gallery paingting of dogs

Painting of dogs so beautiful

 dog and female owner

 alone dog

 tiger dog

 three dogs

 dogs and flower painting

 dog and cat painting

 dogs playing poker painting

 dog sleep on bed painting

 dog and girl

Why we Shouldn't Let us Dog Pee on Trees

Anyone who's ever owned dogs knows that the lovable creatures are potent forces of destruction. From vomiting squirrel parts on the sofa, to inhaling the girlfriend's laundry-basket panties, to arranging a trashcan's contents over the floor with the gusto of an FBI forensics team, some days it seems as if canines were bred solely to generate hilarious barroom anecdotes.

But might dogs be engaged in a more clandestine, less-funny campaign of attrition, one that is harming the very health of our urban landscape?

Carrie Maria certainly thinks so. As owner of one of Philadelphia's biggest dog-walking services, the "Monster Minders," Maria knows hounds – and she suspects they are destroying her city's plant life.

A couple of years ago, Maria took a walk around her home in Bella Vista armed with a camera. Following a sidewalk route frequented by many bowwows, she was able to amass aphotographic collection of disfigured trees in a matter of minutes. First, there was this mangy-looking specimen:

On this trunk, the bark was peeling off as if somebody had scorched it with hot lye:

Here's a tree bearing a mysterious white ring that looks bleached:

Maria isn't a total vegetation naif, having graduated from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Tree Tenders program. After examining the evidence around her, she concluded that the best explanation for the mortally wounded trees was that dog owners let their pets repeatedly urinate on them.

"All over the city you can actually see evidence of burning on the trees. It's super easy: Just look down, and at the lower foot or two feet of the tree you can see fissures and cracking," she says. "I first thought, well, maybe it's just the salt" that municipal trucks spread during winter. "Then you notice that the trees with cages around them don't have these marks."

Urban trees are dealt a bad hand. They are deprived of adequate and good-quality soil, exposed to foreign chemicals, smacked by car doors and sometimes run over by construction equipment. In this harsh environment, a number of irritations can add up and drag a plant into a seriously bad state. Could dog urine be one of the things pushing our trees toward doom?

The Origins of Pee Theory

Whether pee hurts trees is a question that's attracted virtually no research attention since its earliest mention in the academic literature (earliest that I can find, anyway), "Why shade trees die along city streets," a presentation given in 1959 by Pascal Pirone at the International Shade Tree Conference. A plant pathologist at the New York Botanical Garden, Pirone was the first person to sound the klaxons on what he called “dog canker.”

This affliction typically manifested in the lower 2 feet of the trunk, he wrote, and could kill trees up to 6 inches in diameter. He said that a dog-heavy community might try locking a "metal collar" around a pee tree, but added it would be almost useless to do so, because "the dog's urine will still seep into the soil and root area to cause severe damage to the roots and premature death of the tree."

Pirone was not available to be interviewed about the plant-bane of dog piss. He escaped his earthly vessel in 2003, leaving behind the intriguing clue that it had to do with "large amounts of potassium." So I called a bunch of arborists and parks officials and asked them about the possible wounding effect of dog pee on vegetation.

The Smithsonian Institution's horticulture department was a notable skeptic of the "number one" theory. One staffer told me that the Philadelphia photo array “shows pictures of trunk damage on various trees, but this type of damage can be from many causes, including mechanical damage [i.e. mowers, car doors, pedestrians], southwest injury, disease [cankers], and insects [borers]."

Still, the general consensus does appear to be that, yes, an army of tail-waggers can be detrimental to a tree's health, particularly if it's young or has thin bark. Knowledgeable sources who believe Dog-Wee Death is real say it goes down in several different ways, as I'll explain shortly. But there's no firm agreement on which pee-mechanism is the most crippling.

"We deal with it in the sense that I imagine trees get added stress or maybe anxiety" from dogs, says John Thomas, associate director at Washington, D.C.'s Urban Forestry Administration. "I don't know how much dog urine you need to kill a tree. But there's definitely something there.... Somebody could definitely get a masters or Ph.D. out of studying it."

