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The doghouse

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Original poster

Urinating in the house

34 replies

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 11:06

My Ddog did this extensively at his last home and it was really the main reason he was homed with me because they couldn’t take it anymore it was so bad and nothing they could do helped. I’ve chosen to let him have the whole house because he cries constantly if he’s shut downstairs and 99% of the time he is not alone up there and we thought perhaps being barred from a room makes it more likely he will wee when he does get in.

Ddog is lovely. He is 5. He is trained. Healthy. Neutered. He knows the command to go to the toilet. I toilet him quite rigidly morning and night because I know it was a problem before. He will try to get out of going for a wee. He will ‘pretend’ because he doesn’t like it when the grass is wet or the weather is wet so you have to watch him do it

He’s lived with me for 5 months and so far there has been 2 small incidents in my DD’s room and one very small in mine. We attributed those to our own mistakes or other factors - once the cat had been sick on the floor and he weed on it (understandable) and the other 2 times it was raining and he hates rain and perhaps he hadn’t been outside for a while. He isn’t returning to the same spot either. I have a small carpet cleaner and put bicarbonate all over it too

Same as his previous owner downstairs is hard floor and upstairs is carpet. He NEVER urinates on hard flooring only carpet

So I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt.

This morning there is no explanation for him doing a huge wee in my room. It must have been a whole bladder worth! I’m home, I made him go out at 7am - but he didn’t want to go out (I had to carry him!) I saw him squat but I think he did not actually wee . Not raining. Back Door is open etc

Why. Why. Why. Why

I do not want to bar him from rooms. It will just be a repeat of his last home where he was stuck in one room. But now my room stinks (new carpet too) and I think I am doomed and he will just carry on. Why doesn’t he like going outside? If I go back to puppy pads that is just going to encourage him surely?

To make it worse as I was emptying the carpet cleaner I dropped the dirty water all over myself and more of the carpet. So it’s even more piss smelling than before!

OP posts:

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 11:09

I actually cried. I really want this to work with having him live with us. But I can’t handle a house that smells of dog piss especially bedrooms

OP posts:

BiteyShark · 04/08/2019 11:38

He knows the command to go to the toilet. I toilet him quite rigidly morning and night because I know it was a problem before

Personally I think I would treat him like a puppy for several months until I was sure he 'got it'. Assume he doesn't know where he can and cannot toilet and take him outside more frequently than morning and night.

Praise like mad when he goes outside every single time. Tether him to you whilst upstairs and as soon as he looks like he might be wanting to pee or does pee make an ah-ha noise and take straight outside and then praise. If you can supervise or tether upstairs I would keep him downstairs at those times so the behaviour is not reinforced further.

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 11:47

He is just so sneaky about it. It will be the one second I have my back turned!

I give him lots of praise every single time he pees outside

He doesn’t seem to give any signs about needing to go. If I’m downstairs he might sit by the door but he would not scratch or make any noise about it. Maybe I should get the dog pee bell but I am not sure he would ‘get’ it

One issue is I think if I am upstairs he wouldn’t want to be parted from me by going down by himself. He then gives me no sign he needs to go and goes

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BiteyShark · 04/08/2019 11:52

That's why I would start with treating him like a puppy.

My dog never did a good indication as a puppy and after struggling for weeks I got the training bells. Bashed them when I opened the door then got him to do that by using treats to get him to touch them every time I took him outside. In less than a couple of days he got the hang of it and bashed them each time, even just to mooch about the garden.

As for not going downstairs or showing signs again treat as a puppy. Think that he hasn't been for a while and take him down and outside and give him the pee command. If he does it go crazy with praise and if he doesn't then after a few minutes go back inside with him but remember to try again later.

Floralnomad · 04/08/2019 12:12

He is not house trained so you need to go back to basics and house train him properly so outside every 20 minutes etc looking for wee / poo cues , after waking / eating . I don’t think he is being sneaky at all because dogs do not have the capacity , he just doesn’t know any better and can probably smell where he’s been before .

FATEdestiny · 04/08/2019 12:19

You don't mention the breed, but an option might be a dog flap?

We have a large cat / small dog flap for our cocker spaniel. Fully secure back garden, she just comes and goes as she pleases.

