What to do about this dog pee situation...

[DesertBlossom]

I will try to make this brief. My dad used to have a small dog that I was pretty certain had peed in his not-often-used living room because it smelled faintly. I had it shampood 2 years ago after that dog died but it didn't help the smell. We all felt bad for my dad because he lived alone so my sister found another mature small dog through a rescue. It is super attached to my dad now and it follows him around. Well my family moved in with my dad a couple weeks ago and this not-often-used living room is being used now and it's become apparent that the new dog has peed EVERYWHERE. I cannot stand to be in the room is smells so bad. (Attempting to clean spots made the smell worse) Visible pee spots are everywhere. It's yellow along the bottom of the couch and chairs. It has to have peed dozens of times in there. My theory is that this new dog is trying to pee over the old dog's scent. We hadn't felt any new wet spots, but I can't be certain it isn't still peeing in there. (Ftr, this dog has a doggy door that it knows how to use and he poops outside so it's a mystery as to why it's doing this.)

 

So we are planning on ripping up the carpet, bleaching the concrete and laying down new cheap carpet. I have been a little worried he would still pee in there, but I have been trying to be optimistic.

 

Today we found a damp stinky spot in my dd's bedroom. I don't even know what to do now. Clearly this dog can not be trusted. He's an otherwise good little dog that spends his day following my dad around and sitting at his feet. I have never seen him pee inside, but the evidence is there in massive quantities. I am not sure we should lay down more carpet now.

 

Where do I even start with fixing this behavior? I am not a dog expert by any means.

[MercyA]

Aww, I feel for you all. How old is the dog?

[DesertBlossom]

It was a rescue so I don't know. But bordering on senior for sure.

 

Eta: We got this dog for my dad almost 2 years ago so this behavior has likely been going on for a long time without any correction.

Edited June 12, 2017 by DesertBlossom

[gardenmom5]

look into the neutralizing cat pee spray cleaners.  it needs to be allowed to soak in and dry before being vacuumed up. 

 

the dog needs to be curtailed to a limited area.  get baby gates - ones that are easy to open for your dad.  and if you can limit him to an area with vinyl floors - so much the better.

 

the dog also has to be taken outside on a regular basis to do his business there -on a leash, no walking, until he does.

 

 

remedial house training.

[MercyA]

Near the end of his life, my senior male dog had a very hard time holding his pee for more than one and a half to two hours. I would:

 

1. Take him to the vet and make sure there are no health problems that may be causing this. Talk to the vet about possible medications that may help.

2. Take the dog out every two hours at a minimum. When he pees outside, give him a treat and praise him profusely.

3. When he's inside, keep him either crated or leashed to someone for now, until he becomes more trustworthy. 

4. If you catch him in the act, tell him "No!" and carry him outside to finish. 

5. Have him wear a belly band or diaper for now. It will save your sanity! I wish I had done this with my dog. My female dog wore diapers when she was in heat (before I had her spayed), and it was really no big deal.

 

I wouldn't put more carpet in yet. Definitely get rid of the old carpet and treat any other spots with enzyme cleaner (something like Nature's Miracle). Really soak the spots. You can buy a special light to help you find problem spots that aren't obvious. 

 

I'm headed to bed, but will post again if I think of anything else tomorrow.

 

ETA: The concrete under the carpet made need some sort of special treatment other than just bleach. 

Edited June 12, 2017 by MercyA

[Pen]

Dog incontinence wrap if a boy dog, dog panties if a girl dog.

 

 

At least 2 sets washable, so one can be on, and one can be being cleaned (in laundry, or at least rinsed and put to hang dry).

Edited June 12, 2017 by Pen

[DesertBlossom]

Oh. My. Heck. In a fit of rage I started yanking up the carpet. We've only got 1/2 the carpet up and there are dozens and dozens of urines stains visible on the underside of the carpet. Literally this dog has peed in here a hundred times.

[DesertBlossom]

 

ETA: The concrete under the carpet made need some sort of special treatment other than just bleach.

What kind of treatment? Now that I have the carpet up, the pet stains aren't visible on the concrete. But there were scattered pet stains throughout the whole room, with several very concentrated spots. We will have to treat every inch of concrete.

