I have a ten year old miniature male dachshund and a four year old regular female dachshund. After moving into a condo 2 years ago wich had urine stained carpets on the second floor from previous owners, my dogs seemed to think it is OK to go on the carpet. Even thought I walked them often, have installed doggie doors both for the upstairs patio (which is very large) and downstairs patio, they seem to get worse. I have to steamclean every two weeks, and I am now more concerned about the chemicals in my carpet than the urine. I will replace the carpet with either laminate or tile (can't figure out which choiced is best), but I would really like them to stop peeing. They have never been crated or punished (other than a little "talking to") and I'm not about to start. Please help!

Grateful for any answer.

Gry

While punishing dogs for your mistakes is usually counter productive, I doubt you will ever solve the problem without using the crate. You an read through the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/information-articles-our-dogs-expert-labman-53153.html#post251804
And pick out what might help. It is meant for use with young puppies, but the last paragraph points out the difference in timing with older dogs.

Spay/neutering also helps. You could also be fighting leadership issures. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete (http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/) For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm)