Help! My dog is peeing in the house! 4 Tips to break that habit!

Isn’t he cute? Ugh. I have the sweetest dog that I love so much. He’s a maltese shih tzu mix and has a very sweet personality. His name is Snowball and we love him so much. He has developed a habit of peeing in the house again. This is my list of what has worked so far to get him to stop. 

1. Find the trigger that is causing this to flare up again. I had a really busy July and think the fact that I wasn’t home much and was working caused this in him. Had the kids paid attention to his cues they may have avoided this process. But they didn’t so he’d go in the house. Once they start going in the house then you have to get him to stop.
2. Close off the room he’s used to going in. We are making sure that the door is always shut. I just mopped it with vinegar and water today to try to get his scent out of the room. So far we are seeing improvement.
3. Crate him when we are not home. This is working great. We were gone for 9 hours the other day so I didn’t blame him one bit for going in his crate. But he didn’t like going there and he’s not gone to the bathroom in the crate since.
4. Take him for walks. When he goes pee outside we are quick to praise him and give him his treats. This helps build that memory that outside is where I go potty and get treats. If I am not walking him but take him out I praise him when he goes pee outside. 

What tips do you have for me and Snowball? Has anything worked really well for you? I love Snowball and know he has these tendencies. But I also know that something triggers the event to begin peeing inside again. For us, it was because I wasn’t home much. Now I am working on breaking that habit and we are having success. Thank goodness for wood floors and vinegar!