If you live in a condo, this may be a familiar sight - that dark stain on the carpet is dog pee.
I got home from jiu jitsu and got into the elevator close to 2 pm on a Sunday and found this. We have a FaceBook group for my condo, and I didn’t post it there. Usually someone does, which leads to a plethora of comments on irresponsible dog ownership.
Consistency is important. Pets do not have weekends. You know your tummy starts growling right before your lunchtime. You know you always have to use the bathroom first thing in the morning. Some dogs will let their owners know when they need to go. My friend’s dog paces around, so even at 2 am when he‘s pacing, she’s up and out the door for him. Some dogs don’t know how to get their owner’s attention when they need to.
Let’s say you normally work at 9 am Monday through Friday. Monday morning, you get up, take your pooch outside to do its business at 7 am. Then get yourself ready for work. Leaving work, you come home, maybe it’s 6 pm and out your pooch goes to use the facilities. If you pay attention to your dog’s water consumption, some dogs will not drink a drop until their owner comes home, because they somehow know that they won’t get to go out to pee.
Now it’s the weekend. You stayed up late on Saturday night, you know you don’t need to work the next day. Ahhhh let’s sleep in.
But what about your dog? Are they nudging you? Pacing? Sitting patiently by the door? Panting when it’s not really hot inside? Whining? Barking? Pawing at the door mat? Since your dog does not have a calendar, they didn’t get the memo it was Sunday-sleep-in-day.
Hence, responsible dog ownership. When you decide to get a dog, it is a commitment for your time. New puppy owners I usually talk about house-training and how long puppies can hold their bladder for. Similar to babies, during the early stages they don’t have control over their urethral sphincter.
So what about adult dogs? If you recently rescued an adult dog, you may need to train them to do their business outside. See the Veterinary Partner for a few tips.
The bottom line is: if the dog has an accident in the house, it’s not the dog’s fault.
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