[Mergath]

I think the stuff you paint over pee-soaked subfloor with is called Kilz. Definitely get some of that, and then put down something like vinyl that will make it easy to mop up the pee. I wouldn't put carpet in again because there's going to be no way to keep it clean. Some kind of vinyl planks that aren't easily damaged by liquid would be good.

 

ETA: I think this is what people use: http://www.kilz.com/products/primer/kilz-max

Edited June 12, 2017 by Mergath

[MotherGoose]

Will he wear a baby diaper? I ended up doing that with my senior dogs. Depending on how small he is a size 4 or 5 might work. This is provided he would keep it on and not eat it.....I wouldn't suggest dog diapers too expensive.

[Pawz4me]

It's very possible he was never house trained, or that whatever training he had didn't carry over to a new home (the belief is that dogs don't generalize very well). So I'd treat him like a puppy and do House Training 101.

 

But the very first thing I'd do is take him to the vet for a thorough check up to make sure there are no underlying medical issues. Anything from an infection to diabetes or kidney disease could be in play, so a thorough senior check is needed.

 

Consider using a belly band. That's usually the best choice for male dogs. You put a sanitary napkin inside them. Sometimes a panty liner is enough. You can buy them online fairly inexpensively, and from what I understand they're easy to make if you're handy at all.

 

I'd also consider using pee pads. It may be that's what he was used to. Many people think it confuses a dog to both use pads and take them outside. I've yet to meet a dog that stupid.

[Pawz4me]

Dp

Edited June 12, 2017 by Pawz4me

[StephanieZ]

1) Use Kilz Oil Based Primer (NOT THE LATEX) on the concrete/subfloor/etc before repainting and/or recarpeting impacted areas.

 

2) Personally, instead of re-carpeting the living space, I'd put down a solid floor such as tile or even sheet vinyl. Then, no more worries about cleaning up the urine. 

 

3) Buy a gallon (or more) of Nature's Miracle (I like the orange scent) and follow label instructions to deal with new spots.

 

4) Teach your kids to banish doggy from other carpeted spaces (their bedrooms, etc.) until/unless the urination issue is solved. You might want to use a baby gate or two to more easily banish doggy from entire parts of the house if that's feasible. Self-closing hinges on relevant doors are a cheap, easy, and effective way to help the kids keep doors shut. (And cheap rubber stoppers under said doors can prop them open on occasion if desired.)

 

5) Google up how to house train an adult dog. Choose methods that are 100% NOT punitive. (No yelling, scaring, hitting, etc.)

 

6) Schedule a vet visit for a check up and a consultation on the issue. There are solvable medical issues that can cause this, plus the vet can advise on training. 

 

7) Launder everything possible. 

 

 

8) Consider (washable) doggy-diapers if feasible, although that would be complicated by the doggy door issue.

 

9) You may need to lock/block the doggy door for a few weeks while using a more structured house training plan with or without using diapers to protect the house during periods you can't immediately supervise the dog.

 

10) Alternately, if you can't house train the dog readily with the door in use, you may need/want to block/lock the doggy door semi-permanently and rely on diapers while inside and a frequent, structured going-out-to-potty schedule. 

 

 

It is highly likely that  if you can religiously adhere to some reasonable house training routine, you can house train the dog. 

 

This is a highly reliable veterinary-approved source for medical and behavior guidance . . . There are a bunch on house training.

 

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47  -- scroll down for several articles on house training

 

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1118&S=1&SourceID=47 -- a good place to start

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2017 by StephanieZ

[MercyA]

What kind of treatment? Now that I have the carpet up, the pet stains aren't visible on the concrete. But there were scattered pet stains throughout the whole room, with several very concentrated spots. We will have to treat every inch of concrete.

 

Possibly TSP cleaner? It is very potent and needs to be used with care, though. Here are a couple articles that mention it:

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Urine-Odor-from-Concrete

http://www.concreteconstruction.net/how-to/removing-urine-odor-from-concrete_o

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/cleaning-with-tsp-trisodium-phosphate/#.WT6ZpTPMwcg

 

Definitely seal with something like Kilz, as others have mentioned, when you're done with the cleaning.

 

Honestly, I would just go with a vinyl floor if possible. They are so easy to clean, and there a lot of nice options available now. 

