Who likes cleaning up dog pee?

No one.

Housebreaking your puppy can be one of the most frustrating parts of training them. You feel like you failed, you aren’t sure why your dog doesn’t understand, and you’re left with a big mess to clean up.

Then, consider that happens several times a day.

There’s no doubt it can be difficult to stop accident. But if you’re wondering how to stop your dog from peeing inside, it’s possible!

The tricks in this post will help you teach your dog to go outside only.

How to Stop Dog From Peeing Inside

If you’re having trouble housebreaking your dog, follow these steps to get results.

#1 Aim for No Inside Pees

So there’s two schools of thoughts around this. Some people think that your dog should only go outside, no matter how young they are. Others think that your dog will pee inside anyway, so teach her to go on a pee pad first, then work your way toward going outside.

Here’s what I found the most helpful: Aim for no inside pees. That’s because, even if on a pee pad, your dog will get used to peeing inside. When you get a puppy, you should aim to spend as much time at home as possible. This is so you can make sure they’re not chewing on things and they’re safe—but also so that you can potty train them.

If you’re not home or go to work and your dog has to be alone, she’ll need to use pee pads or grass. If you can prevent this, it’s a good idea to. If you don’t, it will create another habit your dog will need to unlearn. At the very least, don’t encourage your dog to use the pee pad while youre home. Even if you’re really busy, keep taking her outside, no matter how frequent.

And please, don’t treat pee pads and fake grass boxes as a litter box. If you do, you’ll take the responsibly to making him pee indoors like a cat.

#2 Use a Pee Pad

I know, this contradicts the first rule. But hear me out: Having a pee pad by the front door could be a way to show your dog where to stand when she needs to go out.

For example, I aimed to take my dog out every time he lifted his leg, looked like he was snooping, or if it had been longer than an hour or two and he was due. However, accidents happen. Having those accidents on a pee pad by the front door has taught him to stand there when he needs to go out. And to this day, he still does it.

#3 Hold a Mini Celebration for Outdoor Pees

Your dog has to know peeing outside is the right thing. He’ll catch on easier if you make a really big deal out of it. Praise him with kind works and pets and of course, reward him with a treat for every pee. Positive reinforcement goes a long way in teaching your dog to pee outside. After all, if he gets food each time, why would he waste his urine indoors? He’ll understand peeing inside the house is for newbs.

#4 Go Out Often

When puppies are little, they need to pee very frequently. As I mentioned, try your best to be at home as much as you can during this time. This way, you can take her out constantly and she will learn quicker. Even if your dog isn’t showing any signs that she has to go out, you should still take her out every hour or two. That’s because it will stop inside accidents, which will break the habit of peeing inside.

As your puppy grows, you’ll need to take her outside less and less and it won’t be a constant run outside every hour.

#5 Go for Longer Walks

If you find that you take your puppy outside and she comes right back in and pees inside, try taking her on a longer walk. This way, she’ll find more scents to pee on and get all her urine out. That means she’ll have less pee for inside accidents, which will also make her break her habit sooner.

#6 Take Your Dog to Grass

If you live in a city, it’s a good idea to take your dog to patches of grass to pee. Compared to pavement, dogs often learn better on grass and feel more comfortable there. One reason could be because grass traps a lot more scents than concrete—making her more keen to leave her scent.

#7 Stop Accidents In Motion

If you see your dog peeing inside, stop her but do it without getting angry. Don’t yell. Instead, make a loud noise to distract her enough to stop. This could be a clap or a noise like “ah.” Without being aggressive, this stops your dog in motion.

Next, take her directly outside. Even if you think she’s already got all her urine out inside, she still should be taken outside. This is because she will learn to associate peeing with being outside. If you just leave her to continue playing, she won’t get that memo.

#8 Eliminate Smell

If your dog has peed somewhere inside the home and it’s not cleaned properly, it’s likely he will find the spot later and remark it. To avoid this, eliminate the scent the first time. For example, cleaning with water probably won’t do the trick. Use an appropriate cleaner or something made specifically to remove scent.

If you have a carpet and have tried your best to clean it and your dog still pees there, consider shampooing it using a carpet cleaner. It may be a big job, but if your dog has marked it up enough, it may be the only way to stop your pup from peeing there.

#9 Routine

When it comes to training your dog, routine is one of the most important things. Pups are creatures of habit and if you give them a set of steps, they’ll eventually memorize it. In the beginning, you’ll take out your dog many times each day, so your routine will change in that respect. However, some things remain the same. For example, the time you wake up and take your dog out should remain the same. And, the last pee before bed should remain similar too (you’ll probably need to take her out for some overnight pees though).

Summary of How to Stop Dog from Peeing Inside

Stopping your dog from peeing inside is a learning process full of many tries, failures and cleanups. That’s normal. To ensure your dog is learning more each day, follow the tips in this post. The most important part is to remain consistent! Your canine won’t learn in one day or even a few—but with your patience and love, she’ll catch on soon!