Ask Teoti Anderson
Q: Whenever my dog, Rose, or another dog at work gets a new bed, Rose will go over and pee on it right away. She does this to her new beds at home, too, where she is the only dog. Why does she do this and how should I deal with it? I've only once caught her in the act but we all know it's her. – Zachariah, Tucson, AZ.
Dear Zach,
It may be that Rose is marking the bed as "hers." It may be that somewhere along the line she learned it was okay to pee on beds. We can spend hours wondering why, but Rose can't tell us her motivation! Instead, let's spend our energy working on the real problem: Rose isn't housetrained. She thinks it's fine to pee indoors.
Before you address the issue, make sure she's really the culprit, or you will spend your time training the wrong dog! I suggest you start from scratch, as if you were training a puppy to be housetrained, and follow these guidelines:
* Supervise Rose at all times, or confine her if you can't watch her like a hawk. If you give her the freedom to pee on beds, you're setting her up to practice that behaviour. And practice makes perfect! Your goal is to take away any opportunities she has to pee on beds. If you're watching her, then you are in position to prevent the behaviour.
* Place her new bed on the floor and watch her. If she looks like she's about to pee, clip on her leash and rush her outside to potty. If she eliminates outside, praise her and give her a treat.
* If you do catch her peeing on the bed, just use a stern "No!", clip on her leash and run her outside to potty. If she finishes eliminating outside, praise her and give her a treat. Never rub her nose in her mess or use physical punishment with your dog. In addition to a housetraining problem, you could cause an aggression or fear problem. If you don't catch her in the
act, don't bother scolding her later...she won't understand. Instead, work harder to supervise her more closely next time.