Sammy867 · 04/08/2019 12:33

We have a dog bell as our dog never gave signals for going either. Previous dogs used to bark or spin but she wouldn’t, so we attached bells to the door handle. Every time we opened the door to let her out for a week we rang the bell and eventually she now rings the bell herself for us to open the door. Obviously she tries it on on occasions where she just wants the door open ,which is annoying, but you have to be strict with opening the door every time she rings the bell

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 12:37

The angle I am looking at this from is that he does not want to go outside/downstairs alone without you.

He will go on command but he often has to be carried downstairs in the morning because he wants to be upstairs so he will rush it to race back up the stairs. This morning I don’t think he went for a pee because DD was upstairs so he kind of went onto the grass, seemed like going pee then ran back in. 30 mins later, peed on the carpet

Even if home alone (and barred from upstairs) he will never ever go indoors downstairs

Downstairs he will sit by the door to ask to go out but if I am home the door is open all day from 7am to 10pm

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adaline · 04/08/2019 12:39

How often are you taking him out? Morning and night won't do it I'm afraid - you need to really go back to basics and take him every 30 minutes or so. Set a timer if necessary. Then, use training bells. Hang them by the back door and every time you take him to the toilet, ring them. Praise massively when he does go and give him a high-value treat that he only gets when he toilets outside (chicken or sausage is always a good option). Rinse and repeat every single time. Also don't leave the backdoor open - they need to learn the difference between indoors and outdoors and an open door can blur the boundaries.

Meanwhile, clean all his accidents with proper neutraliser, not just bicarb - you need a proper pet neutraliser. We used Simple Solution from Amazon which worked fine. It's less than £10 for a big bottle and it lasts ages. Spray on, leave for five minutes then blot up with a paper towel.

Good luck - accidents are frustrating but they are avoidable with lots of consistency and repetition. Everyone who takes the dog out needs to follow the same routine (bells, praise and treat/toy) otherwise it won't work.

adaline · 04/08/2019 12:41

And toilet training means going out with him and watching him like a hawk. Every single time. Mine can now be let out to do his business but for the first 5-6 months we went out with him to make sure he actually went and didn't just get distracted by something.

Although this morning he went to pee then leapt over the wall into next doors garden to play with their husky luckily the neighbour is DH's cousin and the dogs get on very well!

missbattenburg · 04/08/2019 13:07

He is just so sneaky about it. It will be the one second I have my back turned!

This stood out to me because it suggests that he experiences something negative when he pees in front of you. It doesn't have to be anything big such as punishment etc, it could be as simple as you sighing (followed by crying) that the dog finds a bit stressful.

If he has linked this to him peeing in front of you (rather than specifically peeing indoors in front of you) it could be one reason he is dissuaded from peeing outdoors in front of you.

Might be worth thinking about to see if this might be a factor?

If you chose to use a bell there is nothing stopping you from having one upstairs as well. I'm guessing a dog would soon learn ringing the bell means you go with him outside for a pee.

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 13:19

I go out with him not just morning and night I meant I watch him and give strong command at those times to make sure he goes so no risk of an over night accident and he can’t go back in until he is done. Sometimes this feels like a battle of wills! He will try to play/bark/run around instead of go

When we are home the door is open the entire day and evening and I don’t close the door on him, someone stands out with him and praises him. He’s walked twice a day and does 500 ‘fake’ wees when he’s out walking (leg up but nothing is coming out)

He went far up the garden this morning and squatted but it was to far to see the actual wee. He didn’t want to be out there

I will start taking him every half hour during the day too now. The issue is he does not want to go downstairs by himself - I had taken him out, stood outside, he ran back in and went on the carpet when I was in the shower. I’m going to stop him from coming upstairs in the day now I think completely

Yes I am not putting just bicarbonate on it I have an actual carpet cleaner machine with carpet cleaning fluid in it that you suck up the excess with a nozzle. I then put the bicarbonate on the top to dry it out even more

OP posts:

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 13:21

If you chose to use a bell there is nothing stopping you from having one upstairs as well. I'm guessing a dog would soon learn ringing the bell means you go with him outside for a pee.

He doesn’t really want to go outside at all

He’s spent 5 years living in a house where he was shut in 1 room because of the pee and told off a lot

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Jouska · 04/08/2019 13:22

He NEVER urinates on hard flooring only carpet This to me shows that he is confused with his toilet training but equally he can be toilet trained.He has learned not to wee on hard flooring so you know need to increase this to the carpet.