This deficit of information has left dog owners and tree lovers in the dark when it comes to the danger of yellow emissions. The result can be uncomfortable encounters between strangers passing on the street. Take this man's account of butting heads with his Park Slope neighbors after they spotted his pup unleashing "3 drops of pee" in a Polhemus Place tree box:

They told me to "stay off their block" and one of them took my picture, saying something about the block organization and everyone knowing who I am. Then one of them did the "shooing" gesture. I told them I thought something was wrong with both of them, and walked on.

So much about this chapped my lowly 7th Ave ass: The entitlement of these Polhemus residents, and THEIR trees, which are planted by the city. The picture, which made me feel like a playground perv. And the accusation that I was a bad dog owner AND a bad person, because urine was killing the trees.

And that wasn't nearly as bad as when another Park Sloper allowed his "big goofy friendly" pooch to dose a neighbor's shrub. That dog lover was allegedly informed, "Next time I see you, I’m going to fucking kill your dog."

A Dog's Love Affair With Trees

Why do dogs pee on trees? Or really on any vertical structure within hose range?

For the longest time, researchers thought it had to do with marking territory, kind of like how a gang member might tag a wall to scare off rivals. But recent investigations suggest that the urine squirts are much more complicated, and instead constitute a rich form of social interaction.

Psychologist Alexandra Horowitz, who works at Barnard College's Dog Cognition Lab, has studied the phenomenon long and hard. In her 2009 book, Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, she argues that canines whiz on objects to give each other information on sexual readiness, social confidence and the crucial detail of whether they're a dog-about-town (meaning, how often they pass a location). "In this way," Horowitz writes, "the invisible pile of scents on the hydrant becomes a community bulletin board, with old, deteriorating announcements and requests peeking out from underneath more recent posts."

Last year, Wisconsin researchers who were monitoring dogs at a park called Muttland Meadows, and also at an experimental "urine course," concluded that the peeing had much to do about status. How'd they figure that? Well, they noted which dogs enjoyed the most popular regard by measuring the angle of their tails – the higher the angle, the more important the dog – and then correlated that with how often they "overmarked," or peed over another dog's urine. High-status dogs turned out to be the ones that overmarked the most.

Through that lens, what we view as a dog just ejecting its bladder contents everywhere is actually a crafty and ever-shifting game of one-upsmanship. Or a booty call. Whatever the case, keeping up the dialogue requires a whole lot of urine in play, and that's where the trees start to suffer.

The problem begins when dogs decide that one trunk is the hot place to moisten. This swarming can happen outside a pet-friendly apartment building, in a dog park, or in a neighborhood with a healthy dog population and tree boxes on the sidewalk. Carrie Maria has seen firsthand these canine pee orgies. "I know that there are trees in our neighborhood that dogs just gravitate toward," she says. "I don't know if it's one dog peeing on a tree, and then the rest of the dogs are like, YES! This is the tree we're all going to pee on."

When dogs single out a tree for a pee party, the plant sustains impairments in at least three areas. These are:

The bark

Regularly slathering a tree's skin with urine can cause "ammonium toxicity," says Nina Bassuk, program leader at Cornell University's Urban Horticulture Institute. "Ammonium is in all mammals' pee. It is a nitrogen source so a little bit is OK, but a lot is toxic.... It's a question of a little too much of a good thing."

Under its scaly armor, a tree has a layer of tissue called the cambium that makes it grow in diameter. The chemicals in urine can soak through exterior bark and damage this vital substance, explains Bassuk, either destroying the tree or impairing its growth. "It's like cutting off part of the circulatory system," she says. And a tree with a dysfunctional bark is easy prey to burrowing insects and oozing diseases like "bacterial wetwood."

