How do I stop my 8yr old Maltese from urinating in the house? Please, no rude answers.?

Question

He has, for the most part, always let me know when he has to go out. For a while now he's begun to wet on the carpet, usually in my studio and almost always on anything plastic. Why is this and what can I do to stop him? He doesn't have any medical problems and I'm always home with him. The vet doesn't seem to know what the problem is either. Can anyone help me? And, please, no rude answers. This is serious and I'm getting tired of having to have the carpets cleaned all the time.

Answer 1

I'm no expert, but I have potty trained several dogs...quite possibly the dog does not like the smell of plastic so he wants to cover up the scent with his own scent. Causes aside, though, to fix the problem, I would definitely NOT punish the dog, but reward him when he potties appropriately. When you catch him sniffing at one of his favorite spots, ask him if he needs to go out and take him outside to do his business...reward this behavior. If you see him cocking his leg or squatting, give him a firm "no" then take him outside. If the plastic item(s) he urinates on aren't cleaned, by the way, he'll probably keep returning to them. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

If there's nothing medically wrong with him, then it must be behavioral. Has anything changed in your household over the course of the last few months?

If there's a way to keep him out of the studio, start with that. If he doesn't urinate anywhere else, then his problem is with that room for whatever reason. A trick my vet told me about when my cat started peeing in a certain spot was to move their food bowl to that place. They won't go to the bathroom where they eat (at least cats won't). You may want to try that trick.

Also, you must be sure to get rid of the urine smell after each accident or else he'll just continue to go there. Natures Miracle works good for me.

Answer 3

Hi maybe you should give him extra times outdoors to empty out as he might not be able to hold it like he used to for whatever reason...dogs do get weak bladders like people do as they get older...other than that you could get him a crate as these work well to help stopping them wetting the place...I would be more concerned to him needing the bathroom more though...I have an older dog & he needs to go more than he ever did before & a lot of older dogs do...Regards Jake

Answer 4

Maybe because of your dogs age, it's getting harder for him to hold it. We had a dog that was older and just could not hold it for long, but never had any problems before. Before we could even get down the stairs he was already peeing on the carpet! It was frustrating, but nothing we could do about it.

Answer 5

My dog is female and will always pee on plastic when she comes across it - luckily outside. She's never done it in the house, but male dogs like to mark their territory so there has to be some attraction to plastic. I suggest you try to put away any plastic that your dog can lift his leg on. Good luck.

Answer 6

You need to get a good book on "crate training" and a good sturdy cage for the dog. Ask your vet to recommend one. Godloveya.

Answer 7

someone told me once dogs will not go to the bathroom anywhere they eat so to break there pet they stuck food and water every room of the house

Answer 8

Is your dog neutered? Unneutered dogs will commonly mark their territory!

You could try taking him outside more often. Maybe he's losing his bladder control in his old age. :]

Answer 9

They only thing I could think of is a bacteria infection or if there was any trauma that happen or he could be just getting old.

Answer 10

when he goes in the house, take him over to it and put his nose down by it. [ so he can see it] then give him a light smack on the nose [to learn that it was wrong] it will take some time but he will learn. my dog learned that way. it works.