I've had it with the pee'ing and I'm getting tile floor. Can you get tile that looks

like wood?

My dogs are good sometimes and other times they are terrible. Now that it is the rainy season they have pee'd all over the carpet in my room and I am running out of de-pee'ing stuff and motivation. I have mexican tile in the living room and kitchen and tile in one other room. I only have one other room that has carpet and I'm thinking about getting that removed also.

I can't stand it anymore. I'd put in wood floors but I'm afraid they would ruin them. I've always had little dogs and they are on and off with the going out thing. I have a dog door but apparently they have preferred the bedroom for the last couple weeks and it stinks to high Hell in there! :banghead:

Anyone have any ideas? Oh and I have put puppy training pads all over the house and they pee right next to them.

It comes in planks about 10" wide by 3-4' long. Because it's laminate, it's quite resistant to liquids. Prices usually range from about 60c to $2 per square foot.

When my dog was a pup, I kept her in a crate while I was gone and at night (and some during the evening while I was home, but that didn't last long), and she became well trained. I didn't really like keeping her in such a small, confined space, but it was better than having a house full of dog pee.

We had it installed two years ago and it's pee-proof. Very easy to clean and doesn't scratch like wood.

Also recommend crating or limiting the dogs to a small area when you aren't home. We keep ours in the laundry room off the kitchen. They know the command, "Go in your room" and will even come downstairs at bedtime and go in on their own.

Do not give them free rein of the house as they will go return to their pee spots even if you think you have cleaned it thoroughly. The smell gets into the carpet pad, even the under flooring. We had to replace the plywood under the laminate in one room because of the pee stains (from a previous dog).

i have genuine pergo laminate on some floors, genuine hardwood on others

some of you may have heard of katrina, but to make a long story short, the laminate had to be replaced, the genuine hardwood was (and still is) just fine

consider the description of the dogs in question i would not go w. either, i would go saltilla, quarry tile, or something like that...but if i did want a wood floor, NEVER laminate, it will eventually delaminate if you let it get wet (as you will find out, i think you're prob. lucky to go 2 years with no problems if you really have tested it w. dog pees on the floor)

May have to be removed as well to remove the scent. Even if you can't smell it with whatever you use to clean, they will.

The crate is based on the principle that dogs don't sleep where they pee and poo. Although they don't find the odor as objectionable as we do, because to them, it's just another smell. Hey, they eat poo, you know, and a lot of other things, it's just an experience to them.

I had a dog that decided the hallway between the living room and the bath, was out of sight enough to do her business there. It was driving me nuts cleaning up, and it wasn't even carpet, it was vinyl.

So the vet told me to buy a crate for the living room, and it was the largest size there was, and I put a table top on it to use it as a table in between chairs. That's where the dog had to be until they learned to hold it and not go somewhere else in the night. It was not happy the first few nights, and neither was I with the crying and everything, but the crate had a nice blanket and toys.

She began to regard it as its own personal cave or place to lay down during the day, too, with the door open. And she didn't feel less loved or ostracized, it was just her own sofa bed. She never soiled the crate, period and got into the routine of going in there every night without fail.

But I have literally seen pee right next to the dog door. I think when the rainy season comes they don't like the wet grass.

http://www.petco.com/product/110957/Pet-Loo-Replacement-Pet-Grass-for-Dogs.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

It's a synthetic grass mat to use indoors. I saw one in use on "It's Me or the Dog", but never used one for our dogs.

I don't know how many you have or what breed they are, if there are tterritorial issues between them, making them determined to mark their place. Or they may have urinary problems that can be alleviated by a change in diet or tests from the vet.

But don't forget, it's your living space too, and you are the one being affected and stressed out. Apparently they think you approve of what they're doing, or they would not do it. There's a great book called 'Good Owners, Great Dogs,' that might help. Although I suspect you're a great owner, anything to help...

Good luck.

