Noooo! You know all to well what that wet spot you just sat in is… your dog peed on the furniture again! What is going on when they do this? Why is your dog peeing on the furniture? What scent deters dogs from peeing on furniture? Will dog pee ruin furniture?

Today, we’re going to answer all of the questions you have about this nasty problem from your dog. And, obviously, we’ll cover the information you came here for the most: how to stop your dog from peeing on the furniture for good! Soon, this will all be a thing of the past. Keep reading below for our article “How to Stop Dog Peeing on Furniture!”

Why Is My Dog Peeing on the Furniture?

Your dog is peeing on the furniture to assert their dominance, or due to separation anxiety. They are often seen in combination. Look to the volume of urine and your dog’s other behaviors to determine for sure. If your dog pees on the furniture in large amounts, then they are experiencing anxiety because these feelings make it difficult for them to control their bladder.

Small amounts of urine in spots on your furniture here and there is more in tune with simple marking behavior due to dominance alone. So if the volumes you’re seeing are small, then they are feeling dominant, and dominant only. But anytime the volume is significant, then they are experiencing separation anxiety, but could be feeling dominant in addition to this.

If any dominance is present in your dog, then you will see them doing things like barking and refusing to stop. They’ll get aggressive towards people or animals that maintain eye contact with them. They’ll guard their food and toys, even from you. Both male and female dogs can feel dominant and want to mark, even if they’ve been spayed or neutered.

Separation anxiety occurs because your dog either constantly feels the need to protect you, or to be protected by you. The stress that they feel when separated from you then causes them to have difficulty controlling their bladder. This also occurs both in males and females, regardless of whether or not they’ve been fixed.

But the good news is, it’s not super important to know for sure which of these your dog is experiencing because they’ll be treated in the same way. And it’s important to begin immediately, because they’re likely doing other similar misbehaviors like peeing on your outdoor furniture, peeing on your doorstep, or peeing at your back door.

To learn how to stop your dog from peeing on furniture while also getting to the root of what’s causing them to do so in the first place, skip to the last section now.

What Scents Deter Dogs From Peeing on Furniture?

Vinegar is a scent that deters dogs from peeing on furniture.  Make a 50/50 solution of distilled white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray it where your dog likes to pee on your furniture. It is safe for nearly all surfaces including wood. If your furniture is leather, use a conditioner after as the vinegar mix can dry it a bit.

Wait about an hour for the mix to fully dry and the smell should be undetectable for you, but your dog will still be able to pick it up and will continue to be deterred. It should also help to rid your furniture of any musty smells that may have built up over the years.

Will Dog Pee Ruin Furniture?

Dog pee will ruin furniture, so it’s important to clean it right away and also to work to stop their misbehavior. Wood is extremely absorbent, so stains will form quickly if you don’t catch them and clean up the mess right away. Dog urine can also easily stain fabrics or leather.

How Do You Stop a Dog From Peeing on Furniture?

You stop a dog from peeing on furniture by:

1. If you catch them in the act, immediately give a calm but firm “no” or “stop.”
2. Do not yell, clap, or get angry, as your dog may keep peeing on the furniture due to anxiety and this will only make things worse.
3. Put them into time-out in their crate or a closed-off room with no toys for 10 minutes.
4. Learn their urination schedule as best you’re able, and when it’s time to go out, put them on their leash and take them out to where you’d like them to go with some treats.
5. Be patient and wait for them to pee.
6. When they do, immediately reward them with positive praise and a treat.
7. Keep repeating this process and your dog will form a positive connection with urinating outside, and not inside on the furniture.
8. To prevent them from peeing on specific furniture, use the following steps.
9. Make a 50/50 mixture of water and distilled white vinegar in a spray bottle.
10. Spray this on any spots where your dog is marking on furniture.
11. The mixture is safe for nearly all surfaces and fabrics including wood and leather.
12. If you use it on leather, however, make sure to use a conditioner after as the mixture can dry it out a bit.
13. Wait about an hour. The smell will become undetectable for you once the spray has fully dried.
14. Your dog, though, will continue to be able to pick up the scent and will remain deterred from peeing there.

The combination of all of these steps should get your dog to stop peeing on the furniture, but remember that the underlying issues which were causing all of this to begin with will remain. And you certainly can’t allow that to continue, because your dog will continue to suffer. They’ll just find new ways and new areas in which to display it.

So to properly get to the root of your dog’s issues so that you can end all of this for good and help your dog through their struggles, we should first quickly talk about what makes dogs function deep down. You’ve likely heard before that dogs are pack animals, and that in every pack there is a pack leader.

But when your dog pees on furniture then they are without a doubt showing you that they don’t have any respect for you in this leadership role.

If they did, they wouldn’t feel the need to mark their territory, or feel anxious when you’re gone, because they would trust that you’ve got everything under control, even when you’re not home. They would not engage in any other types of disrespect or misbehavior. And they would obey your commands at all times — happily — and they would do so right away.

Prove to your dog that you are not just their pack leader, but a worthy, capable one that they must respect, and you’ll make all of these incredible changes your reality.

You’ll be better off for obvious reasons, but your dog will be too because you’ll have freed them from all of the stress and confusion that they’re currently burdened with 24/7 due to their dominance and anxiety problems.

Sounds wonderful, does it not?

“Yeah, absolutely, but how do I do any of this?”

You should watch an excellent free video series by a renowned trainer named Dan which is on this very subject: how to be your dog’s pack leader. In the series, Dan explains absolutely everything in ways that are very easy to understand and teach to your own dog, and he gets right to the point so that you can start seeing these important changes in your dog before things get any worse.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And don’t worry, because no, you’re not going to have to yell or be mean to your dog. Dan never uses those types of methods. Not just because loving teaching techniques are the right thing to do, but also because they’re the fastest way to achieve permanent changes in your dog’s behavior.

I’m sure you’re looking forward to coming home after a long day and not unexpectedly sitting down in a pee spot, so I’ll let you get started on things now. Good luck with everything, and thank you for reading our article “How to Stop Dog Peeing on Furniture.”