My 18 weeks lab is doing pipi on my couch

[HaidiYacou]

Hello,

How can I deal with my 18 weeks old chocolate lab who urinates on my couch? How should I punish him? Or should I punish him at all? How to make him understand that this is not a right place? I take him out every hour to do his stuff outside but this usually happens overnight when I'm sleeping. I wake up to find the house soiled (which I was ok with giving that I wont be able to take him out in the middle of the night) but not on the couch. Please help!

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

We never want to punish a puppy for having accidents around the home as this can backfire us in many ways. It's the best way to teach our puppies to go potty out of sight (like behind a couch or under a bed) which put a big dent in the potty training process. This is because, when we punish them upon catching them in the act, they think they shouldn't go potty in our presence, and therefore, rather than learning to show us signs they need to go potty (such as walking to a door), they end up sneaking away to potty out of sight. We may then find many accidents under tables, chairs, beds etc.  On top of this, if we punish them, they may come to lose trust in us when they need to learn to trust us. 

Even punishing them hours after the fact won't do any good. This is because they won't be able to associate the punishment with something that happened long ago. Instead, they'll come to think we are punishing them for what they are doing at the moment, which can be looking at you adoringly or wagging their tail. 

Now, something to consider is that what is considered punishment is not from our perspective, but our dogs'. So even seeing us get a little upset over and accident, can be enough for a puppy to feel discouraged going potty in our presence and sneaking away. So if you catch your puppy going potty, don't get upset, rather try to call him towards the door to interrupt him and let him finish up in the yard (or wherever his potty training spot is.)

If you have gotten upset anytime in the past, this may be also why he is peeing on the couch when you are sleeping. It could be he has held his pee when you are around, waiting for you to go to bed to relieve himself on the comfy couch.

So here is a plan of action:

-Stop any form of punishment or anything that can be perceived as it (even saying "bad dog!" or getting frustrated over cleaning up a mess can be perceived  as punishment to a dog

-Clean up any messes in the home or couch with an enzyme-based cleaner. This is to remove any traces of odor that may encourage him to potty on over and over. 

-Make sure your puppy goes potty before you go to bed. Let him out, let him pee/poop, and praise and reward with a tasty treat for going. Give him a few more minutes out in case he may still want to pee a little more.  With an empty bladder, you have less chances for middle-of-night accidents. 

-Block access to the couch. At 18 weeks, your puppy shouldn't have the full run of the house. Keep him in a crate, play pen or small enclosed area of the house with an easy to wash surface over night lined up with pee pads (keep the pads on one side, doggy bed on the opposite side).  

-See your vet to exclude any medical problems. Urinary tract infections can make dogs pee in small amounts and very frequently. 

For future references:

 Train him to go potty on command. This can help ensure he goes every time you take him out. Here's how to train it:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/

Hope this helps!

Best,

Adrienne