Returning to the Scene of the Crime

To discourage the puppy from returning to previously soiled areas, remove urine and fecal odor with an effective commercial product. If your puppy begins eliminating in certain areas of the home, deny access by closing doors to the rooms, utilizing baby gates, or moving furniture over the soiled areas. Most pets prefer to avoid eliminating in areas where they eat or play. Feeding or placing water bowls, bedding, and toys in previously soiled areas can discourage elimination.

Keeping Your Cool

No puppy has ever been housetrained without making a mistake or two. Be prepared for the inevitable. Punishment is the least effective and most overused approach to housetraining. A correction should involve nothing more than a mild, startling distraction and should be used only if you catch the puppy in the act of eliminating indoors. Immediately take the pup to its elimination area outdoors to finish.

A correction that occurs more than a few seconds after the puppy eliminates is useless because it will not understand why it is being corrected. If the punishment is too harsh, your puppy may learn not to eliminate in front of you, even outdoors, and you run the risk of ruining your bond with it. And don't even think about rubbing the pup's nose in a mess. There is absolutely nothing it will learn from this, except to be afraid of you. Some pets will squat and urinate as they greet family members. Never scold them. This problem is due typically to nervousness or excitement, and scolding will always make the problem worse.

—Wayne L. Hunthausen, DVM, and Gary M. Landsberg, DVM