Dog pees inside on floor every day

[Sky]

I have found the thread 'peeing at night' very informative. Thank you so much for information on crate training. I have never heard of it.

I am a bad dog owner as I never trained them properly. I have no common sense when it comes to understanding and training dogs and just thought loving them, walking them and making them sit and stay was great. Now I know so much more and oneday when I get another dog, I will train it properly and raise it well. I learn so much reading the posts on this forum.

I currently have a 3 year old dog that just pees in the family room on polished wooden floor boards - right near the pet door that is always open. I have no idea why she keeps doing this. I got a new kitten, and so I had to close the pet door so the tinyh little kitten would not get out. I put newspaper on the floor in the family room in case the dog needed to go. She did use the newspaper. It was only for a couple of weeks. Ever since then, the pet door is always open and there is no newspaper on the floor, but the dog keeps peeeing there! I freak out and she knows I disapprove of it, but nothing seems to change her behaviour.

We have another dog - 12 years old that never pees inside. I will crate train my next dog from very young, but a 3 year old.....isn't that too old? I'm not real patient. My mother loves the dog and has one of the same breed and wants me to give her the dog. My hesitation is that the older dog will miss her. I feel mean giving the dog to my mother, but her llife will be wonderful there. But what about the older dog?

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by Sky

...but a 3 year old...
isn't that too old?

I'm not real patient.

THREE years is NOT "too old" to learn!!

And YOU need to learn to be "patient"!

Start back at Square One - as if the 3-yo was a 3-MONTH old puppy.

As soon as she eats or drinks - LEASH her and take her outside to
the Place you'd like her to eliminate.

Use a "Command Word" (like *Go Pee*) and repeat it until she DOES *go*.

Then INSTANTLY lavish praise (and/or a treat) -
"GOOD go pee"!!

Hopefully a few of our "Training Experts" will spot this thread
and give you some additional *pointers*

[lv4dogs]

Part or all of the problem may be that the smell has soaked into the wood. You should always clean with a product just for animal urine like natures miracle or the sorts. If she has been doing this for a long long time, you may to contact a professional to clean that area.
She may be smelling her urine there, therefore thinking if she can smell it she can go there.

I would start to potty train her just like you would a puppy. Go outside with her, give her a potty command (ex. i say "go potty") make sure she goes & praise!
If she only does thins at night, maybe limit her water intake a bit but only if your house stays cool.
Or keep her in her crate w/ water.

If it just one spot in specific you can try to deter her by placing a piece of furniture there, her bed or her food &/or water dish there.

I don't have much time now, hope that helps a bit!

[Toller 42]

try to get rid of the smell so she won't go there anymore and train her as if she was 3 months old. what kind of dog do you have? welcome to pet talk, i hope you enjoy being here.

[Sky]

Thanks so much. You have trainers here? Wow, thats fantastic! I will find a product for emilniating all traces of the urine. Question: If every time she eats/drinks I take her outisde - how long should it take before she does her pee?


Note: She seems to do it mostly in the morning and during the day. I coudl get up arlier than her and take her outside to pee, but suring the day she has the run of the house and the backyard as she has a pet door to go through.

What shoud I do about day time when I am not home. If I leave the pet door open, she will pee inside. If I close it and lock her out the back, she will just sit there and bark and the neighbours will complain. If I lock her inside, she will pee inside.

I really appreciate your advice.

[Toller 42]

Is she crate trained because if your not home you should put her in a crate. she wouldn't pee in there.

[clara4457]

I think starting crate training is a great idea, but you need to take it slowly. Going out and buying a crate and putting your dog in it for 8 hours immediately is NOT the way to do it. You will need to start with small amounts of time and make sure everytime the dog is in a crate - it is the best experience possible. Feed your dog in the crate, give treats to your dog while she is in the crate, stuff a kong toy with great treats and place it in the crate. Start with 5 or 10 minute increments and slowly graduate to larger time periods.

First thing you need to do is to take her to the vet and get her checked for any underlying medical problems that are causing her not to be able to "hold it" for an extended amount of time. If she has to go so bad that she just can't hold it - she may be doing you a favor by going in the same spot over and over again.

If she has no medical reason for eliminating in the house, it may be that she just doesn't know that it is an area where she is not allowed to eliminate in. Your first step is to get an enzyme cleaner that is specifically made to clean and sanitize urine stains. Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution are probably the two best ones and can be bought at most pet stores. Clean the area thoroughly using the instructions on the bottle. You will probably need several applications if she has been going in the same spot for years. lv4dogs gave you a great suggestion of putting something in the spot where she pees to mark it as a "living area". You could feed her in that area, put her water dish in that area, put a chair in that spot, etc.

I would suggest leash bonding her for a few days while you are getting her used to a crate. While you are home have her on a leash attached to you. Everytime you see her about to eliminate in the area, give her a firm "NO" (but only if she squats - not if she is just sniffing) and take her outside immediately. Then give her the command "go pee" and when she eliminates outside - BIG PRAISE and give her a treat. If she goes to the area and just start sniffing - say "you wanna go out?" and do the command and treat thing.

I hope this helps - but I do think a trip to the vet is your first step.

Clara

[Sky]

Thanks very much, I appreciate your help. I will have to read up more so I understand crate training really well. I don't know about crate training when the other dog is out and about in the house. But he is great and doesn't need it.

I can't put anything on the spot because its the whole back room she will pee in. If I put newspaper down she will pee on the paper usually. I guess I'll just do that. I have been taking th epaper away to try to send the message not to do it inside the house.

She seems a really clever dog, and everytime she pees there I know because she looks SO guilty! So why does she do it if she is smart enough to know I do not approve of it??? This is such a frustrating problem.

If I crate train, is it ok to only do it when I'm home? Because I work, so I am only home nights qnd weekends. So then its not consistent - will it still work? Does anyone have experience crate training an older dog?