There's no reason for you to live like this. How often do you take them out?

the dog door. During the day I just leave it to them to go through the dogs door when they have to pee. I walk them sporadically, (about 3-4 times/week)

They are chihuahuas. I have heard that the little dogs are harder to train.

I swear I've been having this problem since the rainy season with the thunderstorms. I know they don't like to pee on the grass because they will go outside and pee on the concrete,

Good thing I love the little shits.

The laminate looks good except for the one person that said it won't work.

staggered like a real hardwood floor.

But they may be other types of stains a few seconds after applying.

I love tile. I will never have carpet in my house again. It sucks when I drop a glass or a plate, but I have a dog and a cat and it's worth it.

They need to be confined and re-trained concerning where it is appropriate and not appropriate to go to the bathroom. Since you have two dogs, you will need two crates as long as you are certain that it's both of them going to the bathroom all over the house (and it more than likely is both of them). They will be perfectly happy in separate crates if they are directly side by side. They MUST have separate crates for housebreaking purposes. Though Frawley from Leerburg prefers the plastic carrier type crates, I have a lot more success with and much prefer the wire cage type crates for several reasons...

1) Plastic retains odors, so if a dog messes in the crate by accident it's a hell of a lot bigger cleaning problem since the odor must be neutralized.

2) I have Akitas which grow to be big dogs though as pups they are quite small, and the wire crates usually come with a separator so you can section off the right size for the dog as he grows eliminating the need to keep buying larger and larger sized crates.

3) Air flow is far better with a wire crate, and because Akitas have a thick double coat the wire crates don't retain their own body heat where the plastic crates do retain quite a bit which is a big problem for any kind of dog with a heavy coat.

4) The wire crates are MUCH heavier and MUCH more durable... I've heard many stories of dogs that hated the crating at first so much that when throwing themselves at the side of a plastic crate they managed to tip it over, they managed to actually chew through the plastic trying to get out (cutting up their lips and gums), etc. Thankfully my dogs never hated their crates other than the first few days and certainly not anywhere near that much.

5) The wire crates are collapsible, so they are far more easily stored or put in a car for traveling.

6) Some dogs feel much more comfortable in a crate where they have full vision of what's going on in the room whereas plastic crates severely restrict their vision... both my dogs were much happier when it was easier for them to see what was going on outside their crates when they were in them. But some dogs may be happier with less visibility, so with a wire crate you still have the option to restrict their vision by covering part of the crate with a blanket or something (good idea to have the crate in a corner - but not right up against walls - so you can more easily restrict vision but still have full air flow).

7) Wire crates often have a plastic bottom that slides out for easy cleaning... you can just stand it up in the bathtub to clean it whereas a plastic crate is a single unit so the whole thing must be taken outside to be cleaned (unless you have a really small dog with a really small crate) and cleaning the inside is a real pain especially if it's a larger sized crate. In cold or rainy weather this is really really not fun.

Here is a lot of examples of different mostly wire type crates...
http://www.petsmart.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2767175&sr=1&origkw=dog%20crate
As you can see with each one there is a price range... the smaller the crate, the lower the price. Also, the smaller the crate the smaller the thickness of the wires. Since I have the largest sized crate for my big beastie, the wires are very thick and even he with his amazingly strong jaws can't bend them a bit.

This should help to housebreak your dogs properly...
http://leerburg.com/housebrk.htm
Read every word including all the questions and answers.

Pay special attention to the paper training/puppy pads info...

Paper Training -

Let me say a few words about "paper breaking," or should I say against it. As I said before, a dog learns by association and if you allow him to do his duties in the house on paper you are telling him in effect that it is all right to do it within the four walls of the house - you are making this association in his mind - so later when you expect him to do his duties outside, he may think you are a little crazy and you can't blame him. Any healthy pup 8 weeks of age or older, even in cold weather, can go outside. Of course you don't leave him out long enough to get chilled. You take him out just long enough to do his duties. These potty pads that seem to be popular are just plain stupid. Anyone who uses these is creating his or her own problems. Get a dog crate and use it.

