How do you housebreak an older dog

If your dog is prone to anxiety, speak with your veterinarian about a prescription for short-acting anti-anxiety medications to help with behavior modification and adjustment to the crate.

Leave the front door of the crate open and leave your dog to roam the room freely. Check in to see the progress. When your dog enters the crate, reward them with a special treat that is only used when they are in the crate. Use this special treat any time your dog is relaxed in and around the crate. Think about a routine that you can use every time your dog enters and leaves the crate.

Consistency is key. Once your dog is relaxed in the crate, try closing the crate door for a few seconds, and reward your dog for staying calm. You can gradually increase the time that the door is closed.

Then try leaving the room for short periods at a time while your dog is in their crate. Do not rush this part; it will not happen in a day. Eventually, you can try leaving the house for short periods of time. When you come home, try not to create a stressful environment by yelling or using a high-pitched voice to greet your dog. For potty training success, you must create a routine for mealtimes, potty walks, and crate time.

This routine should be simple and easy to follow by all the members of your household, and should be followed seven days a week. It may look something like this:. Leave for work. If you cannot come home to walk your dog during the workday, have someone friend, family member, dog walker walk your dog.

This person should use the same high-value treat for rewarding your dog for going potty outside, and they should follow the same protocols for walking your dog as you do. Take a walk just before bedtime.

If accidents are happening, have your dog stay in their crate at night. Practice the same routine every day. If there is an accident, do not yell or speak; simply clean it up. After your dog is potty trained, you can remove the front door of the crate to encourage your dog to use the crate as their safe haven. The rules for training adult dogs can be a bit different. First and foremost, you want to determine two things:. Your veterinarian can guide you for medical issues, and you may need to consult a canine professional if the soiling is connected to a behavioral problem.

Feed your dog at the same time every day and take their bowl away between meals. Smelling his own scent can encourage him to go. If and only if you catch them in the act of eliminating not 5 minutes later! Then take them outside and offer them praise and treats after they finish eliminating. Many pet parents have an urge to yell or otherwise scare or punish their dog for eliminating inside, but all this does is make them afraid of you.

When that happens, most dogs simply hide from their owners when they need to go. Some dogs give very clear signals when they need to go, such as scratching at the door. Create a housetraining chart or use a notepad to track when and where your dog potties, so you can learn their patterns. When learning how to potty train an older dog, remember that accidents will happen. If you see your dog having an accident, calmly take them outside, and then praise and offer a treat for going in the right place.

Fight the urge to yell or scold! For the fastest results, start with frequent potty breaks, take good notes and make sure that every time your dog does their business outside, they are rewarded with praise, treats and fun! She is also certified in TAGteach, a positive reinforcement method for coaching humans.

She presents at conferences and seminars worldwide, and her writing has been published both in print and online. She shares her home with a rescued English Shepherd named Franklin and her husband, Aaron not a rescue. Published: January 12, By: Chewy Editorial Updated: November 19, By: Victoria Schade Updated: October 8, By: Victoria Schade Updated: June 15, By: Chewy Editorial Published: October 7, If four and a half hours was too long and your dog had an accident, make it easier by just waiting four hours and fifteen minutes.

Here's some good news — adult dogs usually don't need nighttime bathroom breaks as young puppies do. Yay for uninterrupted sleep! However, if your dog has nighttime accidents, you will need to set up their environment for success. This might mean crating them at night or having them sleep in their larger playpen. You don't want them wandering through the home looking for a potty spot while you're asleep. If your dog has morning accidents, set an earlier alarm so you can take them out to go to the bathroom.

And always give them a bathroom break as late as possible before going to bed each night. Carefully watching your dog during remedial potty training is crucial for success. Take note of your dog's signals that they need to go so you can prevent an indoor accident. When you're unable to watch them closely, place them in their crate or larger dog zone to help prevent accidents, and encourage them to hold it.

Teaching your dog to use a doorbell or buzzer is a great way to stay ahead of any accidents. Once a dog has learned that ringing the bell means the door opens, it's easier for them to let us know in an obvious way that they want to go potty. However, using potty bells only works if you've been consistent in rewarding their outdoor house training! Otherwise, they don't know they're supposed to go potty outside, so why ring the bell to open the door?

You can introduce potty bells or buzzers in a couple of ways to your dog. Some owners teach their dog first to target the bells before pairing it with the door opening. Others hang up the bells or put the buzzer by the door and add ringing them into the potty break routine. Any time you're on your way outside, encourage your dog to hit the bell or button and reward with the door immediately opening and lots of praise!

Our dogs can be too smart sometimes — you might see your dog take advantage of bells at the door. Once they learn that ringing them means the door opens, you might hear them ring every time your dog wants to play outside or chase the squirrel in the yard.

Some dogs also just love playing with the bells themselves which can be dangerous if they chew on them or ingest the bells! For many of my clients, they will train their dogs to use potty bells or buzzers when they first restart house training, but once their dog is reliably house trained again, they will remove them.

Finnegan was catching on that using the bell was getting him access to go outside any time he wanted, so if he didn't go potty right away, his owners brought him back inside right away. He's learned and doesn't abuse his skills too much anymore. PRO TIP: If you're using a buzzer like the one shown in the video above, make sure the button is easily visible for your puppy to see and then target. We placed one of these blue felt stickers on Finnegan's buzzer dogs can see the colors blue and yellow better than others so he knew where to push with his nose.

When starting potty training over with an adult dog, remember that it's all about consistency as your dog relearns appropriate potty habits. There might be a few bumps along the way, but your hard work will pay off!

We'd love to hear about your experience in potty training your adult dog. Let us know what's worked for you in the comments!