puppy training issue

Question
We are in the process of house breaking a 14 wk old sheltie male pup. He is doing well except he has twice now peed on his sheepskin bed located on the floor of the kitchen where he is contained most of the time when not kenneled or outside to go pee. He does this right in front of us, we tell him no! ouside go pee and take him out to finish then praise and treat. The first time we thought it was because my daughter sent stuffed toys her dog didn't like that were on his bed, and the scent made him mark his bed. But there were no such scents the second time as we threw out those toys and washed his bed with vinegar added to the final rinse, and thoroughly cleaned the floor as well. We are puzzled over this behavior and how to stop it.

Answer
Hi, Gayle,

Thanks for the question.

I tell clients not to give their puppies new beds, but to use an old towel or blanket instead. Puppies really don't know what they're doing when it comes to housebreaking. It's an incremental process and they're going to make lots of mistakes, no matter how hard you try to keep that from happening. You have to just grin and bear it. The process of telling him "No!" and then rushing him directly outside only makes matters worse. Such a moment will be more charged emotionally for him, which actually increases the likelihood that he won't learn NOT to do what he just did, but learn the opposite.

You could try spraying his bed with a product called No-Go which inhibits dogs from eliminating where it's been sprayed, but it could also backfire. Sorry.  

The good news is that going "potty" outdoors is a natural instinct in dogs, one that starts to kick in after about 4-5 mos. of age. So if you give him as much opportunity to do his business in the proper places, don't make an issue out his mistakes, in time he'll not only be totally housebroken, he'll also be a happier, more well-adjusted doggie.

LCK