Is your dog Ill?
House soiling can be a sign of disease and illness.
Sometimes a bout of diarrhoea, the onset of diabetes, or a bladder or kidney infection can cause an urgent need to void. When the need strikes, there may not be time for your pet to get outside. A mess in the house is often the accidental consequence.
Aged animals that suffer arthritis will often take to soiling inside because their creaky old bones make it too difficult for them to travel outside. Even the canine or feline equivalent of Alzheimer’s Disease can cause house-soiling.
A visit to your veterinarian will sort out these problems, and once the medical side of the condition is solved, the soiling usually disappears.
Are There Barriers to Getting Outside?
House-soiling often occurs when a dog cannot get outside to go to the toilet. Being able to get outside easily is particularly important when young puppies are learning their toilet training manners.
Small puppies find that tall stairs are a difficult obstacle to manage, and rather than battle the stairs, many will find it is so much more convenient to soil in a convenient location inside the house. This is one of the many reasons why lap dogs such as small terriers, Poodles and Chihuahuas are the breeds that most commonly exhibit house-soiling
If the door to the outside is always closed, a puppy, or even an adult dog, may eventually succumb to the easier option of soiling inside. While dogs are usually quite good as signalling they need to go out, if you miss their signal too often, house-soiling is a common consequence. This is why so many dogs soil inside overnight.
A dog door will help, but make sure the door is propped open after it is first installed so that the dog learns to use it without difficulty.
Another barrier to developing proper toilet manners is that small dogs hate getting their feet, and even their derriere, wet. Moist, cold grass, especially if it is a bit too long, is a most unpleasant sensation for little dogs and, while they may have every intention of using the lawn as a toilet, the wet grass in private places makes it too unpleasant.
Contents of page 2
1. Are you making the problem worse?
2. Preparing a toilet spot
3. How to protect the soiled areas
4. Toilet training