With all of this said there is always the occasional pup who will pee and poop in the crate. No matter how often you take him outside. This usually happens because of the living conditions the dog has before you got it. If the {puppy} litter was not kept clean then the pup has learned to be a pig. All you can do is continue on - its a pain to clean the crate and the dog. But eventually they will catch on. Unfortunately most of these dogs never get that chance because they seal their fate by their unclean actions. I recently had a friend who raised her own litter and the pups were kept impeccably clean. One male she kept took 6 months before he would stop peeing in the crate at night. She got up in the middle of the night for months before the problem went away. So the moral of the story is that you need to do EVERYTHING right and even then things can go wrong. We are dealing with animals and sometimes they defy our good sense.

With a little effort on your part and the use of this method {crate training} the puppy can be housebroken very quickly. But remember there is more than peeing and pooping in the house that goes along with housebreaking. Allowing a dog to be loose when you are gone is a little crazy unless you are 100% sure the dog will not chew your walls, your shoes, your furniture or anything else it takes a liking to. SO KEEP YOUR DOGS IN DOG CRATES until they are 18 to 24 months old. I should post some of the story's I get through email of dogs eating couches. Couches and chairs seem to be a delicacy.


Some specifics that aren't mentioned in the linked article...

The Crate:

1) The size of the crate should be JUST big enough so that the dog can stand, sit, lie down fully and turn around comfortably but NO MORE. If it is even a little bit too big you may have the problem of the dog using one corner of the crate to go to the bathroom in.

2) NEVER place the crate where at any time of the day it will be in sunlight. A dog should NEVER be subjected to direct sunlight that it can't get away from ESPECIALLY if a plastic crate is used since they retain massive amounts of heat. The crate should always be in a space that is always at a relatively constant temperature and amount of light. A darker area is better than a bright area because a darker area helps to promote calmness.

3) Since you're trying to housebreak the dogs with the crates they cannot have access to water or food when they're in them.

4) At first, don't put any bedding in the crate for the dog until you know how they feel about it. Since they've not been confined like this before they very well may be outraged in the beginning and chew up any kind of bedding in the crate out of frustration, bits of which they may swallow and cause health problems. Once they seem to be tolerating the crate well, you can try putting in a small towel or rag or something like that that you don't mind having destroyed if they're so inclined. If they do fine with that then you can consider whether or not you want to put in some kind of pad or bed for their comfort, but make it something that they can shove aside easily if they feel like laying on the bare plastic bottom. Some dogs prefer to lay on a hard surface, some prefer bedding of some soft type, and some decide either/or depending on their whim. Make sure whatever bedding is used is easily cleaned and that you clean it often. Until you are sure they aren't going to have an accident in the crate don't give them any bedding unless it's something you don't mind throwing away if it gets peed or pooped on. Washing it and putting it back in if it gets any bit of pee or poo on it is only going to teach them it's ok to to pee and poo in the crate because washing alone is not going to eliminate every trace of the odor of pee or poo. In all honesty, when using the crate for housebreaking purposes I don't recommend any bedding unless it's some kind of old towel or rag that you don't have a problem tossing right into the trash if it gets even a trace of pee or poo on it. Once they are housebroken and you want them to continue to use the crate when they like or when you need to keep them confined for some other reason, bedding is fine.

Timing:

1) The dog doesn't have to stay in the crate all the time if you are diligent. As long as you watch the dogs in the house, they can be out of the crate at those times when they have just recently gone to the bathroom and gotten everything out and aren't eating or drinking - BUT this means you must WATCH them the whole time. Shut them into the same room with you to make sure they can't get out of your sight. It's pretty much guaranteed that if the dog notices that you aren't paying attention to them for a few seconds they will use that few seconds to make a mess in the house.

2) When the dogs come out of the crate to go outside to do their business, they must go IMMEDIATELY from the crate to the outside... no stopping, no pausing, no meandering. If you have to, quickly put on their leashes while they are still in the crate to make them go right from the crate to the outside.

