You love your dog, and so many of our four-legged friends have become an integral part of the family, but there is probably one behavior that you would rather they didn’t demonstrate in the home. Urinating around your house is something you definitely don’t want your dog to do, but there are several natural reasons why they might display this behavior, either as a submissive or excited gesture or to mark their territory. Here is a look at some ways to get your dog to stop urinating and teach them to keep better control, including tips on how to adjust your own behavior to help theirs, and how to deal with dominance.
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Help them with your own approach
A good way of ensuring that their urinating doesn’t hit its intended target is to get belly bands from Pet Parents Brand and, in the meantime, you can help them to learn how to control this behavior with some body language tactics.
A good tip would be to think about how you approach your dog and whether your posture could be seen as overbearing or confrontational, which will trigger a urinating response.
Try avoiding direct eye contact and try stroking them under the chin rather than on top of their head to see if that helps them relax and resist the urge to urinate.
If you are concerned that your dog is trying to be too assertive and testing the boundaries by urinating, you need to stay calm and take a very balanced approach to the issue when interacting with your dog.
If you get anxious around your dog because you fear that they might be thinking about urinating in the house, this is precisely the moment when you have to remain calm and assert your authority in a very stable way.
Shouting or getting upset is going to give off the wrong vibe, so encourage your dog to try to take control. Taking a calm and consistent approach will allow your dog to feel that everything is in order, and that will ensure they don’t feel the need to protect or assert themselves by urinating.
Neutralize the smell
It is not just frustrating to see them urinate in the home, but the smell they leave behind means there is the risk that they will do the same again, which is why you need to break the cycle by removing the aroma (Live Science).
Your aim should be to prevent a repeat in the same spot by cleaning the mess immediately, and a good tactic would be to soak up a small amount of the urine with a paper towel and place it in the area where you want it to go to the toilet so that they get the hint.
A common mistake many owners make is using a steam cleaner to clean the area affected by urination. The problem with using a steam cleaner is that you will be rejuvenating rather than eliminating the smell, which will only worsen the situation because you are heating the pee up.
A better solution would be to use a wet vac on the affected area. Alternatively, you could apply some baking soda to the affected area and leave it to work overnight before blotting it with a vinegar and water mix afterward. Or use
Interrupt their thoughts
Keep an eye on your dog to see when they appear to be thinking about urinating, then take evasive action to get their attention away from marking.
Try making a loud noise or guiding them outside straight away, praising them when they do their business in the right place.
Another aspect of this problem that needs addressing if you are going to sort their peeing problem out is to get to the root of the problem. Distracting them to change their thought pattern will certainly help, and it would also be worth considering whether your dog might be anxious about something which is causing them to urinate.
Distract them by petting or playing with your dog to try to calm them down and take their thoughts to a different and more positive place.
When there is more than one
Dominance marking can be a problem when there is more than one dog or a cat in the house too.
There can be conflicts when your dog is fearful and wants to assert their dominance.
A fundamental point to remember is that only a very small percentage of dogs actually assume a natural “leader of the pack” mentality from day one and this means that the majority of dogs end up auditioning for the role when the opportunity arises, which leads to marking their territory with urination tactics.
This is where you can correct this line of thinking by letting your pet know that you are the top dog, not them.
Meal times are a key point in your corrective training. Leaders get to eat first, and if you make them wait in line for their food that should drive home the message that you are in charge.
If you find that your dog is displaying dominant tendencies, it is often best to ignore them to the point when they come to you for attention.
Think about dog training classes to give them the manners and confidence to eliminate the urinating response to their attempts to be dominant.
Change the association
If your dog has found a favorite spot to urinate, you will need to change the association with this area to break the habit.
If you do something positive in this zone, such as feeding or playing with your dog in this soiling area, it will adjust the significance of this area and discourage your pet from marking in this part of your home.
Tackling a urinating problem requires a bit of resolve and the adoption of several different tactics until you find what works and resolve the issues that are making your dog mark in the first place.