The roots

A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation e-mailed this statement when put to the dog question:

When urine is added to a tree pit, the extra salt can create a crust on the soil, which makes it almost impenetrable to water. Salt also draws out water from tree roots, further compounding water loss and simulating the effects of drought.... These problems are exacerbated because dog urine attracts more dogs to do the same. Tree pits are very limited in water, air, soil, and nutrient availability. The soil is also very compacted, which further intensifies these limitations and damages. Therefore, it’s important to limit animal waste in the pit to help keep the tree as healthy as possible so that it can fight off pests and diseases and grow to its full potential.

Sam Bishop, education director for Trees New York, says that on a dense city block where everybody's dog ends up using the same tree, the dirt can become highly polluted with salt. His organization has planted thousands of trees around New York City and now feels forced to defend them with signs reading, "Curb Your Dog."

Bishop says it is especially frustrating when he runs into New Yorkers who believe that their furchildren are actually doing the tree a favor. "I've heard people jokingly refer to it as 'watering the tree,' and some people think it's good for the plant and is fertilizing it," he says. "But no, no, it is not good for the plant."

The topsoil

Dogs tromping around in a tree box or a public park every day can make the ground as hard as "a base to pour a sidewalk on," says D.C.'s John Thomas. The constant pounding of thousands of paws squishes macrochambers of soil-locked air down into microchambers, destroying the earth's natural architecture and starving upper roots of oxygen. The surface becomes nearly impenetrable, so that when storms come the tree stays parched of rain.

"We see it in certain parks, like the one up by Mount Pleasant in the dog area," says Thomas. "Those trees were not doing so great before they started. They're doing even worse now because of compaction and feces and urine."

The D.C. government has reached out to pet owners to mitigate dog-based deforestation – for instance, working with communities to put up signs that might help protect a green space. Thomas says the results thus far have not been encouraging.

"It's hard, because dog owners are pretty avid, or pretty rabid, depending on what group you're dealing with," he says. "I love dogs and dog owners, but it's just a hard group to penetrate. They are kids to them, and they can get very defensive. We've had very little luck when we've gone into this kind of situation."

So Where Should Dogs Urinate?

If dogs are truly our surrogate children, why do we allow them to behave badly? Certainly most parents wouldn't let a toddler rip strips of bark from a city block's precious few trees.

No doubt much of it has to do with ignorance. That might change soon, as more and more pet owners flock to cities and drive up the costs of plant damage. In fact, you can already see that happening, according to Keith Pitchford.

Pitchford is an arborist who works with a citizen's group to plant new trees in D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood. About five years ago the trees went into the ground unprotected. Now they go in barricaded with an attractive but formidable wrought-iron fence. These barriers are designed to ward off car-door punches, stampeding pedestrians and – you guessed it – steaming mutt juice.

"The final straw was really the dogs," says Pitchford, who adds that the metal-enhanced trees cost about $750 to erect, $400 more than the old, unguarded ones. "We used to plant 50 to 75 trees a year. Now we're putting fewer in, because we need more money for fencing." (Little does Georgetown know that ironwork is also susceptible to pee corrosion.)

Up in Manhattan, in the vast urinefields of Battery Park City, conservators have lodged complaints against what they deem reckless dog owners. "The health of trees at park entrances is seriously undermined by the carelessness of dog walkers," they gripe. The burden of cleaning off stained granite surfaces and replacing pee-mottled plants dings the park's tenders "tens of thousands of dollars annually."

In some cases, people seem to either not believe, or not care, that their doggies might be tearing holes in the urban scenery. After all, everyone knows why cities need pooper-scooper laws – visit Naples if you don't understand why leaving big turds on the sidewalk is a hassle – but what harm could a puddle of pee possibly cause?

This reasoning was on display in a dialogue among users of a D.C.-area Internet forum. After one homeowner politely asked her neighbors not to let their animals pee in her yard – oh yeah, dog urine kills grass, too – "nthehvns" came out of the woodwork to offer this presumptuous rebuttal: "Are dogs not allowed to pee while they are being walked? My dog pees in my yard and others while he is being walked. I'm not sure how I could even stop this."

