How do I keep my dog from peeing where I don't want him to?

May 19, 2006 4:25 PM

How do I keep my dog from peeing where I don't want him to?

The wife 'n' dog 'n' I are going to a fancy hotel in two weeks and I'm a little concerned that while the place is dog friendly and we booked a dog-specific room, he's going to pee all over the place and embarass us terribly.

He's a good dog and he doesn't pee inside our house. He does, however, pee everywhere else In the doggie daycare office, other people's houses, etc... basically, he means well, but I think there are few things he likes more than marking new turf.

For what it's worth, the dog and I have a decent master-pet relationship. He's generally pretty good on the leash and that kinda thing.

Any strategies for avoiding this kind of thing? Are there exercises I can try?

posted by ph00dz to pets & animals (10 comments total)

The book "Good owners, Great dogs" by Kilcommons and Wilson has a related passage on page 199. They claim that you can prevent your dog from urinating on everything outside by starting your walks with back and forths in front on your home. Then after he urinates three times while telling him "hurry up" say "let's go" and start walking. During the walk, whenever he tries to sniff in preparation for peeing, say, "leave it".

My advice: Two weeks isn't a lot, but basically, in that time you can train your dog not to pee whenever you say "leave it". When you dog follows your command, give a treat (click and trick, if you are doing click training). Then, when your dog is getting the idea, bring him to a new place and run the exercise... hopefully the hotel room is just another new place.
posted by about_time at 4:45 PM on May 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

&ASSORTMENProlly not a long-term solution, but to safeguard your hotel room:

Dognap(py) him!
posted by rob511 at 4:50 PM on May 19, 2006

&ASSORTMEN — WTF?!
posted by rob511 at 4:52 PM on May 19, 2006

Our experience is similar. We used to visit local pet stores with our male dog. With all those exotic smells, he would inevitably mark.

Here's how I worked with him: At the store entrance, we stop. I place my hand under his chin, holding his head up, and I lower my body to make clear eye contact from a close proximity, at most 12 inches between his eyes and my eyes. Then I say, 'no pee pee,' using a firm and calm tone, twice. Then we walk in. During training, if you sense he might be tempted, reinforce with same routine, on the spot.

Pet stores are great for practice. Sets a boundary, provides much temptations, and if during training mistakes are made, pet stores know how to handle clean ups.
posted by MD06 at 5:08 PM on May 19, 2006

Yeah, the key to this is not letting your dog mark when you walk him outside. Train him that urination is a one time deal (in a dedicated spot), and any squirts outside of this time and place are not allowed. It will take a lot of time to untrain this behavior though... good luck.
posted by knave at 5:35 PM on May 19, 2006

If he only pees in unfamiliar places, you need to train him in unfamiliar places. Take him to a designated spot and wait for him to pee. If he does, praise the crap out of him, but don't take him inside emmediately afterwards. Continue to take him to this spot so he can smell his own scent, and continue to do this. If you catch him peeing somewhere you don't want, like in someone's house, or a petstore like MD06 suggested, interrupt him and quickly take him outside. If he finishes outside, praise him. Like all pets, it will take time. Just remember not to hit him at all :)
posted by lain at 6:35 PM on May 19, 2006

The pet store is a good idea, md06 -- it's not like friends are jumping forward to let our dog learn at their place. Maybe I'll give that a try this weekend, see how he does.

Most of the unfamiliar places we go are outside, so it's been all good in terms of him relieving himself wherever he wants.
posted by ph00dz at 9:12 PM on May 19, 2006

You might want to line your hotel room with something like this: puppy training pads
posted by overanxious ducksqueezer at 9:42 PM on May 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

I would strongly advise against pee pads. You're just going to teach him that it's okay to pee indoors if he uses them and it will create confusion later. I would recommend teaching him a cue word to eliminate and emptying him out before you go indoors. Crating him when he's not being watched will give him a secure environment to play in and he won't go inside the crate because the inclination to not pee in your resting spot is a strong deterrent. A good way to get your dog to enjoy crating is to take a kong stuffed with treats and lock it in the crate with your dog outside. He'll beg to get in, and once you let him in will happily dive into the feast.

If you're worried about him marking while you're passing through a high traffic area like the lobby, carry him.
posted by hindmost at 10:11 PM on May 19, 2006

We crate him and whatnot... so yeah, basic discipline isn't really a problem. I can't really imagine using those pads. It sounds.... gross.

He's a 100 pound Yellow Lab, so that dog can generate a lot of urine. (That also rules out carrying him.)

We walk or go out running pretty much every day, so I've got a fair amount of time to work with him. We already work on basic leash skills every morning -- and he's responding really well to that, so just working with him on the "leave it" command should probably be something he can accomplish in that amount of time.

When I involve treats in the training, that dog learns pretty fast.
posted by ph00dz at 5:41 AM on May 20, 2006