Prevent

Once we get to know our dog’s “I neeed to go potty” cues, it makes it a lot easier for us to tell when they’re asking to go out. Until then, keeping our pup tethered to us on a drag line may help us notice their requests to go outside.

Schedule

Keeping our dog’s eating and sleeping routine as close to a regular schedule as possible can help us predict their elimination time. When time allows, it doesn’t hurt to offer your doggy a potty break after a nap, big drink of water, mealtime, and play time. To prevent solid waste accidents, do not wait more than two hours after meal time before a break. Dogs have very efficient digestive systems! Occasionally withholding water overnight during training may help, but take extra caution to have water available at all other times. Try incorporating more moisture into their food and use toys that hold frozen liquid like water or broth to keep them hydrated in between trips to the water bowl.

Manage

With dogs experiencing incontinence, you may want to consider additional potty training tools such as potty pads, diapers/belly bands, or even recovery suits for dogs that are prone to removing such accessories. Reusable potty pads or potty pad alternatives such as the Weasy Smart Potty can be safer options for dogs that prefer to shred and digest disposable potty pads. Installing doggy doors or even temporary solutions for sliding glass doors can help your dog access their outdoor potty area as needed. Training your dog to use a bell to alert when they need to potty can be tricky, but worth the time!

Uh-oh.. After an accident has already happened:

Pre-Treat

Wet urine on carpet: Absorb as much of the urine as possible BEFORE attempting to clean the area. Blot paper towels or plain white rags over the puddle by firmly pressing the soiled area to extract the liquid. No rubbing or scrubbing in this phase! We’re trying to pull what we can without spreading it further. Once you’re no longer seeing liquid getting absorbed into the towels when blotting, place a layer of towels over the stain and place a flat, heavy object on top to help further extract the remaining liquid. I recommend the heavy object be something non-absorbent so it doesn’t pick up any potty smells! A metal boot tray has worked well for me, as the completely flat bottom gives a lot of surface area to work with and I can put heavier items on top to help with the extraction process. I tend to leave this for at least an hour, but if it is in an area where I can restrict access from the pup-itrator, I might leave the heavy object and towels on top of the wet stain overnight. Then, it should become..

Dry urine on carpet: Generously sprinkle baking soda on top of the stain and let it sit for a couple of hours. Vacuum up the baking soda or sweep it up with a broom if it pulled excess moisture. Re-apply baking soda and let it sit at least another half hour, but the longer the better if I can keep the pets off of it. If the second round of baking soda still appears clean and dry after sitting on the stain for half an hour, use a broom to gently brush it deeper into the carpet fibers. Let it sit as long as you can and then vacuum the baking soda up before moving onto the next step.

Treat and treat again

So we’ve absorbed as much of the stain as possible using the extraction methods above, and now we’re dealing with a smaller, dryer, stain. Make sure all the baking soda is vacuumed up, as it can impede the efficacy of enzymatic carpet cleaners. Please be sure to do a spot test when trying out a new cleaner so you can be sure it is compatible with your carpet. Using an enzyme cleaner, spray the stain just until wet. If you apply too much liquid cleaner, you can encourage the urine to penetrate the carpet padding or even flooring below. Avoid oversaturating during this initial application! Follow the directions, usually to let it sit on the stain for a couple of hours and then vacuum once dry. However, I like to let it sit for a few hours and then check with my blacklight to see where the stain still needs additional applications. Again, just a light layer of the cleaner a few times will be much more effective than just dousing the spot once! We want to erase the stain rather than drive it deeper so our pets aren’t tempted to eliminate there again. A great way to help pull out the stain once it has been broken down by the cleaner is to use a wet vacuum. The portability and storability of Bissell’s Little Green Machine is a personal favorite, and I feel like it brings out more of the stain than I could ever do by hand. For many stains in a larger area, I would spot-vacuum the stains and then go over the whole carpet before allowing it to dry and moving on to the next step.

Protect

Once we’ve treated the stain enough times to no longer see evidence via blacklight, you may wish to use a carpet protectant such as Scotch Guard to create an additional layer of protection before the next accident happens. Check your carpet manufacturer’s cleaning directions before testing a new product. Try adding washable rugs on top of your dog’s favorite elimination spots to deter re-soiling, but also provide potty pads in each area you’re noticing being used as a bathroom until potty training is complete. Placing your dog’s items near areas you want them to stop eliminating near might help, as they tend to choose spots that are out of the way or infrequently occupied. Gating off areas or closing rooms that are difficult to supervise can go a long way to reducing the dog’s potty radius!

Reward!

Congrats! Your back is probably sore from all the time spent stooping over potty stains, but at least you’ve now removed the scent that is giving your dog potty time signals! Give yourself a break and cuddle with your pup. Any time you see them even glance at the door, verbally praise them and let them outside for a couple minutes and watch for them to eliminate. If they don’t, bring them back in but keep an extra close eye on them and immediately bring them back out should they start sniffing and circling indoors. Always be happy when they potty outside or even on a potty pad, as they are doing the right thing in that case! Don’t bother getting upset at a stain you just discovered, as your dog has already forgotten about it. If you happen to catch your dog actively urinating, try to shove a potty pad under their stream or clap your hands to hopefully surprise them into stopping, then immediately take them outside to finish eliminating. I haven’t had much luck carrying actively peeing doggies outside.. This usually ends up with a long trail of pee to be cleaned up later. When your dog is outside or on the potty pad and actively urinating, calmly say something like ‘potty-potty-potty’ over and over again until urination is complete. Once they’re done, verbally praise with ‘good potty!’ We never want dogs to think peeing is ‘bad’. Elimination is a natural behavior even we humans sometimes have no control over! So catching them peeing where we have decided is okay for them to go will help them go there again. Punishing them for peeing anywhere might increase the chances of them waiting to pee until we’re not looking, even if that means in the house.

Bonus: Use sniff-games to instigate elimination! Playing nose and scent work games outside can encourage a dog to smell a good spot to go potty. Always verbally praise using your potty cue, but don’t get so excited that they get surprised into stopping! 🤣