Believe it or not, there is a way to stop it. That's not to try to biohack your dog to alter its urine chemistry, despite all the folksy prescriptions for tomato-juice or baking-soda cocktails. It's to curb the animal, which means train it to unload in the gutter. That's where you're supposed to do it anyway, according to laws in many large cities like New York.

"We all have to share public spaces, and as dog owners if we want to get respect from our neighbors, we have to give them respect," says Philadelphia's Maria, who recently put out a sign requesting that passersby allow her, and not dogs, to water the tree in front of her home. "It's not anti-dog. It's just pro-tree."

What to Do if Your Housetrained Dog Pees or Poops Indoors

Let’s face it, usually when people say “But he’s housetrained!,” he really, really isn’t. But there are exceptions. This week I’ll talk about some reasons dogs may pee or poop indoors even though they’re housetrained, and what you can do about it.

What to Do if Your Puppy Pees When Excited or Anxious

Most of us have had the pleasure of meeting a puppy who’s ecstatically happy to greet humans. Sometimes the pleasure is a mixed one, as when said puppy excitedly pees all over our shoes. Other puppies, a bit shy and submissive, roll on their backs and squirt, especially when a person bends over them, and double especially if the person is big and/or male and/or a little assertive in demeanor.

This may be my favorite dog problem, because unlike every other dog problem it will usually go away if you leave it alone. All by himself, the puppy will grow up and develop adequate muscular control. In the case of shy, submissive puppies, “leaving it alone” includes avoiding the Giant Human Loom-Over and whatever other behaviors set the puppy off. Teaching a pup to sit for greetings, or ignoring her till she relaxes, will often help her hold her stuff. Generally, submissive and excitement urination will resolve by the time doggy adolescence strikes.

You do have it in your power to make this problem worse, of course. Get your excited pee-er amped on purpose when you greet her, or shout at the shy pup when he dribbles, and watch that stream grow.

Medical Problems That Can Cause Your Dog to Pee or Poop Indoors

A host of medical problems can lead your dog to eliminate indoors. I’ll mention a few examples, but many more exist. And those I do describe may have symptoms I don’t mention here. The short version is, suspect a medical problem if your dog’s behavior has changed suddenly, if she’s old, or if you’re sticking to a regular, careful housetraining schedule and your puppy is having frequent accidents anyway.

Sudden, urgent digestive upset may come on too strong for even the best-housetrained dog. Possible causes include rich or spoiled food and certain parasites. A dog with a urinary tract infection may need to go much more often than usual and may dribble small amounts of urine. If you have a spayed female dog who leaks urine in her sleep, a possible cause is estrogen incontinence, which is usually treatable with inexpensive medication. Elderly dogs who develop canine cognitive disorder, a doggy analogue of Alzheimer’s disease, may lose their housetraining as the condition progresses. Pain from arthritis, an injury, or illness can leave a dog reluctant to take a walk or make it hard for her to get into position to pee or poop. The bladder and bowels may wind up overfull and impossible to control.

Increased water intake accompanies some illnesses, diabetes among them; if you don’t happen to notice that your dog is filling up more than normal and supply extra toilet breaks to compensate, he may be unable to hold his urine until his next walk. Certain medications may make animals feel thirsty, too -- steroids are famous for this. If your dog’s indoor pees coincide with a new medication or an increased dose of an old one, it’s well worth asking your vetwhether thirst or incontinence is a possible side effect. Malformations of the rectum and sphincter or of the urinary tract can make it impossible for a dog to control eliminations. My older dog’s anal sphincter has lost muscle tone. Result: sometimes when she springs up with joy at going for a walk, she drops a few little items from behind. Oh, well.

