How to Stop Your Dog From Peeing in the House

by dogtoyadvisor | Last updated on November 18, 2020

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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

I tried so many things but none of it worked, from friend tips to Youtube videos. I was getting desperate.

I needed some guidance to show me the way.

Dogs learn differently than humans and if you understand how their mind works, you can solve MOST dog behavior issues.

That is when I found a certified online dog training course that taught me all I needed to know.

Not only did it help me potty training Dobby, I also used it over the years to correct many behavior issues, like barking, jumping, recall, etc.

Best yet, all my dogs responded brilliantly to it, regardless of size, age or personality.

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.

Confusing, right? Your dog will think so too.

The answer for us was a Grass Pee Pad. Not only grass, we’re talking real grass here.

Grass is for dogs what litter is for cats, it feels natural to them to use it for peeing. So, naturally, they will use it instead of other more costly options.

You get a pee pad covered with real grass, show it to your puppy or dog and he’ll start using it from day one.

This will make the transition to outside super smooth because he’ll see the grass and know what you expect him to do. No muss, no fuss, it’s just that simple!

Because it absorbs the urine, it doesn’t require any cleaning, like most of the other pee pads do.

We still use it to this day. Coco, though housetrained, will have the occasional accident inside, so we keep it available to her at all times.

Also, for those days when you need to leave your dog home alone for longer, Fresh Patch is a good solution for him to use.

If you’re looking for an artificial grass pee pad, which is also a good option, pick one that has low maintenance and that is easy to clean.

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.

Dogs learn through association and that’s what you need to have in mind when you’re training your dog.

That was one basic principle we picked up from the online dog training course that changed our lives.

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 – Keep the water intake in check

By this, we don’t mean you should give him little water, we would never suggest that, dogs need plenty of water to keep healthy.

We actually have a water fountain to make sure our pets drink as much fresh water as they want.

Having said that, if you time the strenuous activities that lead your dog to drink more water, you’ll know that about two hours after that, he’ll be very much ready to pee.

This is particularly true for smaller dogs, larger dogs have a greater endurance, which doesn’t mean they should have to use it often.

If you know your dog has had a lot of water, walk him about two hours later.

Step 4 – 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.

This is the one we use and it really really really works!!

Step 5 – Create a routine

This means you should do your best to walk your dog at a specific schedule. Much like humans, dogs have their own internal clocks.

Have you ever noticed how, when walk time arrives, your dog will somehow give you a sign it’s time to go?

For our dogs, it’s like they have an alarm system, they’ll just come up and stare, making us feel all guilty.

Walking your dog at the same time every day helps him keep to that schedule and prevents accidents.

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