Secret Diary of a Pet Sitter – Pee Happens!
Did you know that nearly all doggies have accidents; a little pee here, a little poop there. Pet parents often tell me that their pup is fully house trained. When I first started pet sitting, I was like ‘fantastic, so they can have full access to my house and I don’t have to keep my eye on them all the time.’ Wrong!
Doggies have indoor accidents for many different reasons, and even the most highly trained pets make mistakes. Social excitement, anxiety, dislike of cold and or rainy weather and marking where other dogs have previously urinated are all common and understandable reasons a healthy house trained pet visitor may go potty in a home that isn’t their own.
Pee happens!
How do you correct the behavior?
The dont’s:
Don’t rub your dog’s nose in his pee or poop! It’s mean, disrespectful and does not help.
Don’t scold, yell or act crazy as if your carpet or hardwood is more important than your beloved pup. Plus, it doesn’t train them, it just makes them anxious and fearful.
Don’t physically punish your dog for accidents or anything! It’s abuse and against the law in many states.
The do’s:
if you catch your pup in the act, do give a very firm ‘no’. After that, take your doggie out to an appropriate pee/poop spot and then tell him/her to go potty, or whatever words you use to praise.
Do praise your puppy always when they go pee and poop in the right place. Praise your middle age or elderly doggie often as reinforcement.
Do take your doggie for walks and expose them to the outdoors often.
Do hire a dog walker if you have an in-door dog that doesn’t have access to the outdoors and a proper pee and poop area.
I’m going to give you some magical tricks on how to clean up the accident, mostly the pee-pee ones, in my next entry of Secret Diary of a Pet Sitter.
reference: ASPCA
