How to Train Your Dog to Stop Peeing on the Carpet

Hello, To best understand what's going on, its important to know that during potty training a dog must first be accident free for long enough to develop a long term habit of keeping a space clean. The initial potty training process has to involve managing pup's freedom and schedule strictly enough that accidents are avoided in the first place and going potty outside becomes the norm and accidents become very rare. It a dog doesn't have at least 2-3 months of accident free time due to a strictly managed schedule they don't progress to the next part of potty training, which is learning how to self-initiate going outside to go potty due to a long term habit that's been formed and a desire to keep your home clean themselves. It can take another three months to get to this self-initiating going potty outside stage after pup has completed the first three months of being mostly accident free due to your management of their freedom and schedule. The use of a doggie door and letting you know when they need to go out come from that self-initiating going potty outside motivation. If pup didn't have a period where they were consistently accident free for several months before being expected to successfully use a doggie door with encouragement from you for another couple of months, that may be where the gap is in pup's potty training. To further complicate things, if you do or have ever used pee pads with pup, those are made out of fabric and can confuse some dogs, causing pup to prefer to use the potty on other things that are also made of fabric like carpet and rugs. Often during that three months of strict management and scheduled potty trips, the most easily accessed rugs and carpeted areas need to either be blocked off from pup's access or removed for a time. When pup is consistently accident free for a few months and going outside through the doggie door on their own, then you can experiment with more freedom around the carpet and rugs while you are home to supervise how pup does at first and correct any attempts to go there. Be sure to thoroughly clean the rugs and carpet with a carpet safe cleaner that contains enzymes to completely remove the smell of past accidents, only enzymes will do a good enough job breaking down smells to a dog's scent level. With all that said, here is what I recommend - I suggest going back to the basics with her for a couple of months and act as if she isn't potty trained at all to stop all accidents from happening so that she will develop a habit of holding it consistently while in the house and wanting to keep your home clean. I would remove or block off access to those rugs and carpets she is having accidents on as much as is realistically possible. After a couple of months if she has been completely accident free, very gradually give her more freedom - but when you start, still go outside with her at first to ensure she is going potty and not getting distracted. When you take her potty, if your dog door is located next to or in the main door that you can go through to go outside, have her go through the doggie door and you through the normal door right after, with you still initiating the potty trips on schedule, not expecting her to go there on her own. Supervise her going potty for those couple of months, rewarding her when she goes, saying something like "Go Potty" to teach her to go quickly in the future. Even though you will be going with her, having her go through the doggie door to go out instead of the main door can prepare her for using that on her own once that desire to keep your home clean happens. The easiest way to prevent accidents is generally to use the crate for potty training because the crate can encourage a dog's nature desire to keep a space clean, something you want pup to generalize to the rest of your home. If she isn't already used to a crate, check out the Crate Training method from the article linked below. Make sure that the crate doesn't have anything absorbent in it - including a soft bed or towel. Check out www.primopads.com or k9ballistics.com if you need a non-absorbent bed for her. Make sure the crate is only big enough for her to turn around, lie down and stand up, and not so big that she can potty in one end and stand in the opposite end to avoid it. Dogs have a natural desire to keep a confined space clean so it needs to be the right size to encourage that natural desire. Use a cleaner that contains enzymes to clean any previous or current accidents - only enzymes will remove the smell and remaining smells encourage the dog to potty in the same location again later. The method I have linked below was written for younger puppies, since your dog is older you can adjust the times and take her potty less frequently. I suggest taking her potty every 3 hours when you are home. After 1.5-2 hours (or less if she has an accident sooner) of freedom out of the crate, return her to the crate while her bladder is filling back up again until it has been 3 hours since her last potty trip. When you have to go off she should be able to hold her bladder in the crate for 5-8 hours - less at first while she is getting used to it and longer once she is accustomed to the crate, unless there is something medical going on - I am not a vet. Only have her wait that long when you are not home though, take her out about every 3 hours while home. You want her to get into the habit of holder her bladder between trips and not just eliminating whenever she feels the urge and you want to encourage that desire for cleanliness in your home - which the crate is helpful for. Less freedom now means more freedom later in life. Crate Training method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside If she is not already used to a crate expect crying at first. When she cries and you know she doesn't need to go potty yet, ignore the crying. Most dogs will adjust if you are consistent. You can give her a food stuffed hollow chew toy to help her adjust and sprinkle treats into the crate during times of quietness to further encourage quietness. If she continues protesting for long periods of time past three days, you can use a Pet Convincer. Work on teaching "Quiet" by using the Quiet method from the article linked below. Tell her "Quiet" when she barks and cries. If she gets quiet and stays quiet, you can sprinkle a few pieces of dog food into the crate through the wires calmly, then leave again. If she disobeys your command and keep crying or stops but starts again, spray a small puff of air from the Pet convincer at her side through the crate while saying "Ah Ah" calmly, then leave again. If she stays quiet after you leave you can periodically sprinkle treats into the crate to reward her quietness. Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Only use the unscented air from the Pet Convincers - don't use citronella, it's too harsh and lingers for too long so can be confusing. Do NOT spray in the face - only side or chest. While home, you can also tether pup to you with a leash to prevent her from sneaking off to have an accident - this isn't quite as effective as crate training but you can combine the two a bit if you want pup to be out of the crate a bit more while you are home. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Feb. 3, 2023

Hello, I would set up a sturdy exercise pen with access to the doggie door and a non-absorbent bed for pup to rest on, so to limit access to the rug and get pup into the habit of going outside through the doggie door even when you aren't there, until pup has developed a habit of going outside when you are away also. Check out the picture of the Richell Wood Freestanding Gate, where you can see a pen set up with access to their dog door. There are different pens and setup options, just look for one that's sturdy and can't fall over onto the dog and allows pup to go out through the dog door instead of blocking the dog door. https://yourdogadvisor.com/best-indoor-dog-gates-for-dogs-big-and-small/ Best of luck training, Caitlin Critteden

Oct. 24, 2022