Behavioral Causes of Peeing or Pooping Indoors

Inappropriate elimination can signal certain behavior problems. The commonest might be separation anxiety, which in its more intense forms could be called separation panic. One sign of true separation anxiety is that the dog may chew and claw at doors and windows, apparently trying to escape; another is that he may let go of urine and stool. Thunderstorm phobia can produce the same result, as can terror in other contexts. It’s not unheard of for a dog to let loose during severe punishment. I’m tempted to say that in that case the behavior problem isn’t in the dog, but harsh, ill-informed advice is everywhere and even the best and kindest people can be misled into following it.

What if Your Dog Is Afraid to Go Outdoors?

Dogs too afraid to go outside will obviously sooner or later eliminate indoors. Sometimes the fear arises after a specific terrifying event. More commonly, dogs who fear going outdoors didn’t get appropriate socialization in early puppyhood; completely normal life experiences strike them as strange and alarming. That is among the saddest behavior problems any consultant sees -- crucial parts of early development have been missed, and the resulting fear of the wide world can sometimes be ameliorated but can’t be undone. Some dogs can learn to feel reasonably comfortable in a few outdoor contexts or at certain times. For others, the best we can do is teach them to use a designated spot indoors so there isn’t any pressure to go out.

When Your Dog Pees in His New Home

Some dogs, especially male dogs, start life in a new adoptive home by marking every vertical surface they can find, indoors as well as out. It’s best to treat this as a housetraining problem, just in case it turns out to be one, but often enough it seems to be a result of stress. As the dog settles into a clear and consistent routine and becomes comfortable, the indoor marking fades away.

Fortunately, most inappropriate elimination can be -- um, eliminated, either through remedial housetraining or through treatment of the underlying physical or emotional problem. See your vet and consult a competent behavior professionalfor help. For tips on how to housetrain your dog or puppy, you can see my episode on that topic at dogtrainer.quickanddirtytips.com.

Why does dog urine cause brown spots on grass?

Question: Why does dog urine cause brown spots on grass?

Help! My dog's urine is killing my lawn. Why does dog pee make the grass turn brown or yellow? How can I stop this? I love my dog but I would like a nice lawn too.

Answer:

Grass burns from dog urine are a source of frustration for dog owners who take pride in a beautiful lawn. Brown or yellow spots of dead grass are unsightly, but some dog owners feel that it's just part of living with dogs. In fact, there are ways to prevent grass burns from dog urine.

While nitrogen is an essential component in healthy soil, high concentrations of it can cause grass to turn yellow or brown. Urine is naturally high in nitrogen and alone can cause grass burns. However, lawn fertilizer also contains nitrogen. An excess of either or a combination of urine and fertilizer may result in an overdose of nitrogen, thus "burning" the grass. Salts and other compounds in dog urine may also contribute to grass burn. In addition, highly acidic or alkaline urine may alter pH of the soil in that area of your yard, adversely affecting the grass there.

It may seem like female dog urine causes more trouble to the lawn than male dog urine. This is simply because most females tend to squat and urinate in one place, while many males lift the leg and "mark" upright objects in multiple locations. The composition of a dog's urine does not vary that much between male and female dogs, especially when spayed or neutered.

There are a few ways to prevent brown or yellow spots on your lawn caused by dog urine. You can try more than one option at a time for maximum results. There is no guaranteed way to end urine spots in the yard, but the following methods might help stop grass burns caused by dog urine:

Train your dog to urinate in one area and plant a urine-resistant ground covering in that area. One great option for this is clover. You might also try creating a dog-friendly landscape in your entire yard.

Give your dog a supplement or food additive that is designed to neutralize the nitrogen in the urine. One example of this type of product is Naturvet Grass Saver (compare prices). As alway, ask your vet before starting any supplement. Additionally, never attempt to alter your dog's urine pH unless specifically recommended by your vet.

Immediately after your dog urinates, use a garden hose to rinse off the area. You might also consider switching to a low-nitrogen fertilizer for your lawn (make sure it's pet-safe too).

Remember that other animals might have access to your yard and their urine can cause lawn damage as well. A fence will keep out any dogs passing by, but cats and various wild animals are not so easy to stop. This may or may not explained continued brown or yellow spots in the yard after implementing the above recommendations.

