How to housebreak your dog: Young or old, housebreaking tips and tricks
The most important rule for housebreaking your puppy is for everyone in the household to be on-board with the same training methods to avoid confusion. And remember that your puppy will no doubt have accidents along the way. Never scold her for an accident. By yelling or rubbing her nose in her own mess, she will become nervous. And nervous dogs have more accidents. Dogs weren’t born with the “only relieve one’s self outside” knowledge.
When you see your puppy sniffing the floor, scoop her up and get her outside immediately.
Choose the spot where you want to her to “go” and take her there; same spot each time. Potty Training Aid steps up the housebreaking process. Using this scientifically formulated spray encourages your puppy to urinate in a designated area.
As previously mentioned, your puppy WILL have accidents. Hey, no one’s perfect! When she does relieve herself in the house, clean the spot thoroughly, then spray with Pet Organics No-Go! Housebreaking Aid, available at Petco. Having the opposite effect as Potty Training Aid, your puppy will be deterred by it’s herbal scent. This organic formula is not unpleasant smelling to humans. Both products are completely safe for your pet and will help to speed up the housebreaking task.
It is imperative that your puppy be taken outside a few minutes after eating. You may have to spend several minutes outside with her. Give her much praise after she relieves herself. She will associate the “good girl” praise with going potty, and will look forward to your approval each time. Also take her outside just before bedtime and as soon as she awakes in the morning. Your normal morning routine will be disrupted until she is old enough to be able to control her bladder and bowels.
It won’t take long to learn your puppy’s individual body language. Once she learns it is only appropriate to relieve herself outside, she will either whine at the door, scratch the door, or just stand in front of it.
Housebreaking techniques for an older dog are basically the same as with a puppy, but even more patience is required. Although they are able to hold their bladder and bowels much longer than puppies (providing there are no health issues), your older dog may have been raised in a home where there were no rules and possibly lived with abuse. Dogs who have been mistreated have no clue as to what is acceptable and not acceptable. A little extra dose of love and understanding goes a long way.
The products mentioned above work well for the adult dog just as they do with a puppy. They also offer many other products that further help with the housebreaking process. Check out which ones best suit your needs.
As an added incentive for the older dog, consider small treats along with positive praise after she relieves herself outside. Don’t give her these treats at any other time. These special snacks should be given for the sole purpose of going potty where she is supposed to do so.
Before traveling with your dog, once she is completely housebroken, it is a good idea to “asphalt” train her as well. Training your dog that it is okay to relieve herself in a parking lot will help on those long rides when she needs to go to the bathroom and there is no grass in sight.
In a few short weeks you should have a completely housebroken dog. If she is still having accidents in the house, contact a veterinarian as it is possible the reason is due to an underlying medical cause.
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[...] it will be much easier to try and train the dog to use the litter box. Just as with traditional yard training or paper training, a dog needs lots of guidance so they can understand what they need to do. Dogs have short memory [...]