Problem with dog peeing on furniture inside, advice needed

indie warrior

Hi need help!!! I have a young male Maltese, will be 2 in August, have had him from 10 weeks old. He is a great little fella except for peeing inside. I'm not sure what we are doing wrong. So he is house dog, we have a low window in our living room which he jumps in and out whenever he wants to jump in and out to do his business, when window is closed he goes to it and let's us know that he wants to go out so we open it, no problem. Problem seems to be if he is left alone in room and window is left open he is peeing up on the table, against the leg of the table or anywhere it would seem he can cock his leg. What are we doing wrong??

Dubl07

How long has this been happening and how did you initially house-train him?

indie warrior

It has been going on for a few months,he trained very well we thought, paper towards the back door etc..... He sleeps in kitchen at night, on occasion he will pee against bin which is beside back door but we put that down to " night accident ", generally goes to bed around 11 pmand let out around 7,15am. Seems to be a problem when he left alone in the room even though window open!! Don't mean he is left alone for long, maybe time it takes to Hoover or take a shower for example??

cocker5

indie warrior wrote: »

It has been going on for a few months,he trained very well we thought, paper towards the back door etc..... He sleeps in kitchen at night, on occasion he will pee against bin which is beside back door but we put that down to " night accident ", generally goes to bed around 11 pmand let out around 7,15am. Seems to be a problem when he left alone in the room even though window open!! Don't mean he is left alone for long, maybe time it takes to Hoover or take a shower for example??

Your dog is nearly 2 you've had him since 10 weeks etc.. He has learned some bad habits and from the sound of it is not properly house trained. It will be easily sorted with time and persistence

The newspaper is a very old and outdated method of training, it confuses the dog hence now why from time to time he's going in the house.

It sounds like he's only alone for a small bit of time, not enough time to warrant peeing in the house.

Is he crate trained?

What do you clean up his pee with?

He shouldn't be having night accidents..

He should still be warning you / waking you up when he needs to go in the middle of the night.

When he pees indoors what do you do / how do u react etc?

Cherry Blossom

If this ia something that has suddenly started a few months ago I would bring him to the vet to rule out medical causes before I do anything else. Is he neutered? It could be that he has reached maturity and has started marking.

indie warrior

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

If this ia something that has suddenly started a few months ago I would bring him to the vet to rule out medical causes before I do anything else. Is he neutered? It could be that he has reached maturity and has started marking.

No he is not neutered, he mainly in house and not off lead when walked. Tbh it is probably going on longer then a few months, now it seems like bad habit. When he does it or when I notice he did it I let him know by my voice that he is bold. Not sure how to rectify this bad habit now. This is our first dog so we didn't have a lot of experience, we probably baby him too much?? Maybe when I am going out of the room I should put him out the back?

indie warrior

cocker5 wrote: »

Your dog is nearly 2 you've had him since 10 weeks etc.. He has learned some bad habits and from the sound of it is not properly house trained. It will be easily sorted with time and persistence

The newspaper is a very old and outdated method of training, it confuses the dog hence now why from time to time he's going in the house.

It sounds like he's only alone for a small bit of time, not enough time to warrant peeing in the house.

Is he crate trained?

What do you clean up his pee with?

He shouldn't be having night accidents..

He should still be warning you / waking you up when he needs to go in the middle of the night.

When he pees indoors what do you do / how do u react etc?

Thanks for reply. No we don't use a crate. I clean up pee with antibacterial spray / disinfectant. The night accidents and daytime whem he in kitchen where he sleepd when we are out are very few. It is the peeing on my dining room table and chairs and around sitting room is the big issue!

Dubl07

Everyone makes mistakes when training but you've asked for help so let's take it step by step. He's peed a lot inside the house by now. On paper when training, on the bin, on the furniture. He's not really house trained and doesn't know what he's doing is wrong. He's not being bold, just doing what comes naturally so don't scold him. It's not his fault.

Once you've taken him to the vet to rule out any health issues, I'd suggest you start with a few main approaches:
Enzymatic cleaner (I use Vanish - there's a pet version) or if you can possibly afford it, a professional clean of any carpets and furniture he's gone on, given the length of time it's been happening. Then spot clean any accidents as and when, again with an enzymatic cleaner. If you don't clean really well, the dog can smell the old scent and will be triggered to go there again.
Restart training. Don't rely on him using the window - take him out regularly after sleep and meals and find a command like "go pee" then praise, praise, praise and reward.
Consider a crate at night while you're retraining. If he's in a confined area, he will be unlikely to soil it. His bladder is much bigger than that of a pup's so he'll be able to hold it, particularly if he learns where he's meant to go.

indie warrior

Dubl07 wrote: »

Everyone makes mistakes when training but you've asked for help so let's take it step by step. He's peed a lot inside the house by now. On paper when training, on the bin, on the furniture. He's not really house trained and doesn't know what he's doing is wrong. He's not being bold, just doing what comes naturally so don't scold him. It's not his fault.

Once you've taken him to the vet to rule out any health issues, I'd suggest you start with a few main approaches:
Enzymatic cleaner (I use Vanish - there's a pet version) or if you can possibly afford it, a professional clean of any carpets and furniture he's gone on, given the length of time it's been happening. Then spot clean any accidents as and when, again with an enzymatic cleaner. If you don't clean really well, the dog can smell the old scent and will be triggered to go there again.
Restart training. Don't rely on him using the window - take him out regularly after sleep and meals and find a command like "go pee" then praise, praise, praise and reward.
Consider a crate at night while you're retraining. If he's in a confined area, he will be unlikely to soil it. His bladder is much bigger than that of a pup's so he'll be able to hold it, particularly if he learns where he's meant to go.

Appreciate your advice, thank you. You are correct I guess he is not house trained. I will get some cleaner later. Keep the window closed and take him out the back and praise and reward him. I don't like the idea of the crate, would he hate it now after having much freedom? Thank you for your advice ?

Dubl07

indie warrior wrote: »

Appreciate your advice, thank you. You are correct I guess he is not house trained. I will get some cleaner later. Keep the window closed and take him out the back and praise and reward him. I don't like the idea of the crate, would he hate it now after having much freedom? Thank you for your advice ?

You'll need to watch him like a hawk for a while. If he's signalling that he wants the window open so he can go out, take him out and when he goes, use the cue word and reward.

A crate can actually be a cosy little sanctuary for a dog; read up or ask for advice on getting him used to it. Don't just plonk him in there! It needs to be his choice aided by feeding him there with goodies. Ours is left open for about 23 hours a day on average and my dog is happy to use it as a den.
Jebb Tools do crates at much better prices than bricks and mortar shops. They fold down for transport. Training your dog to be comfortable in a crate can make life so much easier if you're away for a weekend or if your dog even needs to be crated in the vets.

As long as it's not a medical issue, the peeing shouldn't be that difficult to remedy. Short term you'll have a bit of work to do but there'll be a great relief for all involved in the near future. He won't be scolded, you won't be mopping.

Most people here are only too glad to help a dog and its family live in harmony. Always ask.

Dubl07

In case it all sounds a bit much, btw, I'm not a trainer or anything - just another owner of a pet dog. I've read up, been to training with our dog and asked for a lot of advice in my time. :-)

indie warrior

Dubl07 wrote: »

In case it all sounds a bit much, btw, I'm not a trainer or anything - just another owner of a pet dog. I've read up, been to training with our dog and asked for a lot of advice in my time. :-)

Thank you for your advice. We will start again and hope it works. He is an adorable little fella, one of the family so please God this will work!