Dog Peeing All the Time in the House (LONG)

[readyin07]

I am just....grrrr....

I have a 9 year old Chihuahua in an all carpet home. As a puppy he was crate trained for about 3 months and then was given free roam of the house. We never really had any problems. Fast forward to now and the past 18 months he has been peeing in the house all the time. He has been to the vet, had all kind of bloodwork and has no discernible issues besides being a little dog in a home where he used to be top dog and now has two kids to deal with (4 and 2). He still gets tons of attention, love and treats.

He has an "area" in our dining room. We have cleaned with everything - professionals, nature's miracle, vinegar, various other cleaners. He keeps going back. The whole house is carpeted unfortunately and the good/bad is that it is a berber and you can't see urine stains unless you happen to walk on them while fresh :/ I know he has been going when it starts to smell  I am a SAHM and he is walked regularly. We are in and out of the house, but are always home to give him a walk between noon and 2 pm. He goes out about 9 when I take my older son to school.

We just got new furniture and cleaned out the ENTIRE house for a very good, very expensive carpet cleaning before the holidays. I told Dh that we really needed to get control of this and that as much as I hated it, we were going to need to confine him to our room when we are gone for more than an hour. We are cleaning our carpets professionally every 6 months and based on the smell it needs to be more than that. It is DISGUSTING. I think that he will not pee in our room because his little hidey spot is under our bed. I am also increasing his walks and literally making sure DH gives him his evening walk RIGHT before he goes to bed (DH has a bad habit of, say if the dog asks to go out (scratches on door) and 9:30 and DH will go to bed and 10 and not walk him again.

So today, the dog and I got up about 7:30, and he got a good walk. When we left to take my son to school at 8:50, I let him run outside again because I was taking our other son to the playground. We all came home around 12:30 and I let him out a third time and let him run around in the fenced yard for a bit. My son and I were playing in his room for a few hours, he even came in and wanted his toy thrown (!) and when I came out about 3, there was a wet spot not even in his spot but in the middle of the freaking floor. I am sooo drained, I have no idea. I seriously hate to think I am going to have to shut him away if I am not in the freaking living room, but the dog KNOWS how to scratch at the front door if he needs out. I am just so beyond frustrated Any ideas you can have would be very helpful. I love my little dog so much and I hate being angry with him for this

[patches31709]

What about keeping him tethered to you in the house? Sounds like peeing in the house is now just what he does when he feels like it, so you might want to do a bit of housetraining all over again. If he's tethered to you, he can't just go pee, but if he starts to act like he has to pee, take him out and praise/treat like crazy when he goes out there.

[momof2boys]

I would keep him in a crate when you aren't home. When you are home keep him in the same room with you at all times so you can watch him. When he goes outdoors to pee make a big deal of it, treats etc (just like puppy training again). There is no way i'd just leave him to run around the house and pee wherever he wants while I wasn't home. I have never used or been a fan of those puppy training pads, but maybe that would be an option? At least then if he uses them the urine will be in one location on a pad that can be thrown out. Also maybe a belly band?

[treedimensional]

OMG, I was just about to make a similar post about my dog's toilet habits.
I agree with crating him when you are not home.

[dexteroni]

Nov 19, 2013 8:06:54 GMT -5 patches31709 said:

What about keeping him tethered to you in the house? Sounds like peeing in the house is now just what he does when he feels like it, so you might want to do a bit of housetraining all over again. If he's tethered to you, he can't just go pee, but if he starts to act like he has to pee, take him out and praise/treat like crazy when he goes out there.

This is what I was thinking - start house training all over again. That means never letting him out of your sight, crating when you aren't home or can't be with him, and getting him outside at the first sign of having to go. How you do that with a 2 and 4 year old, and with a dog who knows to sneak off and pee, is beyond me. But I hope it works! Good luck!