive Dysfunction is seen as the dog form of Alzheimers and they may just pee around the house because they are not capable of making the distinction between where they should and shouldn’t ‘go’ anymore.
There can be many other reasons, both physical and psychological, and if none of these reasons above or solutions below work with your dog, please consult a vet.
What to do - First Steps
It is important to remember that dogs pee outside due to habit, which is instilled by you, the owner. They do not suddenly have a revelation about why they should pee outside and not inside. All they know is that you want them to pee outside, so it must be better to do that than pee inside.
This is why punishing or shouting at your dog may not work. They can often mistake the distinction between inside and outside, and think that you just don’t want them to ‘go’ in front of you. They then may start to pee in other areas of the house instead, which is even worse, as you could go hours or even days without noticing the pee until you smell it.
If your dog has suddenly started peeing indoors again, you should simply train them again, just like a puppy. Here are several techniques you can use to develop or re-develop the habit of going outside for toilet time.
Using 2Pure Pet Fresh
Dogs are good in the sense that they tend to pee in the same spot. But how do they know where to go if you’ve got rid of the stain and odour?
Dogs noses are a lot more sensitive than ours, so they can detect where the pee spot was via the enzymes. Whilst most products mask the odour or attempt to eliminate most of the odours, Pet Fresh destroys the odours completely and is 40% more effective than the leading brand.
So if you want to make sure that odour is truly gone, Pet Fresh is your best bet!
Techniques
Keep Record
This will involve a bit of research into your dogs ‘movements’ in order to be proactive. You should keep a record of when your dog needs to go in relation to when they are awake and mealtimes (i.e. immediately when they wake up, then every 3 hours, and 20 mins after mealtimes). Knowing this allows you to anticipate when your dog will go, so you can prepare all of the necessary equipment you may need.
You may need to monitor your dog a lot, so it might be necessary to attach a lead to yourself in the house, so that you can always see your dog. Being pro-active will involve keeping treats on you around the times that your dog needs to go. This will allow you to reward your dog for going outside when you move them.
Although punishing is prohibited in all of our techniques, you can spray your dog with water when you see them start to make actions that are usually followed by doing their business. This is merely to distract your dog whilst you move towards them and take them outside.
After a few times, you can start to introduce a buzzword such as ‘toilet’ (or any of your choice), and this should act as a cue for your dog to go outside for toilet time.
When you take them outside, it is important to not give your dog any attention until they have done what they need to do. This will prevent you from distracting them, but it also means that, when you shower them with praise and treats afterwards, it is more effective. This will make your dog want to go outside and relieve themselves in order to get some attention and treats.
Crating
This is very common, particularly for those in full-time work. However, it is important to remember that dogs should not be kept in crates for more than 4 hours at a time, so make sure you come back at lunchtime to take him/her out and play for a bit.
Dogs do not like to go to the toilet where they eat and sleep, so keeping them in a crate will force them to hold their bladder until you come back, especially if they know you’re coming back soon.
This technique is especially popular with puppies. This is because they need to get used to seeing the whole house as theirs, so it important to slowly introduce your dog to different part of the house in stages (i.e. crate, living room, downstairs, whole house).
When you come back, bring some rewards and go outside with your dog.
When you take them outside, it is important to not give your dog any attention until they have done what they need to do. This will prevent you from distracting them, but it also means that, when you shower them with praise and treats afterwards, it is more effective. This will make your dog want to go outside and relieve themselves in order to get some attention and treats.
Paper Training
Another popular technique involves plenty newspaper, so make sure you stock up.
Confine your dog to a room or pen large enough to roam around in. Place his/her feeding bowls in this space, fill the floor with newspaper and wait.
As mentioned before, dogs do not like to do their business where they eat and sleep, so they will naturally go in another area. Make sure you replace the soiled paper as quickly as you can.
After the first few times they go, your dog should start to go in the same spot, due to being able to smell where they should go. Once this happens, you can start to take away most of the paper and only leave the paper where the regular spot is.
Then, as your dog starts to go here, you can start to take him/her outside.
When you take them outside, it is important to not give your dog any attention until they have done what they need to do. This will prevent you from distracting them, but it also means that, when you shower them with praise and treats afterwards, it is more effective. This will make your dog want to go outside and relieve themselves in order to get some attention and treats.
Tips/Hints
Making Alone Time Fun: If your dog is peeing due to separation anxiety, try to make alone time fun. This could be done by providing toys and treats, or even leaving the TV on!
Show Them Who’s Boss: Dogs may mark their territory due to thinking they are the dominant one in the household. General practices like making your dog sit before feeding them should instil that you are the boss of the household and should stop this behaviour.
We hope you’ve took something away from this guide. Feel free to message our Facebook page if you have any questions! And, as usual, you can take advantage of our new customer offer at 2pureproducts.co.uk of 50% off ALL first orders, any size!