# Sneaking a pee in a certain room - help



## Duke-2009 (Apr 13, 2009)

Duke just turned 5 months. We thought he was fully house trained about 5 weeks ago. However, we have been noticing pee circles on the carpet in our formal living room which is rarely used. We think he is trained, just sneaky as he never does it while we are not around. He has to be doing it when we are out or asleep. We know he can hold it. He also lets us know when he wants to go out.

We have two crates, but we do not lock him in them while away or asleep. If we lock him in while we are out, he throws a complete nutty the whole time we are away. The neighbors confirmed this as he acts like he is being tortured. He sleeps in my sons room with our other dog at night and goes in the crate but is free to come out and sprawl out on the floor. He roams our bedroom area at night and never pees anywhere.

I am thinking of gating off this room. What do you all think?

Joe


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

I think it's time for a vet check. Even if he just had one and everything was stellar. Even if this is the only place he pees indoors. Get him checked for a UTI, or urinary crystals anyway. Puppies DO get UTIs!

Next, try setting his food bowl down, every meal, in the pee zone in that room. (who wants to pee on their kitchen table? Nobody!)









If that fails, go back to the tiny-baby-puppy-housebreaking-schedule. This means crating! You can do this! Limit water intake, puppy is in crate when not ON LEAD in the house with you, and pretend the pup is a tiny baby all over again. This will get the pup back on track!


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## triordan (Dec 5, 2008)

I think 5 months is too young to allow freedom in the house, our almost 8 month old hasn't had an accident in 4 months, but I wouldn't trust him...yet! At night we put a gate up in the hallway just outside our room, he prefers the bathroom floor, nice and cool. During the day he is either gated in the laundry room with the other dog or in his crate if we are gone all day. Are you sure its the pup and not the other dog? Det some good cleaner and clean thoroughly where he had peed, he'll keep going back


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## Duke-2009 (Apr 13, 2009)

I hear you guys on crate training properly. I know this is what we need to do, but he has been a really good pup. Not destructive (other than the usual toilet paper fetish) and very trustworthy when left alone. It's just hard for us to crate him when we go out as he throws a nutty. Night time we definitely could lock him in and he would be fine, but this isn't when he is peeing in our living room! He is definitely doing it while we are out.

I think I will gate off the room and really clean the carpet. It's a mess of circles right now. It's definitely not our other dog.


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

He is peeing because:

1.He thinks your home is HUUUUGE. Really! No matter how "good" he is, he is peeing indoors because of the vast enormous indoor-landscape of your collossal, expansive, humungus, mansion-like villa. (okay, HE sees it that way, even if it is a tiny apartment.. he's a puppy) This is why we crate, not because they are destructive. Mellow Basset hound puppies get crated too... because a home is too BIG for them to think: "I am indoors, I gotta keep my home clean!" If he throws a nutty, ignore it. He is trying to tell you that he sees your home as being large enough for him to find a distant spot to tinkle in. Gating off one room may work-- or he may go in another room. In a crate, he knows: "Ooh! I'm in a lil' house now.. I gotta keep it clean!"

and

2. He thinks it's scary to be a baby 5 month old puppy-baby all alone in the house without Mummy and Daddy there. Creepy noises... is HE supposed to do something about them? When are they coming back? What if they NEVER come back? etc etc. He is too young to be calm left alone without the snug, denlike security of his crate... he is peeing perhaps from anxiety, sending a signal: "MAAAA!! DAAAAD!! HERE I AAAAMMM!!"

Many of us would never allow a 20-week-old puppy free run of the house. Because wether it is because they see the house as too huge to need to be kept clean, or, because of anxiety from not being ready for freedom in the house at such a tender age, they'd pee.


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## StarryNite (Jun 2, 2009)

Hi. My Lulu learned potty training super easy at 3 months, it took her about 3-4 days to "get it" and scratch at the door because I caught her every time she was out of the crate, watched her like a hawk! It then took another two weeks until she stopped pawing at the door every 10-20 minutes to go pee one drop LOL, it was then that I took away the treats for peeing because I realized she just wanted her treat. Now at 4 months she goes a few hours at least before needing to go out and she is not destructive or "crazy" in the house at all either. I STILL won't trust her without being crated until she is at least 6 or 7 months old I am thinking. She does like her crate though, she goes right in when I tell her "go to bed" or "It's time for your nap". I do have a therapeutic doggie mattress in there as well as a bunch of stuffed animals and toys and I also have it covered on 3 sides so it's more like a den for her. I have heard that if dogs get away with peeing even once in an area and don't get caught that they will keep trying it, is there anyway you guys can catch her in the act? Our house isn't huge and she's still afraid to go upstairs so I can pretty much watch Lulu the whole time she is out of the crate even though I mostly trust her now I wouldn't leave her alone for more than a few minutes outside of her crate until I 100% trust her to hold it (I know that she would go to the door even if I wasn't here, it's more a matter of puppies can't or don't want to hold it very long after the urge hits them). 

I think the strict crating or confining is a good idea for at least few more months so that he doesn't keep this up all his life, my sister has a labradoodle who learned to "hide it" when he was young and now a year later they still can't get him out of the habit of sneak peeing (course he is not the sharpest tool in the shed to begin with LOL). The vet check is a good idea as well. 

Good luck, he sure is a beautiful pup!


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## gnusounduave (Apr 20, 2009)

We had that issue and the only thing that worked for us was to make sure all of the doors were closed. Now she can be trusted but I still don't "trust" her. For example when she would make a dash down the hall I would move at break neck speed to catch up to her to see what she's up to. Now if she moves down the hall she's prolly wanting to see what the kids are up to and I can just get up and walk down the hall like normal and see she's only interested in playing with the kids.

However, we still keep the doors closed when nobody is in any rooms just in case.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Duke-2009
> It's a mess of circles right now.


Here's your answer: this is marked as his indoor potty area. Use white vinegar and water to clean the carpet. Let it soak into the pee areas and then blot it up. This will work better than other cleaner but you can use an enzyme cleaner afterward if you want to be safe. Then gate off the area for a long time.


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