My dog stopped using potty pads. Why is he peeing everywhere now?

Question

My dog was potty trained. Going on the pad every time without fail. Just recently he started peeing wherever he wants. What happened? What can I do to get him to pee on the pad again? Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Male | neutered | 2 years and 2 months old | 12 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

Hi there! I see that Jack is only a little over 2 months old. This is much too young to expect a puppy to be reliably potty trained - just like a human toddler, it takes time and patience. It's very common to have setbacks during the housetraining process with puppies, where they seem to "forget" where to go even though they were doing pretty well before. Just go back to basics (however you trained him originally) and remind him what you want. I'm not a big fan of potty pad training in the house because I find it more confusing and difficult for the pup than teaching them to go outside, but it can certainly be done. If you're having issues, I would recommend having an x-pen or small room (like a bathroom or laundry room) with the floor entirely covered in pads. This will be his potty area - you'll need to place him there after eating, when he first wakes up after napping, and after play sessions. Praise and reward with a treat as soon as he goes, then let him out again. Once he's reliably using the padded area again, you can start to make the covered area smaller and smaller until it's just a single pad if this is your long-term goal. See our article on housetraining puppies for more information. It's geared more towards teaching a pup to potty outside, but most of the tips would still apply to your situation: https://www.petcoach.co/article/7-rules-for-effective-housetraining/

My dog stopped using potty pads. Why is he peeing everywhere now?

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