Personally I would only allow him in carpeted rooms if I can give him 100% attention. Back to basics outside to pee every hour or so (depending on size of dog) stay outside with him until he has weed - loads of verbal praise (no treats). This will have to be done for weeks not just days as he has some old habits to unlearn.

villainousbroodmare · 04/08/2019 13:25

Most animals prefer to pee on an absorbent surface. I bet if you'd carpets downstairs he'd go there too.

areukiddingme · 04/08/2019 13:26

Just wanted to say Pookie you are doing an amazing thing by accepting a dog that otherwise, probably, would have gone to a shelter, your doing a wonderful thing, I know it doesn’t help but I wanted to let you know that.

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 13:32

also bicarbonate so you don’t step on the wet area!

OP posts:

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 13:34

I’ve ordered 2 bells

OP posts:

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 13:37

He has negative confusion about upstairs/downstairs and peeing I totally agree. It got so out of control he would immediately pee in previous owner house the very second he managed to get up there so this seems to be a double problem with having 2 floors in a house AND being badly trained. It’s a pee related separation anxiety

He won’t be going upstairs unless we are 100% focused on him for a while

I will try the bells

OP posts:

Original poster

PookieDo · 04/08/2019 14:17

Re the door being open, I do not have any windows in my front room only 2 French doors. They are open most of the day in nice weather for fresh air also the cat likes to wander out and lay on the grass. To shut them only to let him pee would be a right pain, but I suppose I could block the doors so they are open but he can’t get out

He associates the garden with being left alone as he was left alone outside for long periods and closing the doors on him when he is outside makes him anxious. This is why I don’t think he likes being outside

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musicposy · 04/08/2019 18:39

We had a rescue who had not lived in a house beforehand and I'm sad to say we never 100% cracked it, but we did mitigate it so it was rare and liveable with.

We would have to go out with her and treat her for peeing outside, especially if it was raining.
We put hard floors down all throughout downstairs and washable rugs, and invested in mega quantities of simple solution which deals with any smell and deters them from redoing it (lots of household cleaners have ammonia in them or stuff which smells fine to us but smells like somewhere to pee for the dog).

Most of the time it was fine but maybe once a fortnight or month we'd wake up and she'd peed on the bedroom carpet, for no reason we could see. We eventually bought a washable dog nappy and she wore it at night. It didn't seem to make her any more likely to pee but it saved my sanity if she did. You can get very good belly bands for males (our 15yo dog had one at night at the end of his life). But I'd keep that for if all else fails. We would never have rehomed ours but I felt that using the nappy at night stopped us feeling as though we wanted to!

adaline · 04/08/2019 19:01

You need a specific pet cleaner not just a generic carpet cleaner.

Simple solution works by breaking down the enzymes in your pets urine and eliminating the odour in the carpet. Bicarbonate and regular carpet cleaner won't do it I'm afraid.

To stop the playing when he goes out - take him out on a lead. He shouldn't be allowed to play if he's only going out for the toilet - that comes later. So when he shows signs of going, lead on and in the garden. Use a command when he goes and praise/treat big time - be really silly and over the top happy with him.

I sympathise cause it's really hard, but it is manageable - you just need to be really repetitive and consistent every single time.

Original poster

PookieDo · 05/08/2019 13:56

@adaline

I have simple solution but it is in the carpet cleaning machine. I also suction up the urine instead of blotting it to prevent spread and washing piss soaked towels. If you use a towel it seems to make it worse. Which is what I tipped on myself. It says on the bottle of simple solution this is fine. Then the bicarbonate to show everyone where it is wet

I am so annoyed with myself and upset. This morning I had to carry him to the door again because he would not move and I awkwardly put him down on the ground/he struggled and he has hurt his leg
He was very shocked as it hurt but it has been checked it is ok.

Bells have arrived - he is afraid of the noise

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Original poster

PookieDo · 05/08/2019 13:58

I got the bells from amazon prime by the way

Also simple solution in the bottle really doesn’t cover the carpet very well when you squirt it out but the carpet machine sprays it better

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BiteyShark · 05/08/2019 14:02

Bells have arrived - he is afraid of the noise

Maybe just ring them and throw him some treats for a while rather than getting him to use them until he is happy with the noise.

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