Luli is 7 years old, she is spayed, and has been trained to pee outside in the patio on puppy pads. She lets me know when she wants to go by scratching the glass door of the patio, and I always take her out before we go to bed. She has always had periods of stress where she would pee on carpets and rugs, but now she started peeing on my bedroom rug, and she does it while I am sleeping. There is no way for me to catch her in the act and I don't know what else to do to make her stop. Please help me... :)

Guess what. Pee pads are nice and soft. Carpets are nice and soft. If she has learned to pee on nice, soft pee pads, she will also pee on a nice, soft carpet or towel or blanket or sofa cushion. She has no idea they are different.

Stop using pee pads!

Guess what. Pee pads are nice and soft. Carpets are nice and soft. If she has learned to pee on nice, soft pee pads, she will also pee on a nice, soft carpet or towel or blanket or sofa cushion. She has no idea they are different.

Stop using pee pads!

OMG Really?? So she doesn't know the difference between peeing in the patio, where she was trained to go, and peeing inside of the house?

Do you think this behavior can be changed? Thank you very much for your answer.

OMG Really????? so she doesn't know the difference between peeing in the patio, where she was trained to go, and peeing inside of the house?

Do you think this behavior can be changed? Thank you very much for your answer.

This behavior can be changed, but it will take some time. You're basically potty training from scratch, and worse, she already has a bad habit that you're going to have to change, unlike a new puppy that simply doesn't know what you want it to do.

Is there a reason that you want her to pee on the patio and not outside on grass? Do you not have easy access to a yard with grass?

The best suggestion would be to grass train. Take her outside to the grass, pick a potty word that you're going to stick with, I use "potty time". Wait for her to go and when she does you're going to praise as if she just won an award. High pitched voice, Good girl, good girl, a treat, and really let her know that she's done what you want her to do.

That's actually going to be the easier part. The hard part is going to be getting her to stop peeing on puppy pads and the patio, and in turn your carpet. When she potties inside a firm no, take her outside immediately, use the potty words and follow the instructions above.

The problem is, you have to catch her in the act. Is she crate trained? It would be best if she's kept in a crate at night. Dogs rarely pee or poo in their crate.

Sadly you're in this for the long haul. It's not going to be an overnight fix, but yes, do throw out the puppy pads. They're the worst invention ever, and so many people buy them thinking that they wouldn't be sold if they didn't work. But a dog doesn't know a puppy pad from carpet, a towel, your clothes. It's very confusing to a dog, and not at all natural. Peeing outside on grass is natural, and easily taught.

Good luck. :)