Dog soiling furniture

Share your favorite training tips, ideas and methods with other Positively members!

Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost

Post Reply
lmkss
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2015 6:11 pm

Dog soiling furniture

Post by lmkss »

My dog has a bad habit of pooping/peeing on furniture. At this point, she's gone on every piece of furniture in the house with the exception of one of our recliners. She's gone a long stretch without doing this so I thought she had stopped, but she's recently started up again after we went on vacation. She knows she's not supposed to, but she does it anyway. She specifically goes to the furniture to do her business, so I know it's not a UTI issue. I let her out, but she doesn't like to use the bathroom outside, she just likes to play. She's 3 years old. It's driving me crazy, any advice is appreciated!
ckranz
Posts: 1028
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:18 pm
Location: San Diego CA

Re: Dog soiling furniture

Post by ckranz »

Part of the problem I suspect is cleaning up. urine especially will soak deeply within things like cushions and pillows, and as dogs smell where the bathroom is and are 1000s of times more sensitive to our sense of smell...we may think its clean, but its not.

As she has done it frequently it has also become habitual. I have noticed on a daily basis my dogs tend to go to the same spots in the back to poop and or pee. They only change when I take a week of scooping. What you need to do is spend time observing her behavior before she goes to know when to put her outside. Dogs also tend to go around meal times...mine go about 2 hours after eating. They can be come very regular if you keep a regular feeding schedule.

Common signs include:

sniffing at the ground.
restlessness
pacing

When you see the signs and before she goes, take her outside and do not come in until she goes. Go out with her, take her for a walk. Be patient she will go, remember its her schedule not yours. When she goes.....reward her, let her know she is a good girl.

If you fail to observe and she goes on the couch, its your mistake and not hers.
User avatar
Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: Dog soiling furniture

Post by Nettle »

Good advice :)

From what you say, this is partly a confidence issue - it re-occurred after you went away, and she appears not to like to potty outside anyway. So you can work on confidence too. Look at our pinned thread on Exercise the Mind for things you can do together indoors and out, that build confidence.

How was she kept while you were away? Kennelled, crated, in an enclosure with other dogs, in someone's home where other dogs may have soiled indoors?

As Ckranz says, take her for walks. If she is not keen to use the yard, create a sheltered area outside for her, where she is not overlooked by passers-by. A beach windbreak can be enough. What size is she, and what breed/mix?

Keep all doors closed or if your home is open-plan, barricade rooms you are not in using baby-gates. Cover soft furnishings with silver foil. This isn't for ever but just while you break the habit again.

To summarise:

Make outdoor pottying comfortable and safe
Make indoor pottying impossible by vigilance and management

Remember she isn't doing this to annoy you - she is feeling upset and insecure, so she is adding her scent to her home in a big way so that it feels more 'hers'.

Don't forget those walks! They are the best thing to do for dogs.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Dibbythedog
Posts: 214
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:08 pm
Location: Middlesex West London

Re: Dog soiling furniture

Post by Dibbythedog »

That must be very difficult for you .
Bear in mind that dogs dont understand about furntiure and carpets and things and what they mean to us . Its just another surface to them .

I agree with Nettle that this us partly a confidence thing. Dogs will often wee on beds and sofas when they have are stressed or somthing has changed . my friends dog used to wee on their bed when they had decorators in.
KHill5326
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2015 8:06 pm

Re: Dog soiling furniture

Post by KHill5326 »

I'm having the same type of an issue with my dog. She pees on the blankets on the master bedroom bed. My husband and adopted Penny from a local rescue group about a year and a half ago. She has peed on our bed approximately 10-15 times bringing her home i have lost count at this point, the odd part is, is that it's ALWAYS my husbands blankets. I've pretreated the blankets, sheets, etc with the pet odor neutralizer before washing. The bedroom doors are all closed unless we're in there. She also pees all over my nice wool rugs in the bedroom while we're sleeping. Which I clean with an pet odor neutralizer as well. I've tried restricting her water after 5ish, letting her out on scheduled times and she always gets a night time walk right before bed. My husband and I are getting extremely frustrated and know there's a way to teach her the right way. We're in the beginning stages of teaching her the Bell method... What other things can I do to fix this? :? :shock:
Post Reply