Stop your dog urine marking its territory in the house

Why Dogs mark territory with urine &Tips to prevent Dog Peeing (marking) inside the House

Don't confuse urine marking with wanting to pee

If you find large puddles of urine on the floor it is more likely that the dog had to pee and couldn't or didn't want to go out. With urine marking the dog deposits a smaller amount of urine. Marking in the house is usually done to an upright surface such as a doorway, table leg or piece of furniture. The dog will lift his hind leg and mark urine on practically any object in your house. Quite often the object is something new or different with unfamiliar smells that has come into the house but not necessarily so. He is also likely to mark items that he feels belong to him such as anything that he has become possessive about including you. He thinks you are his possession and any objects related to you are also his possessions.

Why do dogs lift their leg and mark territory with urine?

Dog urine marking is not a bathroom training issue but rather an issue concerning a whole range of instinctive behaviors. Your dog may be fully housetrained and would not dream of peeing in the house but to a dog lifting his leg to scent mark is not the same as wanting to have a pee.

We as humans tend to think of dog urine as something unpleasant but to a dog it is something of great interest. A dog leaves it's scent in urine to tell other dogs a message. This message could be about whose territory it is, about the dog's social order or advertising mating availability. 

Dogs use urine marking to show their dominance or to claim something as belonging to them. Dogs with feelings of insecurity or who have separation anxiety may also mark, as territory marking builds the dog's confidence.

Do all dogs urine mark inside the house?

Most dogs that are neutered or spayed at an early age do not mark in the house. Prevention is better than cure.

Male dogs that are not castrated are more likely to mark than castrated dogs.

Although male dogs are more likely to mark urine than females it is not unknown for a female dog to scent mark too. Often a female dog coming into heat or during it will mark to advertise her availability. A dominant female will also mark.

Female dogs may also urinate over a spot where another dog has urinated.

Small breeds tend to pee (mark) in the house more than larger dogs.

Two or more dogs living together in the same house may regard each other as competition and are more prone to urine marking. Urine marking can be a dominance issue. There may be no problem with one dog but when a second dog is introduced into the house then this may be the beginning of marking problems.

Why has my dog suddenly begun marking in the house when he didn't do it before?

Usually it is because of feelings of insecurity or a perceived threat. This perceived threat, for example, can be an introduction of a new baby, a new pet, a visitor or even a new piece of furniture. The smell of other animals on your footwear or clothing can also trigger a dog to feel the need to mark his territory.

For example, a new baby in the home brings new sounds, smells, and people, as well as changes in routine. Your dog may not be getting as much attention as previously. Changes cause him to feel anxious, which may cause him to mark.

Some dogs feel the need to lift their leg and pee on all new things that enter your house, shopping bags, visitors belongings, new furniture, children's toys etc. Many of these dogs are lacking in confidence and by marking new objects it makes them feel more secure having deposited their own scent on these objects.

Some dogs will never mark in their own house but will embarrass you by marking if you visit a friend or relative's home. Your dog feels less secure there and feels the need to make it more comfortable to him by laying down a few of his own familiar scents.

Even a previously housetrained neutered male dog will urine mark under certain circumstances. This doesn’t mean it will become a regular problem. He may urine mark one or twice in a new home and then never do it again.

How to stop your dog marking urine in the house

Below are some tips to prevent or stop your dog peeing in the house.

Neuter

For pet dogs, early neutering will stop marking behavior in the majority of dogs. Neutering at an early age can prevent the habit forming.

For older dogs, neutering may still have the desired effect but marking in the house may have become a habit that you will have to break. Try the supervision method below.

In one study the following was found. "Our research shows that neither age at time of neutering nor duration of the problem behavior has influence on the likelihood that a behavior will change following neutering, thus one need not think that because a male dog has been engaging in problem urine marking or aggressive behavior for five years that it is too late to consider neutering. "Center for Companion Animal Health, UC Davis"

Testosterone seems to play a role in urine marking. At least one study has shown that neutering a dog at any age will help prevent it. It can't be guaranteed that neutering a dog is going to magically cure this problem but if you don't neuter a male dog, your chances of breaking the habit are greatly reduced.

