How To Stop Dog From Peeing On Carpet?

Are you tired of cleaning up your carpet all the time?

There is nothing worse than walking into a room and smelling urine odor. Not only does it smell bad, but dog pee can stain carpets giving them an ugly look.

Dogs pee on carpets for various reasons like excitement when they get to see us after being gone for a long period, certain medical conditions, or simply because they love us so much that they just want attention from us.

There are a few things you can do to stop your dog from peeing on the carpet. You can try using deterrents to keep them from going in that area, put on a belly band if they have issues with incontinence, or use pee pads in a specific spot. However, the most effective solution is regular potty training.

Does Dog Pee Ruin Carpet Anyway?

If you are dealing with a dog who pees on the carpet, one of the questions on the top of your mind is whether dog pee can actually ruin your carpet. Here’s what dog pee does to your carpet.

Stained Carpet

The most obvious damage that dog pee can do to your carpet is leaving stains that can be very difficult to remove.

The chemicals from the dog pee react with your carpet’s fabric and dye, resulting in permanent stains that leave your carpet looking ugly.

Bad Smell

Dog pee also results in a strong, unpleasant smell on your carpet. This pungent smell is caused by the high amount of ammonia contained in your dog’s urine.

As the pee dries, the water evaporates, leaving behind ammonia that is even more concentrated. This causes the bad smell to get worse with time.

In the next section, we’ll cover how to get rid of the bad smell. 

Bacteria And Other Microorganisms

The wet spots created by dog pee create an environment that is conducive to the growth of microorganisms and bacteria.

With time, these bacteria and microorganisms can create health problems for you and the people within your household, such as allergies, watery eyes, sinusitis, airway inflammation, and so on.

Dangerous Mold

If your furry friend pees on the carpet regularly, the pee can gradually soak through into the carpet padding. The moisture caused by this soaked urine can lead to the formation of mold beneath your carpet.

This is something you don’t want since some types of mold are dangerous and can lead to health problems.

What Gets Rid Of The Smell Of Dog Urine?

We have already seen that one of the problems of dog pee on your carpet is the unpleasant smell. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to get rid of the bad smell, such as:

Immediately Blot The Pee

The first thing you should do when you notice that your canine pal has wet the carpet is to find some clean towels to blot the pee.

The point here is to get rid of the urine before it soaks into your carpet fabric. Doing this will make it easier for you to get rid of the smell.

Use Baking Soda

Baking soda is a natural deodorizer. It helps to absorb the odor and clean the dog urine.

Simply sprinkle the baking soda on the urine stain, leave it overnight, and then vacuum the spot to get rid of the smell.

Use Vinegar

Vinegar, on the other hand, contains an acid that breaks down the smell of dog pee.

Just spray the wet spot with vinegar, leave it for a few minutes, then blot the vinegar with clean towels.

Use Pet Odor Eliminators

Image from Bissell

You can also use commercial pet odor eliminators to get rid of the smell of dog urine. Pet odor eliminators contain enzymes and bacteria that break down and digest the organic compounds in your dog’s pee. 

Once all the organic compounds have been broken down and digested, the smell dissipates. By totally eliminating the smell of dog pee, pet odor eliminators can also stop your dog from peeing on the carpet.

For more commercial solutions, follow this link to read more about how to eliminate the smell of dog pee from your carpet.

Why Is My Dog Peeing On The Carpet?

There are several reasons behind your dog peeing on the carpet. These include:

Marking

If your dog pees on brand new carpets, this is because the dog is trying to mark the carpet and make it familiar. If you are wondering how to keep your dog from peeing on a new rug, the best approach is to spray the rug with vinegar or lemon juice mixed with water.

Peeing On Carpet At Night

If your dog keeps peeing on the carpet at night but doesn’t do it during the day, this happens because they are unable to hold their bladder throughout the night.

Therefore, you need to take your canine for bathroom breaks at night or provide pee pads for use at night.

Medical Problems

Image from Fuzzy

If a house-trained dog suddenly starts peeing on the carpet, this could be a sign of an underlying medical issue.

