How to Stop Your Dog From Peeing in the House

Do you have a small puppy you’re trying to housetrain? Or maybe you’ve just adopted an older dog who has no idea what to do potty-wise.

It can be a daunting task, potty-training a dog can be a frustrating, messy affair.

Whatever your case is, if you’re having trouble teaching your dog to pee only when outside, then keep reading and we’ll let you know what worked for us.

Our story

Dobby was about 9 months-old when he was rescued. Too sweet to hunt, Dobby was discarded by a hunter in awful conditions, tied to a tree and left to die.

It was only when Dobby was first adopted that he truly started to learn what being a dog was all about.

He came with many challenges, particularly for a couple who’d never had a dog before. He was a very insecure dog and he had no housetraining whatsoever.

This meant cleaning after him at all times, day and night, having their house constantly smelling bad no matter how many products they tried, ruined carpets and flooring with stains and odors that just didn’t go away.

Though his family tried training him and even enrolled him in puppy school, ultimately, he was sent back to the rescue facility.

Luckily I knew Dobby and had already fallen in love with him. Here I was, a single girl with three cats, no intention of ever owning a dog, but confident I could learn and do well by him.

So I brought Dobby home with me.

Dobby was too much to handle

Yes, I knew he wouldn’t be using a litter box like a cat, but I didn’t expect the level of chaos my house would be in. Filthy and smelly is a kind way to describe it. My cats were ready to pack up and move!

Dobby had exquisite tastes! He would poop on the most expensive rugs he could find, the floor just wasn’t good enough for him.

He would lift his leg on every corner of my home and pee just about everywhere he could find that was clean. Even though he was neutered, he was making sure to claim my home as his. Over and over again.

My home was so stained with pee I had to throw out all of my rugs and several pieces of furniture to get rid of it.

How I Stopped Dobby From Peeing in the House

So, one day, I decided I would hound every dog owner I knew, every foster family I’d worked with, every rescue organization there was and the Internet, of course.

And that’s how I came up with a plan that had my house back into top shape in less than a month.

Step 1 – Grass It Up!

This is a life changer!!

There is a common problem puppy owners face.

When you get a new puppy, you need to teach him where to pee in your home and, once he’s ready to go out, teach him to pee only outside. How do you transition from inside to outside in a way that will work for the both of you?

The same goes for an adult dog.

If you’re leaving him home alone and he still isn’t potty trained, you’ll probably teach him to pee on pee pads or newspaper in a specific spot in your home. But then, at the same time, you want him to learn only to pee outside.

Step 2 – Walk it off

I walked him as often and for as long as I possibly could. Fortunately I worked from home, so it wasn’t much of a struggle. If you do spend long hours away from home, a trustworthy dog walker is a must.

This, and plenty of rewards and compliments when he pees outside, will quickly show him what you expect him to do.

After that initial learning period, we reduced walking time and frequency considerable. Today we walk him two times a day.

It does depend on the dog’s size, of course, Tommy and Coco are smaller and need to go outside much more frequently than Dobby does.

Step 3 – Clean it once and be done with it

There is no way you’ll get your dog to stop peeing inside your home if it smells of urine. That is the smell that tells him where to pee, so naturally, if there’s a smell, there’s a pee!

Even if it is unnoticeable to you, he will notice the urine scent unless you use specific cleaning products for urine stains, regular products just won’t do.

Nowadays, you have enzyme-based cleaning products that are able to completely remove pee stains and the odors.

Easy peasy results in no time at all

About three weeks after I started doing these three simple steps, Dobby understood what he needed to do and since that day, we’ve never had any issues.

We did the same type of training with Tommy and Coco and, although they do need to be walked more often than Dobby, the same steps worked like a charm!

And they’ll work for you too!

All you need to do is adjust the steps to your dog’s size and needs. You’ll also need patience and tolerance with your dog, there is no use in punishing him or being angry at him for something he’s still learning how to do.

He’ll learn much quicker in a safe, relaxed environment.