Of course neutering isn't always an option as you may wish to breed your dog.

Supervise and Break the Habit

You MUST catch him in the act! DOGS LEARN QUICKLY FROM THIS

Close supervision is necessary. You must be dedicated to stop the marking behavior of your dog and you must be consistent. A couple of weeks or often much less time of intense supervision and correction can save you a lifetime of tearing your hair out trying to find a quick fix for the problem. Some people have reported that it has only taken a day or two using the intense supervision method.

Confine your dog to one area of the house where you can watch him. Shut doors to other areas of the house or barricade them off with baby gates or improvise with whatever is at hand.

If barricading is not possible another option is to put your dog on a retractable lead while he is in the house with you and for you to have total control at all times.

Make yourself a Shaker Bottle or Shaker Can

A shaker can is simply an empty cola can with a several coins inside it. The opening is taped over to prevent the coins flying out. It makes a lot of noise when you shake it up and down.

A shaker bottle is a plastic bottle with some small pebbles or coins placed inside.

Watch your dog for any signs (such as sniffing and circling) that he is even thinking about marking. The moment he begins to lift his leg shake the can once only to get his attention. The loud noise should startle him and interrupt what he is doing. As he looks towards where the noise has come from. Give him the command in a stern voice 'NO PEE'. Sometimes throwing the can in his general direction works well too but be careful not to hit him with it as you only want to startle him not harm him.

OK, so you have stopped him peeing once. Now you have to be consistent and diligent and continue with the behavior modification each and every time you see him attempt to mark urine.

Do not rant, rave or smack your dog at any time. Punishment will make an insecure dog more insecure.

This method is not intended for house training your puppy, only for urine marking. Potty training is another issue. You may wish to read this article: How to potty train your dog or puppy

Praise him when he pees where you want him to

Don't forget to praise your dog when he marks in an appropriate place. If you are outside and he marks on a tree or other acceptable object or area tell him what a good boy he is. Tell him, 'Pee here, good boy' in a happy voice. Dogs learn quickly from positive responses to their behavior.

The message you are trying to get across to him is that urine marking isn't bad, but that marking inside the house isn't such a good idea.

When you go out

Dogs who suffer separation anxiety may pee while you are out. They are not peeing out of spite because you left them, dogs just don't think like this. They are feeling anxious at being left alone. Try leaving them an item of yourworn clothing with your familiar smells on it. This just might be enough to settle their anxiety.

Confinement is the only answer for some dogs

Some dogs will never be able to be trusted with the run of the house. Although inconvenient to you it may be necessary to close doors to certain rooms and only allow freedom in the rooms he can be trusted. Another alternative is to use Belly Bands (see below)

Deterrents

Spray Commander is a system which uses a device that is attached to the dog's collar which delivers a harmless but unpleasant spray to the dog. You activate the spray with a remote control when you catch the dog in the act of inappropriate behavior such as urine marking on your furniture.

The system comes complete with everything you need including a detailed instruction guide DVD.

You can buy Spray Commander online. The cost depending on where you buy it is between $100 and $140. For more information visit the Spray Commander website. Watch a video on how it works

ScatMats can also be used to deter pets from entering a certain area. The Scat Mat is a touch-sensitive training pad that quickly conditions pets to avoid prohibited areas with harmless, low-power electronic pulses similar to static electricity.

You may be able to deter your from dog peeing on the furniture by attaching strips of aluminum foil to his favorite spots. The urine will make a noise when hitting the foil and may splash back on him. This may deter some dogs but it will have no effect on others. You could also try putting his water bowl in his favorite spot.

Cleaning is important

You must thoroughly clean areas where your dog has peed in the past and completely remove the scent to discourage your dog from re-offending in the same place. Use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water and wash the soiled areas well.

