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Pee puddles on the carpet often come with the territory of owning a dog. Whether during the puppy training stage or when dealing with an anxious, poorly or senior pup, rogue pee puddles can - at times - be unavoidable.
But what if you find your dog is doing this on the regular? How can you address this unwanted behavior and deter your dog from soiling your carpets?
You’ve come to the right place!
In this blog we discuss the reasons why your dog might be peeing on the rug, how you can stop this from happening, as well as tips on how to get dog pee out of a rug or carpet.
Let’s put an end to finding pee on the rug!
A dog won’t pee on the carpet to be naughty; there is always a reason behind this behavior.
There are several reasons why you might find your dog peeing on the carpet:
If you’re at all concerned that your dog’s urination indoors could be an indicator of an underlying health issue, we’d recommend consulting with a trusted veterinarian ASAP. Some signs you should be aware of include: sudden increase/excessive drinking, increase in elimination (volume), decrease in control of urine/stools and sudden incontinence.
To best understand whether your dog’s behavior is out of the norm, it’s important to have an awareness of your canine’s typical habits. This way, you can more accurately identify if there is a sudden change in their behavioral patterns.
If your dog is peeing on the carpet it could be a sign they need a little more potty training. Some dogs may take a little longer to absorb or take to the routine of potty training, making them more prone to regular accidents.
This is particularly prevalent in younger dogs and if noticed it’s super important to implement a regular structured toilet training routine to avoid confusion.
If you’re unsure where to start with house training your dog - or you’ve experienced a regression in their progress - make sure to check out our articles on House Training and Incontinence.
Again, it’s very common in younger dogs that extreme excitement can cause puppy pee puddles! This is known as submissive urination and is an instinctual response in dogs. If your pup is prone to excitement, it’s vital you approach them with quiet and calm to avoid exacerbating this issue.
This issue could rear its head if your dog is new to the home or environment, or if you introduce a second dog into your home. Dogs naturally mark their scent through urination to let other animals know that they are there and not to be messed with - but this can be a nightmare when it happens inside the home!
It’s never nice to see our canine companions frightened, and unwanted indoor urination on your carpet could be an indication that they’re feeling particularly stressed or anxious indoors.
Signs your dog is feeling stressed include: yawning, trembling/shaking, ears flat and back, pacing, panting, drooling, growling, lack of appetite, itching and scratching and what pet parents often call “whale eye” where the whites of your dog’s eyes is highly visible.
Watch out for these body language signals, and if you find your dog is also peeing on your carpet more frequently, this could be a sign that your pup is eliminating due to their tense emotional and mental state.
Similarly to excitement and general anxiety/stress, submissive urination can occur when your dog is experiencing separation anxiety. This is one to keep an eye on as it can be an indicator that your dog’s emotional state isn’t so great and if left unaddressed can snowball into something that has a negative impact on both your and your dog’s quality of life.
Signs your dog is suffering from separation anxiety include: whining, trembling, sniffing and scratching, destructive chewing, barking and howling, pacing, drooling, urination/defecation indoors - despite your dog already being housetrained.
If you find your dog is struggling with separation anxiety, you may want to check out our blog on How to Prevent Separation Anxiety.
If your carpet is not being cleaned regularly, this could potentially be a cause of why your dog is peeing in this spot. Especially if your dog has peed in this area in the past, your pet may still be able to scent this on the carpet and as a result think to themselves “This is where I went before - so it must be okay for me to pee here again!”
You may be surprised to learn that scents of pee can remain in your carpet for several weeks after the incident, despite you cleaning the area.
Senior dogs will naturally lose bladder control as they age, as well as struggling more to get to the toilet in time. This can result in more frequent soiling accidents and can be distressing for both dog and owner.
If you find your older dog is struggling to make it outdoors to do their business, you can consider a number of potty hygiene solutions. For instance, you can take a look at our Potty Buddy Reusable Diapers, a comfy and secure choice for older pups who struggle with holding their pee.