Some medical issues that might cause your dog to suddenly start peeing on the carpet include urinary tract infectionscystitis, bladder stones, crystals in the urine, and so on.

Incontinence

If you notice that your dog is urinating during naps, or sporadically leaking urine even when doing other activities, this is an indicator that the dog is incontinent and has no control over this behavior.

Incontinence usually occurs in senior dogs, though it can also occur in younger dogs. Fortunately, if you see a vet, they can give your canine buddy some medication to treat the incontinence.

Voluntary Urination

Finally, your dog could also be peeing on the carpet voluntarily because they have not been house trained. If this is the case, you will need to potty train your pooch to eliminate this behavior.

How To Keep Your Dog From Pooping On The Carpet?

Image from Paw.com

Ultimately, every dog owner wants a situation where they don’t have to regularly clean dog urine from their carpet or floor. So, how do you stop your dog from peeing in the house?

Here are some things you can do to get your dog to stop peeing everywhere:

Use Dog Deterrents

Dog deterrent sprays with essential oils to stop your dog from peeing everywhere are one of the most effective approaches.

The acids contained in these oils are irritating to dogs. Spraying them on your carpet will discourage your furry friend from peeing on the carpet.

Use Belly Bands

Belly bands are a great way to stop male dogs from peeing on everything as a way of marking. They can also be used to stop male dogs that have incontinence from peeing everywhere. 

Belly bands work as a diaper. They wrap around a male dog’s waist and penis. When an incontinent dog pees, the pee is absorbed by the belly band, thus preventing your dog from soiling your carpet. Go to this link to read more about belly bands.

Use Pee Pads

Pee pads are another great option for stopping your dear fido from messing with your carpet. Pee pads provide a place for your dog to pee so that they don’t soil the rest of the house. Click on this link to learn about the best pee pads for your fido.

Retrain Your Dog

If your dog has forgotten house training rules, and there are no medical issues behind the inappropriate urination, then your best option is to retrain the dog.

How Do You Housebreak / Potty Train A Dog?

Healthy Diet 

If your canine’s inappropriate urination is involuntary, such as in cases of incontinence, training the dog will not be of much help. Providing your dog with a healthy diet is the best way to prevent involuntary cases.

To ensure a healthy diet for your furry companion, we absolutely recommend that you use feeds from Pet Plate.

Pet Plate provides nutritious, delicious food that is made from all-natural ingredients. Follow this link to learn more about why you should choose Pet Plate when it comes to providing healthy food for your pooch.

Frequent Outside Time

Image from DoggieLawn

Giving frequent outside time to your pup is a great way of ensuring they do not pee on your carpet. If possible, you should take your dog outside every two hours.

You should also take them outside when they are more likely to want to pee, such as after meals, after drinking water, during and after playtime, and in the morning when they wake up.

Use Rewards To Enhance Behavior

Dogs learn better through rewards and praise than through punishment. Therefore, you should make it a habit to reward them with treats and praise immediately when they are done peeing outside.

If you wait too long before rewarding them, they won’t understand what led to the reward, and therefore, the behavior won’t be reinforced.

Housebreaking your dog is not easy. It needs lots of patience and consistency. However, if you stick with it, your furry companion will eventually learn proper potty behavior.



Does Vinegar Stop Dogs From Peeing? 

There are several smells that dogs hate to pee on, and vinegar is one of them. Having vinegar on your carpet discourages your dog from marking the carpet as its territory by peeing. Hence, vinegar is helpful to stop dogs from peeing, but not unless you want your carpet to stink in the first place. Consider mixing vinegar with orange juice before spraying to reduce the stench.

Does Neutering Help With Peeing? 

Neutering your dog reduces the tendency to mark its territory by peeing and can therefore reduce the likelihood of your dog peeing on your carpet. However, neutering should be done when the dog is still young. Older dogs will have already learned the habit of urine marking and it will be harder for them to stop.

Do Dogs Pee For Attention? 

Sometimes dogs will pee when they want attention from you. Sometimes, your pooch will also pee as a sign of submission or when they are intimidated, or because they are excited about something, such as when you or another family member gets back home.

Avatar photo
Pete Decker