If you have a dog, it’s a good bet you’ve dealt with your dog peeing on the carpet. As much as we love our furry friends, it’s frustrating and gross when they do this.
Fortunately, there are effective ways to prevent this behavior. We’ll cover some tips for how to stop dogs from peeing on the carpet and ensure a happy and healthy home for both you and your four-legged companion.
Table of Contents
Why Do Dogs Pee on the Carpet?
It’s frustrating and disgusting when a dog keeps peeing on the rug. Without knowing your dog as well as you do, it’s hard to know exactly why this is happening, but here are common reasons:
Medical issues
If your dog keeps peeing on the carpet, the culprit could be health issues. Urinary tract infections, bladder stones, and other medical conditions can cause dogs to have difficulty controlling their bladders.
Obviously, dogs can’t tell us when something is wrong, so it’s up to us to watch for the signs. One of the most common signs of a medical issue is a change in behavior or activity level.
If your dog keeps peeing on the carpet and is acting abnormally, it could be a sign of a medical issue. We recommend consulting with a veterinarian ASAP.
Aging
It’s sad to see a beloved dog get older and start to struggle with health issues. If your older dog keeps peeing on the rug, it could simply be an issue of age.
As dogs age, they can have more difficulty holding their bladders for long periods. This can lead to accidents inside the house.
To resolve the issue, you may want to create a routine of frequent pee breaks. We’ll cover more on this shortly.
Anxiety or Stress
Dogs that are anxious or stressed may wet inside the house to cope with their emotions.
My mom and dad recently went through this with their dog Maggie. They had to put Maggie in a kennel for a few days while they traveled. Maggie isn’t used to kennels, so she wasn’t happy about it. When they brought her home after the trip, the first thing Maggie did was wet on the floor. She doesn’t usually do that, so she was likely stressed, anxious, or mad about the kennel stay.
Territorial Marking
Dogs may wet on the carpet to mark their territory if they feel threatened or anxious about another animal or person in the house. If there’s a new animal or person in the house and your dog starts peeing on the carpet frequently, this could be the issue.
Lack of Training
If your dog keeps peeing on the carpet but is otherwise healthy, happy, and has a positive and stable home environment, it could just be a training issue. Fortunately, this is solvable.
How to Stop Dogs From Peeing on the Carpet
It’s frustrating when a beloved dog keeps peeing on the rug, but there are some ways to prevent it. Keep in mind that some of these these recommendations are just quick fixes while you work on a longer term solution (like simple training you can easily do yourself).
Clean Up Properly After Accidents
If your dog keeps peeing on the carpet, the first and most important thing is to clean up properly. Vinegar, baking soda, carpet cleaner, etc. aren’t proper cleaners.
Dogs have a keen sense of smell that is far superior to that of humans. The spot may smell OK to you after cleaning up with regular carpet cleaner, but it may not be enough to sanitize the spot and mask the smell for a dog.
We recommend using an enzymatic cleaner to fully eliminate any odors and prevent your dog (or another dog) from being attracted to the same spot because of the smell. The urine smell is like a giant neon bathroom sign for a dog. It will attract them to the same spot to pee again. If your dog can still smell the urine from the previous accident, it’s more likely they’ll pee in the same spot again.
If you don’t have an enzymatic cleaner yet, you may want to restrict your dog’s access to the spot until you purchase some.
Once you’ve properly cleaned up, you may consider adding vinegar to further deter your dog from returning to pee at the same spot again. Vinegar is safe for household use and dogs typically don’t like the pungent smell.
Restrict Access
If your dog keeps peeing on the carpet in the same room or spot, you may need to restrict access to it by putting up baby gates or closing doors.
Again, if you haven’t cleaned up with an enzymatic cleaner, your dog may still be able to smell the previous accident. We recommend cleaning up with an enzymatic cleaner to fully break down the compounds that attract your dog to pee in the same spot again.
Closing doors and putting up baby gates is probably not an ideal long term solution because it creates extra hassle for you. Baby gates can work well to restrict smaller or medium-sized dogs, but it’s annoying having to constantly step over them or remove them while walking around the house. Ideally, this is just a temporary solution while you work on a long-term fix (like added training).
Monitor Your Dog
Keep an eye on your dog and watch for signs that they need to go. Signs may include pacing, whining, or scratching at the door. When you see these signs, take your dog outside right away. If you know your dog well, the signs should be pretty obvious.
Create a Routine
Dogs thrive on routines. You may want to create a consistent routine for your dog’s pee breaks and stick to it. This will help your dog learn when it’s time to go pee and reduce the likelihood of accidents in the house.
This might be helpful for older dogs who have more trouble holding their bladder. If your dog is getting older, you may want to increase the frequency of pee breaks during the day.
How to Solve the Issue Permanently
If your dog is healthy and happy and continues to wet on the carpet, it may simply be a training issue. And, no, you don’t need to hire an expensive trainer to fix the problem of your dog peeing on the carpet! With the right information, you can easily do this yourself. It just takes a little consistency and patience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I spray to keep my dog from peeing in the house?
If your dog keeps peeing on the carpet, we recommend cleaning up with an enzymatic cleaner that fully breaks down the smell of the previous accidents. Dogs have a very keen sense of smell, so regular household cleaners are often not enough to mask the smell.
What can I put on my rug to stop my dog from peeing on it?
If your dog keeps peeing on the rug, we recommend cleaning up with an enzymatic cleaner that fully breaks down the smell of the previous accidents. You can also apply vinegar to the spot to further deter your dog from returning to it.
Why is my dog peeing on the carpet all of a sudden?
If your dog doesn’t normally pee on the carpet, then the issue could be health or your dog may be distressed or anxious about another dog, person, or significant change in your home environment.
What scent will keep dogs from peeing on carpet?
If your dog keeps peeing on the carpet, we recommend cleaning up with an enzymatic cleaner that fully breaks down the urine compounds. Once you’ve done that, you can try applying vinegar to the spot to further deter your dog from sniffing around there again.