Avoid using ammonia based products to clean dog urine. One of the ingredients of dog urine is ammonia and he may well be encouraged to re-offend in the same area. Remember, your dog's sense of smell is a hundred times better than yours.

Visiting Friends

If you think your dog is likely to urine mark in your friend's house don't give him the opportunity to do so. Keep him on a leash at all times. You can walk him around the new environment on the leash and if he gives the slightest hint that he may cock his leg give the leash a quick short tug and tell him 'NO'. Or you could take your Shaker Can with you. You may eventually be able to trust him but if the house you are visiting has pets living there it could be a very challenging task.

New Baby?

If your dog has newly acquired the habit of urine marking since bringing a new baby home you will need to reassure him that he is still loved and part of the family. Involve him in fun activities while the baby is around making the baby and associated baby smells less of a threat to him.

Belly Bands

Sometimes it can be very difficult to stop your dog peeing everywhere in the house, on your furniture and other objects.

Dog Urine Smell Removal

How to get rid of dog urine smells and stains out of carpets and rugs. 

This home remedy for cleaning dog urine from carpets is easy and inexpensive and it really works! Below is a recipe which removes dog urinesmell and stains from carpets and rugs even if the urine has dried and is old.

For whatever reason your dog has peed on the carpet the outcome is the same. A smelly carpet! When your dog pees on the carpet it leaves an odor that your dog may repeatedly return to. Avoid using ammonia based products to clean dog urine. One of the ingredients of dog urine is ammonia and he may well be encouraged to re-offend in the same area. Remember, your dog's sense of smell is a hundred times better than yours.

tep 1 

If the area is still wet you should first attempt to absorb the dog urine. Leaving it there to dry out will only encourage bacterial growth which causes the smell.

The best method is to place several layers of paper towel over the wet area and tread on it so as to soak up as much of the dog urine as you possibly can. You may have to repeat this several times until no more dog urine can be soaked up.

Sometimes dog urine accidents have already dried because you did not notice them previously. You can find dried urine spots on your carpet with the aid of a black light. The dog urine stains will fluoresce under the ultra violet light in a darkened room. Hand held black lights are quite inexpensive usually costing between $15 - $25.

Of course, you can always save the expense of a black light. Find the urine spots by using your nose. Just get down on your carpet and sniff and find the offensive urine odors that way.

Step 2

Mix a solution of fifty percent white vinegar and fifty percent water. You must use a liberal amount of this solution to reach the carpet fibers deep down. Work the solution into the carpet with a scrubbing brush to ensure it penetrates the carpet fibers below.

Then blot the area using the paper towel method above to absorb the vinegar mixture. The vinegar will neutralize the ammonia in the dog urine. If you own a wet/dry vacuum extractor use that to remove excess moisture.

Step 3 

When the area has dried or almost dried sprinkle a good handful of baking soda over the soiled area.

Mix half a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide with a teaspoon of detergent. Plain liquid dishwashing detergent is required. Do not use caustic dishwasher detergent.

Caution: Do not use hydrogen peroxide that is stronger than 3% or stronger than 10 Volume. Bleaching may occur on some carpets with stronger solutions. A spot test in an inconspicuous area is advised.

Step 4

Slowly pour the hydrogen peroxide and dishwashing detergent mixture over the baking soda. (Alternatively you can use a spray bottle for the hydrogen peroxide solution). Then work the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide mixture well into the carpet with your fingers or with a scrubbing brush.

Allow the area to dry completely. Once the area is thoroughly dry, vacuum up the baking soda. Use a hard bristled brush to loosen up the baking soda if necessary.

That's all there is to it. Your carpet will smell fresh and free from urine odor.

If you don't have hydrogen peroxide on hand you could substitute it in an emergency for a spray laundry stain remover. Check the bottle. If it says 'Oxy' anywhere on the label then it probably contains hydrogen peroxide.

In areas that have been heavily soiled with dog urine you may have to repeat the process again.