Otherwise Housebroken dog pees on carpet

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

We adopted a rescue dog about 5 weeks ago. She's very good about eliminating outside and doesn't have accidents at night or when left alone downstairs in the kitchen/hallway area. But whenever I bring her upstairs where there is carpeting, she pees. Does anyone have suggestions for dealing with this. My other dogs, Chihuahuas, also had this issue. I had to replace the carpet in the den because of this. This dog is also a chihuahua. I caught her in the act tonight and yelled "No", and she looked at me as if she couldn't understand what the problem is! She's a great little dog other than this.

 

[Jennasis]

Is it possible he smells previous pets on the carpet and is marking territory?

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

It is possible although my old dogs never peed in these spots. How do I stop this behavior?

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I'm not sure how you get the dog to stop. Our dog that we adopted from a shelter still has issues peeing on the carpet. I highly recommend the product Nature's Miracle to clean up any messes and getting a black light to identify any stains you may have missed treating.

 

[Lorix2]

She may pick up the urine scent on the carpet or like my puppy, is confusing carpet for grass. Yelling no or stop won't help. When you see her sniffing for a spot to eliminate or catch her in the act, pick her up and place her outside where you want her to go and teach her a word like "outside" or something that she will connect to where it's ok "go". I picked up my puppy mid pee and carried her out and she got it pretty quickly. Be patient and consistent and this should stop happening soon. Good luck!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

She is still in an adjustment period after being rescued. It's going to take months for her to be fully adjusted, maybe even close to a year, depending on her previous circumstances.

Don't let her on the carpet until she's reliable.

I agree with the possibility of there being a scent from a previous accident (or other bodily function), one you may not even be aware of. Carpets are like that. Do you have a small steam cleaner?

I know it was a "reaction" when you yelled "No" (I probably would've done the same thing, lol) but it may have scared her up in the bedroom. Be careful she's not peeing "submissively" as a submission to you.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I had a rescue that wanted to pee on carpeting and she was 4mo.

I leashed her in the house at all times so I could correct the behavior.

You have to catch them RIGHT BEFORE they do the deed and tell them no. Then I would bring her outside and command to pee out there.

If they started to pee, I would tell them no and take the dog outside.

It took a couple of weeks but they got the picture.

My dogs were not allowed to have free roam until they were housebroken.

In your situation, I would probably not allow the dog on the carpet until I felt they were ready.

 

[elaine amj]

I agree with keeping a close eye on him. But be aware that it will take time and there may be some regression.

I have had my rescue for about 3 years now. For the first few months, we watched him like a hawk and I would come home at lunchtime to walk him. Every once in a long while, he still pees in the house. Most of the time he asks to go out if we forget. But every once in a while he doesn't ask and just pees in the bathroom. Thankfully, it's a tile floor so I don't overstress about it and just clean it up. He would do better if we watched him closer, but that's the tradeoff for our laziness lol.

 

[bethy]

After years of dealing with this I have decided that dogs and carpet just do not mix I've tried everything. It's to the point where the smell of Nature's Miracle - especially on day 2 of it drying makes me want to puke.

Basically if you have carpet in your house you need to keep your dog off of it. It may be true that there are dogs for whom it isn't an issue but from what I've seen with people I know is that carpet is an issue at least once in a while if you have a dog. No matter how well housebroken it is. My vet says the same thing.

 

[yoopermom]

I hate to say it, but I've seen this more so in toy breeds, especially poorly bred/backyard bred/puppymill bred ones. I have a DC w/two maltese/chihuahua mixes that she got from a rescue and despite her best efforts, they will *never* be 100% trustworthy in the house. I don't know if it's a physical issue due to their small size, if it's a psychological issue (submissive peeing), or if it's partly because *some* owners treat them like babies or toys, rather than DOGS, and don't "expect" them to behave (not you, just in general).

Honestly, one of the big selling points of our current house, for me, was the hardwood floor or tile throughout. I will *never* have carpet again as long as we have dogs.

I also wonder if the rescue "stretched" the truth a little bit in telling you that this dog was housetrained, because of course a nonhousetrained dog is very hard to find a home for. Many dogs will be naturally clean to an extent, but then have accidents inside.

If you can't keep a direct eye on it, keep it off the carpet, period. Not easy, but the only answer. Then hope that time and repetitive trips outside w/praise when it does its job in an appropriate place do the trick.

Terri

 

[bethy]

I hate to say it, but I've seen this more so in toy breeds, especially poorly bred/backyard bred/puppymill bred ones. I have a DC w/two maltese/chihuahua mixes that she got from a rescue and despite her best efforts, they will *never* be 100% trustworthy in the house. I don't know if it's a physical issue due to their small size, if it's a psychological issue (submissive peeing), or if it's partly because *some* owners treat them like babies or toys, rather than DOGS, and don't "expect" them to behave (not you, just in general).

Honestly, one of the big selling points of our current house, for me, was the hardwood floor or tile throughout. I will *never* have carpet again as long as we have dogs.

I also wonder if the rescue "stretched" the truth a little bit in telling you that this dog was housetrained, because of course a nonhousetrained dog is very hard to find a home for. Many dogs will be naturally clean to an extent, but then have accidents inside.

If you can't keep a direct eye on it, keep it off the carpet, period. Not easy, but the only answer. Then hope that time and repetitive trips outside w/praise when it does its job in an appropriate place do the trick.

Terri

Totally agree with all of this. About having all hardwood and tile, I also totally agree. The bummer for us is that we even had to get rid of area rugs. To the dog it was no different than carpet. So that makes for a lot of hard floors and it makes it hard for my kids to sit and play on the floor. On our most recent remodel we had heated floors installed in our family room so at least they would be warm if they couldn't be soft and plus with an area rug. Sigh.

 

[bethy]

Totally agree with all of this. About having all hardwood and tile, I also totally agree. The bummer for us is that we even had to get rid of area rugs. To the dog it was no different than carpet. So that makes for a lot of hard floors and it makes it hard for my kids to sit and play on the floor. On our most recent remodel we had heated floors installed in our family room so at least they would be warm if they couldn't be soft and plus with an area rug. Sigh.

Also, my dog is a Toy breed - the biggest one - a Cavalier King Charles spaniel. BUT she is anything but backyard bred - was shown as a puppy/young adult in AKC dog shows around the country. We practically had to give a blood sample and personal references to be allowed to "adopt" her, etc.

My niece has a total mutt who is absolutely adorable and very well housetrained.

All that said, I do think there can be a correlation between toy breeds and submissiveness and anxiety and peeing.

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I also think that dogs confuse carpet with grass. My other chihuahuas were well housebroken everywhere but on carpet.
I've been keeping her with me so I can catch her on the act. Caught her squatting three times this morning after she had been out for a walk. I told her no and she stopped but don't know how reliable she will be. Good thing my carpet is old. I wouldn't feel bad about getting rid of it.
She's only been with us a short time and may need time to adjust to everything that is new to her. She is very timid but has made great progress. The rescue thought she was a puppy mill dog.

 

[low-key]

yep, I do that sometime