[Dailydrool] Protecting floors from a dog who's not fully housetrained?

[Elizabeth Hinchliffe]

Hi, 

I'm writing for a friend who just adopted a basset mix from rescue.  Really sweet dog, but she has some special needs, and is older.  

She is walked/let outdoors often and doesn't have accidents in the house, but has chosen the screen porch to be her toilet facility when the spirit moves her between walks.  The door is open all day in nice weather, so she can just walk right out.  She must have had a similar situation before.  

(And it doesn't seem to matter how frequently she's walked, she can come right in and soon thereafter leave a little puddle on the porch.  She's been checked for UTIs and medically cleared, the vet says she probably never had proper house training, her meds may make her have less control, and in addition older bladders just empty when they want to.)  

My friend is trying hard to make her feel comfortable in her new home, and doesn't want to scold or even train her, given her health and age.  (She's also concerned that if the porch is off limits, she'll start using the carpets.)  

With winter coming, my friend is trying to think of a way to allow her to continue to use the porch.  She's already had to take up and throw away a thoroughly soaked rug (my friend didn't catch on to what she was doing right away).  Any suggestions for something she could put down to cover the cement floor to protect it?  Plastic sheeting?  Cheap rugs?  Just keep washing the floor?  

Thanks!