How to protect large custom rug in TV room?
 

Looking for suggestions on how people would protect a nice custom made rug in our family room which is where we will be spending a ton of time with our JOSIE that we get today!!!!

The rug is 10 foot by 10 foot and the room is like 20 foot by 30 foot. The room is hardwood, so I'm assuming josie will like the rug as it is softer. I know i do.

We were thinking of laying down a huge blanket we have for our king bed to play on when we are in that room. and if we catch her peeing on it while potty training we can throw it in the wash.

Hopefully someone had a similar experience and can give us some ideas on how they handled it.......

That might work but be careful it isn't viewed as a giant pee pad ;)

I had to remove my rug they thought it was their pee pad

I agree, store the rug until she is potty trained. If she ever has an accident on it she will keep going back to that spot. I would suggest after taking up the rug you can lay down the bed spread and use that for something soft to lay on. I wouldn't take any chances with the rug.

You could try covering it in plastic. I just got new carpet and hardwood floors in the rest of the house. My 3 have never been 100% trained. The first day with new carpets, Cali pees on the carpet 1 foot from pee pads. She peed 2 more times even though I had a lot of the carpet covered. So I have gone back to confining them. They have access to my bed, pee pads, the walk in closet that they like to hang out in and another area about 4 ft by 12 ft that I keep covered in plastic. I am currently using clear shower curtains but bought some corrugated plastic boards that I am going to try. The shower curtain gets all bunched up. I just can't have them ruining it. So I would either take it up or cover it in something like plastic until Josie is trained and can be trusted. Congratulations on getting Josie.

Since you are asking that question, I'm thinking maybe you haven't had a puppy before or housebroken a dog before. Can I give you some advice and of course, if you are an old hand at it, just ignore it - but the question made me think maybe you are new to puppies and housebreaking.

Remember you are bringing a baby into your home. You must realize (hehehe) that life as you knew it is over for a while. You can't expect a little doggie to not pee on that lovely soft surface - so don't. Placing a blanket over that rug won't really help as once she goes on that blanket, even if the scent doesn't get to the rug below, she will get the idea it is okay to go on soft things down on the floor in that same area instead of learning to go to her assigned potty spot outside or on a pad inside.

Remove rugs, electric cords, potted plants or anything your tiny little one can get into and give over to setting her up for success in potty training, reducing the changes she will have an accident or hurt herself or get into something dangerous or off limits. You will enjoy her more if you don't expect anything much of her as in not expecting her to leave your nice rug alone and other things like that. Expect her to make a mess tearing up your papers, mail or anything left where she can get to it, potty everywhere she shouldn't and chew everything in sight. That way you will see to it that she doesn't get put or left alone for a moment in any place you don't want potty or close to anything you don't want chewed.

Once your little baby has grown into a little lady with some training, impulse control and good discipline, you can start to re-introduce her to your valued things as you watch her like a hawk. When she starts to act like she might squat to pee or potty, you can stand immediately, say "no, let's potty outside/on the pad" to hopefully freeze her in her tracks as you go to her and take her outside or to her potty pad. Eventually when she is on that rug and you are watching her, she will learn that once she begins to act like she might potty on it, you are there to intervene with "no", usually with an unhappy look on your face or some amount of displeasure as we react many times instinctively before we think - and take her out or to her pad. In time she will associate all of this with the knowledge this rug is not a place to potty and if she starts to, she will be brought up short, rushed to her appropriate potty place. Eventually, she will be on the rug, feel the need to potty and start to go there, instantly remember that she should not as you will just intervene with a "no" and rushing her elsewhere and instead she will look at you, go around in circles or go stand by the door to get let out - or go over to her potty pad. And the first time you see her gain that impulse control and put two and two together and stop herself, make a move to go in the appropriate place - that's the time for great celebrations for her. Really praise her as you rush her out or once she's gone to her pad and finished. Look her in the face, smile and gush over her wonderful accomplishment. She will get the message that what she just did was very good and she'll want that instead of hearing your kind of hurried "no", seeing a bit of a frown and being swept up and to the potty place. She will decide that controlling her want to squat, asking to go out or going to her potty spot and getting smiles and praises is better by far.

As I say, if you know all of this and I misunderstood, please just disregard but if you are new to housebreaking, maybe you can use some of it.

Best of luck and good wishes for you new baby, Josie, coming home today. How exciting!

This happened with lola too!! she is pee pad trained and carpets ( no matter what kind, she thinks is a giant pee pad lol.
I had to get rid of all my carpets :(:eek:

Put it away untill after potty trained however mine still consider rugs pee pads

I definitely think it would be wise to put it away until your puppy is potty trained... It will just be a giant pee pad. I have an antique persian rug in our bedroom and we keep the door closed during the day so the dogs don't potty on it.

If you are going to use pee pads with her, then I'd put the rug away. I can't even have a towel on the floor, mine will pee on it every time:rolleyes: If you are going to outdoor train her, you might be able to put it back down after she's well trained.

Congrats on Josie, can't wait to see pictures:D!!!!

We have no rugs here...they can't tell the difference. Sometimes I'll have a fluffy warm blanket for them on the floor when it gets cold (we have laminate flooring throughout) , but someone (idk who) manages to sneak a pee on it.:rolleyes: loll

We just put our living room rug back down. Hulk is....almost 9mos and I consider him to be about 90% trained (outside). I still don't technically "trust" him, so he stays in the same room we're in. From all the reading I've done here, I'll probably keep up that level of "trust" until he's at least 1.

No accidents since it went down, but I agree with the others, best to pull it up if you're concerned. Hulk did pee on a bedroom rug once soon after we got him, hence our decision to pull them up till now. Now, he loves them because its a soft place to play.

It is so strange to me how they will all develop different places they like to pee. Maggie only goes outside and only in the grass. She doesn't go on the sidewalk. Even when we walk on the trails in the woods which can be sandy, rocky or leafy, she will walk off the trail into a mossy or leaf covered area and go. She just knows not to go on the path. It's very weird.

I don't think she would ever go on my rugs unless an emergency. I am careful at a friend's house whose dog used to pee on their carpet though. Pee pads seem like a handy idea because you can leave the dog longer without getting taken out, but I don't like to leave her so long that she can't hold it anyway. I would be afraid of carpets being used as pee pads, and I don't like a pee smell.

Take up the carpet until your baby is trained. A blanket won't stop the pee from going thru as it is a concentrated stream. You could put a waterproof sheet under the blanket.

Great Advice
 

Rolled up the rug and put in basement. GReat idea as Josie is peeing everywhere!!! Especially from 2-5pm??

Or hang the rug on the wall!