Housebreaking an Adult Dog

Sometimes an older dog who has been through a lot of change will have a housebreaking relapse. Or there are some instances where an older dog has never been housebroken.

Regardless of the issue, if your adult dog needs to be housetrained (or retrained) you need to remember that you and your new dog need some time to learn each other’s signals and routines. For this purpose, your new dog is no different than a puppy. She needs to learn how your household works and where she is expected to eliminate and where she should not do so.

Fortunately, if you follow the steps below, it is not that difficult to teach an old dog a new trick! For the first few weeks after you bring your new dog home, you should assume that she isn’t housetrained and start from scratch.

Establish A Routine

·  Take your new dog out at the same times every day. For example, first thing in the morning when she wakes up, when you arrive home from work, and before you go to bed.

·  Praise her lavishly every time she eliminates outdoors. You can even give her a treat. You must praise her and give her a treat immediately after she’s finished and not wait until after she comes back inside the house. This step is vital, because rewarding your dog for eliminating outdoors is the only way she’ll know that’s what you want her to do.

·  Choose a location not too far from the door to be the bathroom spot. Always take your dog, on leash, directly to the bathroom spot. Take her for a walk or play with her only after she’s eliminated. If you clean up an accident in the house, leave the soiled rags or paper towels in the bathroom spot outside. The smell will help your dog recognize the area as the place where she’s supposed to eliminate.

·  While your dog is eliminating, use a word or phrase like "go potty," for example, that you can eventually use before she eliminates to remind her of what she’s supposed to be doing.

·  Feeding her on a set schedule, once or twice a day, will help make her elimination more regular.

Supervise, Supervise, Supervise

Don’t give Your dog an opportunity to soil in the house. She should be watched at all times when she’s indoors. You can tether her to you with a six-foot leash, or use baby gates, to keep her in the room where you are. Watch for signs that she needs to eliminate, like sniffing around or circling. If you see these signs, immediately take her outside, on a leash, to her bathroom spot. If she eliminates, praise her lavishly and reward her with a treat.

Confinement

When you’re unable to watch your dog at all times, she should be confined to an area small enough that she won’t want to eliminate there. It should be just big enough for her to comfortably stand, lie down and turn around in. This could be a dog crate (highly recommended), a portion of a bathroom or laundry room blocked off with boxes or baby gates. If she has spent several hours in confinement, when you let her out, take her directly to her bathroom spot and praise her when she eliminates.

Oops!

·  Most dogs, at some point, will have an accident in the house. You should expect this, as it’s a normal part of her adjustment to her new home.

·  If you catch your dog in the act of eliminating in the house, do something to interrupt her like making a startling noise (don’t scare her). Immediately take her to her bathroom spot, praise her, and give her a treat if she finishes eliminating there.

·  Don’t punish her for eliminating in the house. If you find a soiled area, it’s too late to administer a correction. Do nothing but clean it up. Rubbing your dog's nose in it, taking her to the spot and scolding her, or any other type of punishment, will only make her afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. Animals don’t understand punishment after the fact, even if it’s only seconds later. Punishment will do more harm than good.

·  Cleaning the soiled area is very important because dogs are highly motivated to continue soiling in areas that smell like urine or feces.

From www.petpromise.org