House Training an Older Dog

Older dogs that have housebreaking issues are often up for adoption. These dogs include rescues from greyhound racetracks, who never lived in a house. They could also be rescues from puppy mills, where they were confined to small cages and had no choice but to urinate and defecate on themselves. But all dogs are capable of learning house training.

First see if the dog has medical reasons for having accidents in the house. For example, a small percentage of spayed females will have bladder control issues when they sleep. This can easily be managed through medication. The vet will check to see if the dog has any infections or neurological problems. Ask before the checkup whether you need to bring a stool or urine sample.

If the dog has a clean bill of health, the problem is most likely that he was never house trained in the first place. Housebreak just as you would a puppy. If you have books, websites or other materials on housebreaking a puppy, they will apply for an older dog. A dog usually circles the ground and sniffs right before urinating or defecating. When you see this, take the dog outside immediately and praise.

Some adult dogs learn more quickly through crate training, where you make a spacious den out of a dog crate for the dog to stay in while you are away. This crate is never used as punishment, so the dog likes the crate and has more of an incentive to keep it clean. You can also use one room in the house to keep the dog in when you are away. This should have easily cleanable floors, plenty of dog toys and free access to fresh water.

All dogs learn in their own time, because all dogs have different degrees of intelligence. Also, you must be persistent in getting the dog out of the home when you see that she needs to go outside. Always praise with kind words, a pat and maybe a treat when the dog goes in the right place.

Paper training is not a good way to train either a puppy or a dog. It only teaches him to go on newspaper, whether you want him to or not. Also, never rub a dog's nose in a urine puddle or in stool. This only teaches the dog to be frightened of you and will cause a big setback in training. Dogs have very short-term memories. They will not be able to realize that you are angry because of an accident that occurred hours ago.