A thing as simple as a change in routine can throw your dog and evoke emotional distress or confusion, which as result can upset their toileting habits. Routine is incredibly important for dogs, they learn best through repetition even a small change in their routine can cause issues.
If you choose to crate your dog when you aren’t home, then as soon as you let them out they make a beeline to pee on your carpet instead, then the cause and consequence of this is obvious.
Your dog will naturally want to avoid eliminating in the area they’re sleeping or resting - so as soon as they’re free to move around, and perhaps a little desperate for the toilet after being left for a prolonged period, they may then choose the closest area which isn’t their crate…your carpet!
It’s an absorbent, dry space away from their crate - why wouldn’t they want to pee on your carpet?
Now we know the reasons why, how can we go about fixing the problem of your dog peeing on your carpet?
No one wants dog pee on their rugs, or the smell to linger around their home, so we’ve put together a list of our favorite tips and tricks for keeping your carpets dog-pee free:
First things first, if your dog is exhibiting unwanted toilet behaviors, it might be worth going back to a more structured potty training routine to solidify the rules for them and ensure they know when and where to pee.
Some dogs may experience potty training regression, and this is nothing to be ashamed about. Just start from scratch and build a solid foundation to reinforce your dog’s understanding and confidence to “know where to go”.
It could be that your dog just isn’t being let outside enough. Letting your dog out every few hours, or more if needed, will give them the opportunity to do their business as and when they need. Regular walks will also ensure your dog gets adequate opportunity to do their business.
Even if your dog isn’t pacing at the door to be allowed outside to go to the toilet, we’d still recommend taking them out regularly and encouraging them to go potty with a command such as “go potty!” or “toilet time!” to reinforce that they should use this opportunity to pee or poo outdoors.
One of the best tools in the fight against unwanted pee puddles is a watchful eye. When you find you have a prolonged period of time at home with your dog, keeping a close eye on them will allow you to quickly intercept any unwanted toilet behaviors and take them outside. This repeated behavior should help your dog realize that peeing on the carpets is a big no.
If you’re unable to keep an eye on your dog 24/7, a number of pet cameras have the ability to alert you to when your dog is about to go to the toilet indoors. You can then consider using the microphone function to disrupt this behaviour.
Finding a dog-safe carpet spray or repellent to deter your dog from peeing on your rug or carpets can be super effective. There are a whole bunch of products on the pet market that can help with this, but alternatively you can consider making your own with all-natural ingredients to be a bit more eco-friendly.
Citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges have proved particularly effective in repelling dogs from peeing where they shouldn’t, due to their strong scents.
Again, if you’d like to create your own repellent at-home, this can be easily done in just a few steps with only a handful of ingredients. Dogs are particularly aversive to the strong scents of vinegar and citrus scents, making them ideal weapons against unwanted pee.
To make this non-toxic solution you’ll need one of the following:
Vinegar (white distilled)
Lemon juice (or other citrus juice), and
Tap water
And the steps for making up your special dog pee repellent:
Mix approx two tablespoons of vinegar with one and a half cups of water
Add in around 20 drops of your lemon juice
Thoroughly mix
Pour into an empty, clean spray bottle
Finally, how to use your dog pee repellent spray:
Spray on the area of carpet where your dog regularly pees, as the smell should then help to deter your pup from peeing there again
Make sure to mist liberally and keep the area “topped up” if your dog appears to gravitate back towards this spot
One of the most important things to remember, if your dog keeps peeing in unwanted places, is that they will not be doing it on purpose. There will be a reason why they are exhibiting this behavior, and it is our job as pet parents to help them with whatever they may be experiencing.
Punishment, both verbal and physical, are never conducive to a safe and productive training environment, and will only cause your dog to shut down rather than retain the information you want them to.
Likewise, frightening your dog will only lead to further issues, and so when it comes to their training, pups respond best to gentle encouragement, a solid and regular routine that offers repetition as the main learning tool, and lots of cuddles and reassurance.
And the odd tasty treat wouldn’t go amiss either!
Could you Spot if Your Dog Had a Health Issue?
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