Scott

Your dog’s adorable until he discovers that the perfect place to pee is on your brand new area rug. What’s a pet owner to do?

Housetraining Your Puppy

If you have a new arrival, you can prevent accidents from the outset through proper housetraining techniques.

The Humane Society recommends:

- Take your puppy outside frequently - at least every two hours.

- Pick a bathroom spot outside, and always take your puppy to that spot using a leash. While your puppy is eliminating, use a word or phrase, like "go potty," that you can eventually use before he eliminates to remind him what to do.

- Reward your puppy every time he eliminates outdoors. Praise him or give him a treat—but remember to do so immediately after he's finished eliminating, not after he comes back inside the house.

If your Pet has the Occasional Accident…

1. Clean the soiled area thoroughly.

Soak up as much as the mess as possible using newspapers and paper towels. Try covering the soiled area with layers of paper towels, then putting a layer of newspapers over the layer. Try standing on the area for a moment or two to help the moisture soak into the paper towels and newspaper. Then remove the padding and repeat the process until the rug is completely dry. Finally, rinse the affected area with cool, clean water and then dry with a wet vac or by blotting.

2. Retrain your pet.

Convince him that the worst place in the world for him to make a mess is on your beautiful new area rug. The Human Society recommends that put the soaked paper towels in your cat’s litter box or in the area where your dog usually goes to relieve himself. This will help teach your pet that it’s okay to do Number 1 or Number 2, as long as it’s done in the proper place.

If Cleaning Fails to Remove the Stain or Odor

If the stain has already set into the rug’s material all your cleaning efforts will be in vain. Consider renting a wet vac used for carpet cleaning to extract all the moisture from the rug. Never try to steam clean to remove the stain or odor.

The heat will permanently set the stain and odor. If all else fails, send the rug to a professional cleaner.


Once you’ve got your animals trained, your old rugs cleaned, and it’s time to buy new rugs, shop at PaylessRugs.com.

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