The secret to keeping a dog from urinating on rugs is to house train your dog. Not only will house training your dog prevent your rugs from being ruined, but it will also establish you as the leader of the pack and will help your dog learn to respect your authority. Training from an early age is very important. Have you ever heard the saying, "You can't teach old dog new tricks"? This saying isn't exactly true. While you can teach older dogs new tricks, it is easier to work with the dog at a very young age before it develops bad habits like urinating on the rugs.
Things You'll Need
- Dog crate
- Journal
Instructions
Provide constant supervision. If you have a new puppy or an older dog that often urinates on your rugs supervise them constantly while they are in the house. According to the American Dog Training Network, when they start sniffing around or they run out of sight suddenly, immediately take them outside.
Put your dog in a crate when you can't supervise him. There will be times when you can't supervise your dog in the house. Whether you are going to work or running errands, leaving your dog in a crate will eliminate the opportunity for it to urinate on the rugs. The American Dog Training Network recommends as soon as you take it out of the crate to take it outside. Stay outside with the dog until it urinates.
Keep a journal of urination times. According to the American Dog Training Network, most dogs will have a schedule. Learn its schedule by keeping a record of when it urinates and how long it goes between urinating. This will help you recognize its schedule so that you can take it outside around the time it normally urinates.
Praise the dog when it urinates outside. Dogs respond well to praise; in fact dogs need praise often. By praising the dog every time it urinates outside, your dog will start to recognize that it gets praised for this. Try to use the same words when praising it such as "good potty." This will help it recognize not only your praise but the word "potty" so that eventually you can command it to go potty and praise it for doing so.
Set off limits areas. According to the Dog Training Guide, if you have noticed that your dog likes to urinate in certain areas, like the rooms that have rugs, keep it out of that area. By setting off limit areas, you can decrease the chances of your rugs being ruined while you train your dog to urinate outside.
Set your dog up for success. Just like humans, dogs like to be successful. Don't put it in situations where it won't be successful. Frequent time outside either on walks or in the backyard will eliminate household accidents and set the atmosphere for you to give a lot of praise which your dog will respond to better than scolding.