Updated: March 25, 2024
Adopting a new puppy into your home in the Red River Valley, North Dakota, is a fun and exciting time. However, it can also cause some stress. Puppies need to be trained to go to the bathroom outside. This takes time, and your floors may be vulnerable to accidents in the interim.
You shouldn’t have much trouble keeping a tile floor clean because even though the materials used to make tiles are naturally porous, as well as the grout used to hold them in place, the installation usually involves sealing to prevent them from absorbing any fluids. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to learn how to clean dog urine from tile even before you bring your puppy home. Neither you nor your puppy is perfect, so there are sure to be a few accidents during the training process. Here are some tips for keeping these to a minimum. If you have questions about this in the Fargo or Grand Forks area, please read more below:
1. Positively Reinforce the Behavior You Want
Dog training experts agree that, when modifying your dog’s behavior through training, it is more effective to positively reinforce the behaviors you want with rewards than to scold your dog for unwanted behavior. Therefore, you should provide your puppy with opportunities to go to the bathroom outside, which is what you want them to do, and then reward them when they do so. Praise, physical affection (e.g., petting, head scratches, belly rubs), and treats are all examples of ways to reward your dog. The trick is that you have to do it right away after they go outside, or they won’t make the connection between the behavior and the reward.
If you catch your puppy in the act of using your floor for a toilet, you can try scolding them. However, rather than punishing them, you may accidentally reinforce the behavior you don’t want by giving your dog attention. Dog experts generally agree that if and when your puppy has an accident, you should merely clean it up without either a positive or negative reaction and keep looking for opportunities to positively reinforce good behavior. Under no circumstances should you scold your puppy from going in the house after the fact, as this will just confuse them.
2. Take Your Puppy Out Regularly
Dogs are more likely to poop or pee after having a meal or something to drink. You control when your dog gets food or water as well as when they go outside. Therefore, you can minimize the risk of an accident that requires you to know how to clean dog urine from tile if you strategically take your puppy outside after they have had a meal or a drink of water. Your puppy will have fun exploring the yard of your home in the Red River Valley, North Dakota, and if they do poop or pee as expected, you can positively reinforce them with praise. Before long, they should learn that outside is the place they are supposed to go to the bathroom, and your floors should be safe from that point on.
Once your dog learns to pee outside, you should provide a constant source of freshwater to prevent dehydration. However, you should control the times and amounts of water that your puppy drinks during housetraining.
3. Observe Your Puppy Closely
The probability of your puppy needing to poop or pee is higher after they have had something to eat or drink. However, sometimes bodily functions are unpredictable, and your dog may have to pee or poop at times that you do not expect when you are indoors. You can decrease the risk of an accident that requires you to employ your knowledge of how to clean dog urine from tile by keeping a close eye on your puppy at all times. One easy way to do this is to attach your puppy’s leash to your belt loop. This prevents them from straying from you to do their business in a remote corner where you might not find it right away while freeing up your hands to attend to your daily tasks. When you observe behavior that indicates your puppy is getting ready to go, make a loud noise to distract her, scoop them up and take them outside, then praise them when they go on the grass.
You cannot observe your puppy every moment of every day. While most new dog owners take some time off from work to help the puppy adjust, eventually, you will have to go back, and there are also the hours when you are sleeping. Keep them closed up in a kennel whenever you cannot observe your puppy. Dogs are den animals, and they like to have a small, cozy place of their own to curl up and relax. They are also instinctually programmed not to soil their dens, so you shouldn’t have to worry about your puppy having an accident while in their kennel.
4. Clean up Accidents Promptly
Despite your best efforts, some accidents are expected when housetraining a new puppy. There are several reasons you should know how to clean dog urine from tile grout and do it as soon as possible after your puppy has an accident. Cleaning up promptly prevents staining, especially important if the tile or grout is unsealed. More importantly, dogs use their sense of smell to identify known toilet sites, and even if you cannot smell the urine anymore, your dog can. Eventually, they will identify established potty spots outside and not want to go anywhere else.
How to Clean Up Puppy Accidents
Despite your best efforts to effectively housetrain your puppy, accidents are bound to happen. Basic cleanup of fresh accidents is pretty straightforward and can be done by just about anyone.
How to Clean Puppy Pee on Tile
Cleaning puppy urine from tile can be much more straightforward than cleaning it from carpet or rugs because tile is a hard surface that doesn’t soak up liquid as carpet fibers do.
Once you have discovered the puppy urine on the tile flooring, remove as much urine as possible with a paper towel, rag, or mop; dispose of or wash this quickly.
Soak the area with a pet stain cleaner; this type of cleaner contains enzymes specifically formulated to fight pet urine and waste stains and odors. With many different manufacturers making products like this, it’s always important to review any usage instructions on the packaging.
You may need to scrub the cleaner into the tile flooring or let it soak; once this has been done, wipe away the cleaner and allow it to dry. You may also need to reapply the cleaner, as necessary.
While these cleaners work well when used correctly, they still might not achieve the results you get from professional tile flooring cleaners who have specialized equipment and cleaning solutions; DIY cleaning for occasional accidents is a good idea between professional cleaning.
How to Clean Puppy Pee on Carpet
It is very important to remove as much urine from the carpet as possible, to avoid the puppy using that spot again in the future.
As with cleaning puppy urine from tile, it’s vital to address puppy accidents on the carpet as soon as possible. First, soak the soiled carpet with paper towels or rags; be sure to blot and press, instead of scrubbing. Add clean water to the spot if it has already been sitting for any time.
Apply an enzyme cleaner (be sure to use one that is specifically designed for carpet cleaning and pet urine) and clean as instructed by the manufacturer. You may need to repeat this process depending on the severity of the urine stain.
To take the cleaning a step further, professional cleaners will typically use specifically formulated enzyme cleaners and shampoo or steam machines to completely remove any traces of puppy urine from the carpet.
How To Remove Puppy Urine Odors From Tile Flooring
These steps should help keep accidents to a minimum during housetraining. While you should do some damage control in the immediate aftermath, the best way to clean up puppy accidents for good is to have your floors cleaned professionally by Steamatic of the Red River Valley. We know how to clean dog urine and waste from tile effectively, using an enzyme cleaner that removes odors so neither you nor your dog can detect them anymore. We ensure that the cleaner gets into any crevices or cracks by completely saturating the area. Once the cleaning is complete, we dry the area thoroughly. The odors are gone, and the floor is good as new. Contact us to make an appointment.
Image Credit: Olimpik / Shutterstock
