Housebreaking Is Easy to Accomplish! 

We housebreak dogs of ALL ages!

When brought into a new home, one of the first things a puppy/dog owner wants their new furry friend to learn is how to use the bathroom outside. A dog that is not housebroken is one of the most frustrating things for an owner. Luckily, house training is not that difficult to teach, be it a young puppy or an adult dog!

It is actually not uncommon for an older dog to still struggle with housebreaking. Even if they are past the puppy phase, these dogs are still capable of learning. To achieve successful housebreaking, you normally have to include the following with your training regimen:

  • Consistent scheduling: By this, we mean we need to get a dog on some type of routine when it comes to their meal times and when they are taken out for potty breaks. A consistent schedule of feeding is required – by regulating how much food the dog consumes, you are also regulating how much waste the dog will produce. With water, we don’t want to limit drinking time only with meals. Dogs should have access to water more often, but it should still be tightly monitored. Again, the more taken in, the more comes out!

With the scheduling aspect of training, you also want to give your dog the opportunity to go to the bathroom when it seems necessary. Most people when they first wake up in the morning and before the retire to bed for the evening will let the dog out after a long period of being inside and unable to eliminate outside. A dog should probably be let out shortly after eating and having some time to digest. Exercise and play time can stimulate the body and the urge for eliminating. With common sense applied, a consistent schedule, and monitoring of the dog’s food and water intake, this will help you and your dog take a major step forward to completing house training.

  • Don’t allow the opportunity!: When I say this, a lot of people think I am accusing them of letting their dog just go to the bathroom inside. These owners are doing the best they can to teach their dogs the inappropriate behaviors, but there are still lacking some control over the dog. That’s why I recommend heavy supervision of the dog and also positive crate use.

First off, if we use a crate for potty training, it must be appropriately sized where the dog can comfortably lie down and turn around. No bigger, no smaller than that. With this amount of space, this will motivate the dog to learn self-control, as no dog wants to be laying around in their own waste. Make sure with crate training that the crate is a positive association for the dog, not associated with punishment or negativity.

Now if the dog is NOT crated, then keep a close eye on the dog. Put the dog on the leash so that lessens their motivation to walk away and eliminate in the next room over. Along with keeping the dog on the leash, you gain more control of your dog, and the dog is kept closer to you, which can help cement the bond of love and trust between you and your dog!

And that is basically it! There may be extenuating circumstances with your dog’s housebreaking. For example, if the accidents appear to be anxiety-driven, or “piddles” from being too excited, there needs to be more training done to remove the anxiety, and bring more calm and focus for the dog. In any event, if you have questions about how to housebreak your dog successfully, write me at training@raisethebardogtraining.com. If you need some housebreaking or behavioral training for your dog, I should have a suitable program for you and your dog! Call 800-649-7297 to schedule an initial in-home consultation!