Dog peeing in house

I have a Chihuhua that Ive had for a year, Ive been working on potty training him but everytime I think hes got it he messes in the house, He has a kennel and I put him in it at night and when we leave the house and always open the cage and take him stright out, then after he does his business he comes in and uses the bathroom in my daughters room, Hes never gone in my room but 90% of the time its in her room, so I know he knows that its bad, Ive tried cleaning her carpet with animal scent remover and it doesnt work, please help, It would break my heart to have to get rid of him because of this, thanks "K"

HI "K", Here is an article I've written on this topic that I think will help you. Small dogs sometimes can take a little longer to houstrain than other dogs, so be patient. Prevention is the key here as you'll see below. Let me know how it goes!

Adult dog Peeing/Pooping in house.
Does your dog sometimes pee or poop in the house? Most of this issue is about education and prevention. Puppies and some small breeds cannot physically hold their urine very long so it is up to you to make sure you are bringing them out very often and observing their urine output. Other dogs that eliminate in the house may be doing it out of habit or they simply need more training. First of all, clean all areas that they may have messed in and remove the odor with an odor neutralizer you can find at the pet store. Then, you need to observe them when they are outside peeing or pooping. If we do not know for sure they have eliminated outside it will be hard to know if they will inside. So if you know your dog has not pooped or urinated outside you will know they may have an accident indoors. If they pee a lot outside, praise and you'll know they will be ok for another hour or two. If there was just a little urine then you'll need to bring them back out again in a half hour. Give this a name too, like “Do your business”, or “Go Potty” and make it sound positive.

In the home if you are having accidents I advise in these cases to have your dog on leash attached to you for a couple weeks so that you can quickly react if there is an accident. Never be angry.If there is an accident say No but do NOT get angry and then bring them immediately outside to pee and praise outside while they are peeing. It is important that you catch them in the act in order to say No. If you do not see them actually peeing you cannot discipline them. If for example you find a puddle of pee and you feel angry and you call your dog to you and get mad at them what your dog thinks is that you got mad at them for coming to you because that is the very last thing that they did. You MUST catch them when they are actually in the process of peeing in order to say No to them. NEVER be angry with them either. You need to be very matter of fact and not angry or you will make the situation worse because they will lose trust in you. The same goes for pooping.You have to be vigilant about observing and preventing at this point. If you put the effort in now it will pay off.

The dog should not have free access to the house until the accidents have stopped completely. Then, only allow access to the room you are in and observed closely. If there have been no more accidents inside the home you can begin to offer more of the house slowly. At this point it will be a lot about prevention on YOUR part to fix the problem. A note about being on lead in the house:The idea with holding your dog on leash in your house is so you can correct a problem immediately, such as peeing on the floor. Reaction time is important in these cases. There should not be a problem having them on lead as long as you are watching them and they are not having a reaction to the lead. Better yet, I'd like to see the leash attached to you like looped to your belt too so they learn to move when you do and do what you do. If you get up to go in other room they have to go with you, if you sit and rest they have to rest, etc. This is another way for you to establish yourself as leader with your dog. One thing to know is dogs actually like to be on lead with you because it gives them a job to do and they like to feel busy too, just like we do. Their job is to pay attention to your movements. This is a wonderful way to maximize bonding as well. When they have had no pee accidents in the house for several weeks you should be able to practice having the dog off leash again but supervised closely initially. Remember if there is an accident you will need to go back again to the beginning and have them with you at all times. It may take a little work initially to have a close watch on your dog but if you are serious about stopping the problem that is how you will have success. It will be worth the effort when you have a clean house again!


To Julie,
Thank you so Much I will try this and see how it goes. Ive been thinking about getting and open n close baby gate to block him from the back of the house. as long as theres no carpet theres no accidents in the house but I hated confining him the the front part of the house because he loves being around us, I will def. try the leash then slowly let him go the the rest of the house, thanks again, 'K'