Peeing

[Monica-G]

Hi, my name is Monica.

I really need some help or advice. My 1yr old puppy has some trouble understanding where he is suppose to pee. We do have news papers for him to do his business when we can't take him outside. And he does do it in the right place sometimes. But more times than not he goes all over our kitchen floor and if we happen to leave or kids room open he goes and pees and poops all over the carpet. Now he has this thing that everytime we pick him up or try to reach him he pees. why does he do that?

And how can you control him, so that he doesn't jump at everyone he sees?

[Marisela]

My dog used to pee everywhere until I taught him to pee in diapers that I layed on the floor. I would fold it when he would get ready to pie and i would place it near his wewee where he would stand. Then he would smell the diaper and he learned how to pee there. I taught him to pee outside about two years later.

To make him stop jumping you should tell him "NO" or "DOWN".

[Monica-G]

Thanks for your advise.

[Kristen Collins, CPDT]

Hi Monica,

Thanks for joining the chat. Sounds like you've got three different problems going on. I'll address each one separately below. Read on....

About the house training difficulty:
It's great that you realize that the real issue is that your puppy doesn't yet understand where he should pee. I can help you communicate with him so he does. But first, before talking about training at all, I should ask if you've taken him to a vet recently to rule out medical issues. There are a bunch of those that can cause a dog to eliminate indoors, like urinary tract infections, for example. So taking your puppy to a vet is the first thing to do, just to be safe.

If you find out that your puppy doesn't have a medical issue causing the problem, you can focus on training. There are two main things to do when house training a dog: 1) prevent mistakes from happening and 2) rewarding your dog when he pees and poops in the right place. The first part's really important. So you'll need to supervise him at all times or put him in a confinement area so he doesn't have the opportunity to make mistakes. (Crate training is a great way to prevent mistakes. I'll attach an article on crate training for you.) So you'll need to really be on the ball for a while---until your puppy is fully house trained. Remember to keep the doors of your kids' rooms closed. Keep your puppy with you and don't let him wander around the house by himself. The second part, rewarding your puppy for going in the right place, is really important too. You want to make sure it's very clear to your puppy that you LOVE IT when he pees and poops outside. So when he goes in the right place, praise him calmly until he finishes and then immediately give him a couple of really delicious treats. (You don't have to give him food rewards for eliminating outside forever---just until he's house trained.) I've attached an article on house training for you, which will go into further detail about how to house train your puppy.

About the urination when you reach for your puppy:
This is a different kind of problem. It's called submissive or excitement urination. Many dogs do it when greeting people or if they're a little nervous about people leaning over them, reaching for them or picking them up. I've attached a third article on submissive urination, which will address this problem thoroughly, but here are a few tips to get you started: Whatever you do, DO NOT yell at or punish your puppy when he urinates on or near you. In dog language, the behavior communicates submission. It's kind of like your puppy saying, "Uncle, uncle! Please don't hurt or scare me, Big Human!" So if you intimidate your puppy in any way, the problem will almost certainly get worse, not better. To help reduce the submissive urination, avoid reaching for your puppy quickly or in anger. Make your voice and movements gentle and slow. If possible, avoid looming over him. Squat down to his level instead. And, in general, stay calm. Think Zen. :)

About the jumping up:
Many, many dogs jump up to greet people. It's their way of saying hello! But most people don't like it, so we have to teach dogs how we'd rather them greet and play with us instead. To discourage jumping, turn your back on your puppy and ignore him the instant he jumps up on you---every time he does. As soon as his paws are on the floor again, immediately reward him with your attention (which is what he wants when he jumps up on you). The idea is to clearly and consistently communicate to your puppy that his natural greeting behavior---jumping up---doesn't work anymore to get people's attention AND that sitting or standing on all fours does. He'll learn even faster if you reward him with treats as well as praise and attention for greeting you without jumping. If you'd like in-person guidance, consider enrolling in a local obedience class. You can learn how to teach your dog a few doggie manners that would help him learn to interact with people pol

[Monica-G]

Thank you for the helpful information. I really appreciated.