How To Get A Dog To Pee In A New Place: 5 Things To Do
If you’re changing things up on your property, there’s a chance that your dog’s potty spot will be affected. With this, you have to know how to get a dog to pee in a new place.
This is easy with a few treats and simple training drills. You don’t really have to start over with potty training because you’re just changing the spot where the doggo will eliminate.
Below, I discussed a step-by-step guide about what you need to do. With consistency and patience, you will succeed in training your doggo.
How To Get A Dog To Pee In A New Place? Here Is The Guide
Whether you’re bringing home a new puppy or need to teach an old dog new trick, teaching a dog to potty on a new spot requires some effort. But for better chances of succeeding, you should do the following:
1. Choose the new spot
The first thing you should do is select the new spot where you want your dog to pee. It should be comfortable and far from too much foot traffic.
This will help your doggo adjust and feel comfortable in its new ‘bathroom’.
Make sure that your dog can easily access the new spot at all times. Most of all, it should be easy to find so your pooch won’t be confused.
2. Tour the new spot
Once you’ve found the best spot for your pet to pee on, bring the doggo on it. Keep the pooch leashed and let it sniff around. Do this multiple times to make the dog familiar with the new potty spot.
Whenever it’s time for your dog to go potty, bring it to the new pee spot. Keep the dog leashed so it won’t run back to its old pee place.
Most of the time, dogs have to go early in the morning and after meals. However, they urinate often throughout the day so you should be consistent with training.
Also, I have another tip below that will make the change easier for you and your dog.
3. Make the old spot unappealing
To prevent your dog from peeing on the old spot, you should make it less appealing for elimination. You can use your dog’s strong sense of smell for this trick.
For my dog Sherlock, we used a lemon spray on his old pee spot. He hates the citrus smell so he stopped peeing on his old spot after we douche it with the juice.
However, some dogs can tolerate this and still pick up their scent. I suggest cleaning the area with an enzyme cleaner.
This cleaner has live enzymes that dissolve any proteins from your dog’s urine and stool. It will neutralize any smell and make it impossible for your dog to detect its scent.
Just note that enzyme cleaners should be applied during dark and cool periods of the day as the enzymes are pretty sensitive.
4. Trick the dog with its own pee
Another technique we used for our dog Sherlock is wiping his old pee into the new spot. We do this before cleaning the old spot with an enzyme cleaner.
It’s like relocating the scent so he will follow and recognize it. If you need to scoop the soil from the old spot and put it in the new place, feel free to do so.
You can also use poop if you want. Anything that will attach your dog’s smell to the new spot will help.
Since dogs use their sense of smell to locate things, this will surely do the trick.
5. Lure with treats
If your pooch is insistent on peeing in its old spot, you can lure it with high-value treats and positive reinforcement. Dogs are very food-driven so some treats will surely help you out.
When the dog follows you and reaches the new pee spot, reward it with a treat. Do this repeatedly until your dog automatically goes to its new spot.
Over time, you can shed the treats so your dog can pee on its new spot without too much prodding.
Can You Still Potty Train An Old Dog?
It’s never too late to train an old dog to potty train or change its pee spot. However, it will take more patience and time as old canines often have declining cognition and weaker bodies.
The key here is keeping their potty spot as near as possible. This way, the pooch will not feel lazy about going outdoors to eliminate properly.
If you’ve adopted an old dog, you should understand that this pooch is probably used to peeing on concrete, pee pads, and other surfaces. This means that the dog may not pee on a single spot all the time.
With consistency and patience, you can slowly train your dog to recognize a specific potty spot.
Just remember that it’s normal for old dogs to have accidents inside the house despite being housebroken. It’s related to their age and declining health.
Will Vinegar Keep A Dog From Peeing In The Same Spot?
Yes, many dogs hate the smell of vinegar. It’s pungent and overwhelming, which will help them drive away from their old pee spot. The good thing here is that vinegar is safe and food-grade so it’s unlikely to cause serious irritation to your dog.
However, you should never spray vinegar directly on your dog. The acidic property of vinegar can cause skin irritation, especially if sprayed around the dog’s face.
You can also use equal parts of water and vinegar to clean your dog’s accident at home. It’s an effective alternative to enzyme cleaners, which I swear by.
What Smell Do Dogs Hate To Pee On?
Some of the scents that will help deter your dog from peeing on a spot are citrus, hot pepper, some herbs, and mothballs. However, I want to warn you about using hot peppers as your dog might lick the spot and experience a burning sensation on its tongue.
As much as cleaning products will drive your dog away from its original pee spot, it’s not a safe option. It might do more harm than help in the long run.
Why My Dog Is Not Peeing In A New Place?
If your dog is not peeing in a new place, chances are she is feeling unsafe. Dogs need to feel safe before relieving themselves as it makes them vulnerable so they must trust their surroundings before doing business.
Another reason could be that the new spot is clean, it does not have any traces of pee or poop so the dog avoids using such places for peeing after she sniffs.
However, after reading this article you know how to get a dog to pee in a new place.
How Long Can A Dog Hold Its Bladder Overnight?
Adult and healthy dogs can hold their bladder for up to eight hours overnight. However, some may have accidents if you let them drink too much water before bedtime.
Meanwhile, puppies need to eliminate every 2 to 4 hours since they have smaller bladders.
Take note that you shouldn’t crate your dog for longer than eight hours. Aside from having accidents inside the crate, the pooch may also develop urinary tract infections.
Remember that urinary frequency varies across dogs.
However, if your pooch is peeing too often than usual, you should bring it to the vet for proper diagnosis. Your doggo might be suffering from diabetes and other metabolic problems.
How Do I Make My Dog Stop Peeing Inside?
Housetraining a dog is one of the basic tasks of owning a dog. This will teach the dog to pee outdoors, which prevents recurring accidents outside the house.
You should first choose a spot and lure your dog to it. Keep rewarding your dog for going on the spot you choose. And whenever you notice that your dog needs to go, bring it straight to the potty spot.
Remember that your dog won’t learn to pee outdoors if you won’t train it. Consistency, patience, and starting early will increase your chances of housebreaking your dog.
No matter how old the pooch is, there’s always a way to wean them off eliminating indoors.
Conclusion
Knowing how to get a dog to pee in a new place is easy with the right approach. Select a new spot, bring your dog to it, and reward with treats.
You can also use your dog’s sense of smell to direct it to the new potty spot. You should also make their old potty spot unattractive by using repulsive yet safe odors.
Have you tried training your dog to pee on a different spot? How did it go? Share it with us!
