One of the most common complaints among new dog owners is their pet’s habit of urinating at odd times in unfavorable places. Slippery floors and smelly furnishings are absolutely unacceptable. This is a regular occurrence not only within the house, but outside as well. It might seem hilarious to watch in movies when someone’s dog ruins the neighbor’s carefully planted garden. But for owners in real life it is a cause of utter humiliation and embarrassment. In certain cases the same act is punishable by law if it occurs in a public place. In fact certain housing societies have rules against this. In fact, it is the leading cause for not allowing residents to own dogs, to maintain decorum.
This might seem unfair to dog lovers and dogs themselves, especially, if this natural innocent act is followed by a beating and a scolding from the owner. Dogs don’t understand where they went wrong. This confusion sometimes becomes the cause for reclusive, aggressive behavior or sometimes withdrawal. Being the more evolved species, we humans are taught to have control over our bladder. So, how can one expect animals to have this control unless taught? Pet animals, especially dogs need to be taught with love how it is expected to behave.
It is a part of their natural instinct. Not only is it an important bodily function, but dogs also do it to mark their territory, to relay a message to other dogs to stay away. So, we can not entirely curb this habit. What can be done is regulate it. A dog needs to understand, that it is not expected to hold it in, but in fact, it is free to let it out as long as it is in a designated place and in a pre-designated timeframe.
This not only is comfortable for the dog but also convenient for the owner. This also helps the owner to plan out their schedule to accommodate spending time with their dogs. At the same time it is equally important for the owner to stick to this schedule. On failure to do so, the dog cannot be blamed for losing bladder control, if delayed. Going earlier than the scheduled time is usually not an issue. For optimum results, the pee time should be allotted two timeframes every day, one in the first half of the day and the other in the latter half of the day. That is the least one can do for their beloved furry friends.
A dog should understand that urinating in unfavorable places is unacceptable. This is not something they inherently know, but are supposed to be taught. One must make sure that the teaching process starts from day one. Some people initially laugh it off. This gives the dog the consent it needs. And when the laughter after a few days changes to anger, the poor creature is baffled. Another important thing to be kept in mind is that a dog learns best and fastest when it is taught with love. Any kind of violence, physical or verbal abuse is not only detrimental to the growing and learning process, but in some cases aggression is met with aggression. Fear, guilt and greed are also undesirable methods of teaching. Rewarding good behavior with treats is the most common practice. But it is always advisable to replace the treats with a play session or a pat or a scratch.
One must make sure that the dog is taken out every time it starts urinating. It is a tedious process in the beginning, but slowly the dog will understand what it is expected to do. Taking help of his favorite object, of his indoor peeing place, by taking it and placing it where you want the dog to pee, is an effective method of teaching. And overtime the said object can be eliminated from the process. Also the time should be decided such that it coincides with his usual behavior, i.e. the typical time frame when it tends to urinate.
Another important aspect is to teach it to keep a control of his bladder till you find a suitable spot. Sometimes what happens is that it might learn not to pee within the house, but then it does so immediately after coming out of the house. This becomes another task for the owner. The dog has to learn that it is not allowed to pee anywhere else within a given perimeter that will include the house, the neighbors and the housing society as a whole. It should be appreciated every time he does as is desired by the owner. This acts as an incentive for the dog to continue with good behavior.
As a responsible citizen and dog owner one must make sure to clean up after their dog, especially in case of solid excretions. This keeps the surroundings clean and at the same time reduces disputes in the society. At the governance level, the local bodies should try to provide dedicated dog parks across the city. This way there is a pre-allocated space for dogs to do their business without unfavorable ramifications and at the same time it leads to increased interaction between dogs and dog owners.