3) Always go out the same door when taking the dogs out to do their business, and keep the crates as close to that door as possible so they won't have far to travel. This also teaches the dog that when they want to tell you they need to do their business they will always go to that same door. Hang their leashes on or right next to a different door (if you have one) so they can learn to tell you they want to go out to play or walk by going to their leash EVEN IF they don't always go outside to do that on a leash (this is a pretty easy thing to train them to do). Even though my dog almost always goes through the back door to either go to the bathroom or to play or to be taken for a walk or just hang out he knows that when he wants to go out to go to the bathroom he tells me by going to the back door, but because I hang his leash at the front door and taught him to go to his leash to tell me he wants to go outside to play or walk or relax he still goes to the front door where the leash hangs even though we almost always go out the back door for everything.

4) Use the word "out" to mean only outside for going to the bathroom... going outside to walk or play or whatever should be another word. This way they will always know when you ask them if they want to go "out" they know they are expected to do their business and will learn not to diddle around in the yard for ages without going to the bathroom. If they already associate the word "out" with going outside to do whatever, use a new word (that they don't already associate with something else) that they will only associate with going outside specifically to do their business. This will get rid of that annoying problem of taking the dogs out to go to the bathroom and they putz around the yard not going to the bathroom especially if you are in a rush and need them to hurry up and get to it.

It is sometimes very helpful to make up a word for certain commands. Dogs have a much more extensive vocabulary than most people realize, and sometimes it makes it much easier to define for them specific important things by using a made up word that they aren't likely going to hear in your other conversations. It can really make things much easier. For example, I don't use the word "out" when telling my dog he needs to go outside and do his business because I find I use that word a lot in other conversations and he picks up on it. So instead I use the word "pee-pee"... sounds silly, I know, but it's not a word I'm likely ever to use in other random conversations, so he knows if he hears that word EVERY TIME it means it's time to go out and do his business (whether it's pooping or peeing) and he isn't hearing it because I used it in some other random conversation. Likewise, it's easier if when saying any command word you always use a certain tone and inflexion. This just makes it easier for the dog to be certain that when you use a certain word in a certain way EVERY TIME it means something specific to the dog.


The housebreaking is going to the the easy part... the hard part is cleaning and odor neutralizing their previous messes. Since you have for some time given the dogs free reign of the house and they've gone to the bathroom where ever they felt like it, you're in for a LOT of expensive cleaning and odor neutralizing. Especially since they are small dogs there are probably going to be lots of places they've gone to the bathroom that you have no idea of. I'm a good deal more lucky with having a big beastie because if he were to make a mess in the house there's no way I'm not going to know where he's done it... he pees practically a gallon and that much pee is going to make a HUGE wet stain and stink like crazy. But since I properly housebroke him when he was a pup, in his whole life he's only had 3 accidents... once when I was housebreaking him and wasn't diligent about getting him immediately outside and a couple of times when he was sick and had uncontrollable diarrhea (thank heavens both those times he did it right by the back door which is in the kitchen so he didn't mess on carpeting).

Understand that odor neutralizing means totally eliminating the odor TO THE DOG. Though you may stick your nose right in the carpet where the dog has previously done his business and can't detect a thing, the dog CAN. And dogs always want to go to the bathroom in those spots that they can smell they have gone to the bathroom before. Therefore, you need to buy odor neutralizer that totally eliminates the odor so that even the dog can't detect it, and it must be used exactly as the directions say. I hate to say it, but it appears that you will have to clean and odor neutralize ALL your floors in the whole house. This is going to be a MAJOR project, so much so that you may end up better off replacing carpeting in some rooms all together.

You CAN re-train a dog of any age, and it's not hard and usually very surprisingly fast. You just have to be absolutely diligent and ALWAYS follow all the rules on how to do it. Cut corners and you'll only end up screwing yourself.

PM me any time if you need help while re-training.