I only have one nice rug that I really don't want ruined that was in the main room. We have rolled it up and put it in a closet for now. We also put all of the indoor welcome mats by the doors away. We also puppy-proofed the main living area by covering exposed wiring and blocking things we really don't want chewed with playpen panels.
We left the rugs down in the other rooms because they are old and stained anyway. Mishka has access to the main room and kitchen now with limited supervision. As soon as we've seen her pee (and if we know a poo isn't coming soon) we open our bedroom door also. Our bedroom has an area rug that she can play on. Hopefully having some access to a rug that's not for peeing will help her understand the difference with time. If we see her sniffing for a bathroom, we close the bedroom door and guide her to the pee pee pad.
I concede, and agree that at this young age she probably just isn't capable of telling the difference between a rug and a pee pee pad. I know that house training is a long process. As she gets bigger and earns more freedom in the house, we will roll up and put away the other rugs as needed.
We will see how our current arrangement works in the meantime. I am still encouraging play and sleep on the rug in the bedroom. I sometimes practice her training on that rug and give her treats there. I know that dogs don't like to eliminate where they eat or sleep. So maybe encouraging Mishka to use the rugs for play, sleep, and treats will help prevent her from eliminating on them. |