[DesertBlossom]

The advice here has been so helpful. Thank you!

 

Because of the layout of the house there is no way to block off carpeted areas. And because I have a bunch of little kids, keeping doors shut or using baby gates will just make this difficult for everyone. Most of the house has carpet, but for some reason the dog has chosen the living room to pee.

 

I am thinking the diapers or belly bands are the best bet for the dog. It seems easiest anyway. Me and the kids might be able to start taking him outside every couple hours, but if we aren't home for an extended period of time I know my dad wouldn't have the energy or mobility to be taking him out regularly.

[kitten18]

We have a few of these belly bands and they work well for our rescue Chihuahua. We don't even need to put a pad inside, just knowing he has it on keeps him from marking.

 

PlayaPup Male Dog Belly Band, Brown, Small https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036RIPJC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wqQpzb2W3FZ6S

 

A few months ago we got rid of all our carpet and that helped more than anything, he's only peed in the house a couple times since then and it's easy to clean off the tile.

 

I treated the floors (concrete and wood sub floor) with Odo Ban before we had the new tile put down.

 

 

ETA - forgot the link

Edited June 12, 2017 by kitten18

[zoobie]

A friend adopted a dog and it wasn't allowed in the kids' rooms. The dog would sneak in when the gate was open and pee in there. Another dog-smart friend suggested having structured play time in that room with the dog, then taking the dog out for potty and praising and giving treats when the dog goes, then returning to the room for more structured play time. The idea behind that dog didn't see the room as "her" space and would pee there, either to mark it or because who cares? it's not my space. They steam cleaned and Nature's Miracled it to the hills and back, and the training seems to have worked. They still try to block off the upstairs, but they do play time every couple of days and let the dog come help tuck the kids in at night.

 

They had only had the problem for about a week and had cleaned the accidents promptly. If the dog has been peeing in the bedroom for an unknown period, that carpet may need to go too.

 

I would imagine the dog is fairly stressed from the new living arrangements too. Going from one human to a house full with kids is a big change. After getting checked out physically, I'd consider anti-anxiety meds from the vet if the behavior continues.

[DesertBlossom]

I would imagine the dog is fairly stressed from the new living arrangements too. Going from one human to a house full with kids is a big change. After getting checked out physically, I'd consider anti-anxiety meds from the vet if the behavior continues.

It's definitely a big change. He seems to be handling it okay. We used to visit a lot before moving in. But he has peeing in the living room since my dad got him a couple years ago. Until the wet spot in DD's room I haven't seen or felt a fresh spot in thr few weeks we've been here. The room where DD sleeps was a playroom that would have been shut always when no one else was here so the dog wouldn't really have had access to that room.

Edited June 12, 2017 by DesertBlossom

[The Governess]

We have a small, old dog that has occasional issues. I second having Nature's Miracle around to deodorize any new spots. And close doors to bedrooms any time you leave the house.

 

We have a modular fence with a baby gate in it that we sometimes use. If our dog has a string of accidents, we will set the fence up around her dog door and put her bed and water inside so it becomes her pen. Any time we leave the house she has to go in there. If she has an accident or we think she needs to go out, she has to go in there until she has gone outside and done her business, then when she comes back in we open the gate and give her lots of praise. Once she seems to have stopped the accidents we take the fence down until next time there is an issue. It helps.

 

Also, try and learn the signs the dog gives when it needs to go out. Ours starts acting excited... so if we are home and paying attention, we can remind her to go out instead of sneaking into an unoccupied room to pee.

[DesertBlossom]

This whole thing feels a little daunting. I don't know if I have the time or energy to be babysitting this dog. I have so much going on. The other day I noticed he went into the living room so I tried to spy on him. He just went in and rolled around on the carpet. Until the wet spot in DDs room I would have said the peeing inside was a past problem. Now I wonder if he's ever peed outside. 😣

[MercyA]

:grouphug: Using a belly band or diaper for now will help your stress level. No fresh pee on the floor is a good start! 

[Katy]

I second Nature's Miracle enzyme cleaner soaking in, Kilz floor after using it, and new, more easily cleanable flooring.  Such as Vinyl Plank.  If dog continues to go inside after flooring has been taken care of, you can try tether training to get him going outside again, or diaper him.