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If you’ve just adopted an older dog and he’s been having accidents in your home, then you should definitely take a minute to read this article.

In the next few paragraphs, I’m going to discuss some important information about potty training an older dog.  First, we’re going to talk a little bit about why older dogs may need to be retrained.  Then, we’ll talk about the training process for potty training an older dog.  Last, I’ll give you some great tips that are going to help you get your dog back into the swing of doing his business outside.

First, let’s talk a little bit about bringing an older dog into your home, and why he may not seem to be potty trained.  Just because a dog was potty trained as a puppy doesn’t mean that he will be potty trained when he is brought into the home of a new owner.  Dogs need time to adjust to a new environment.  The dog also doesn’t know what to expect from you.  What will you allow?  What won’t you allow?  He’s going to feel you out at the beginning, so you’ll need to let him know what you will and won’t stand for.

Next, let’s discuss the training process.  You’ll need to start training your dog as if he were a puppy.  Crate training is the best option to start. However, some older dogs are very set in their ways, and can become very aggressive when faced with confinement.  If this is the case with your dog, don’t push the matter.  Use a bathroom or other small room as your “crate”. 

A schedule should be set for potty breaks right off the bat.  Older dogs are very picky about where they eliminate outside.  He won’t want to go where he plays, eats, or sleeps.  You need to monitor your dog for a week or two until you get a handle on where he likes to go to the bathroom.  Always head right to these spots as soon as you get outside with your dog.  This will condition your dog to understand that when you bring him to that particular spot, you want him to eliminate.

Lastly, let’s talk about some things you can do to help your dog become potty trained again.  It’s best to set regular feeding times.  Feed your dog once in the morning, and once in the evening, and always at the same times.  This way you can be sure of when your dog will need to go.  Again, it’s all about routine and consistency. 

If your dog came from an abusive home where there was hitting or paper swatting, it may take him much longer to become acclimated to his new environment.  In turn, it’s going to take you longer to get him trained.  If this is the case, be patient with your dog and approach the matter with love and affection.  Remember, he was abused.  The best thing for him is to know that he doesn’t have to be threatened by you and that you aren’t going to hit him when he makes a mistake.

If your dog does have an accident, it’s best just to clean it up and move on.  Yelling at your pooch will only make him nervous and worsen the matter.  Older dogs are prone to more accidents than puppies, and this could be for any number of reasons.  Mostly, it’s because older dogs suffer from anxiety when they are getting acclimated to a new home.  Your older dog may also “mark” his territory by urinating in numerous places.  The only effective solution for this in older dogs is neutering.

Understand why your dog needs to be retrained, learn the training process, and follow the tips I discussed and you’ll have Fido potty trained in no time!

Puppy Potty Training Method

Puppy potty training is essential if you are hoping for a house broken dog. It is advisable that you learn about the various aspects of this training in order to achieve success at it rather than simply focusing on giving the command.

When you bring a pup home, try and ensure that the canine is between 4 to 6 weeks old. Remember that the puppy will be suffering from some separation anxiety and cuddling is quite important at this stage. Right from the first day the pup must understand its sleeping area, the puppy potty training although, can wait for a day or two until the canine is settled in.

So, for the first day you can simply take your puppy out every two hours and encourage it to walk around and find a spot to go potty. It is also essential that you remember in exploring the house, the pup is bound to create some mess and therefore, having the appropriate cleaning tools will help a lot.

Cleaning up is quite a process in successful puppy potty training. These tiny pups have a heightened sense of smell and will repeat the ‘accident’ at the spot where they had gone before, if they get a whiff of it. So make sure that apart from the visual you also camouflage the smells with other strong ones.

Before you get the pup home, it is important that you build a crate that is large enough to accommodate the pup and yet not too big. The animal should be able to take a turn in the crate and settle down into a cuddled sleep with ease. Put the animal to bed here. Following their natural instinct, these pups will not soil their ‘sleep’ area.

Beginning Potty Training
Once the pup is able to walk around with ease and has warmed up to its new environment, you can begin the puppy potty training process. This will require you to take the pup out every three hours. Do not carry the animal but encourage it to follow you outside. Give positive commands like ‘come let’s go poop’, etc.

Rewards are crucial even for these tiny tots and those of us who have kept dogs before know that a biscuit that will work well for an adult dog, will not do well for a pup. So keep small and soft rewards to offer to the pup, once it does manage to accomplish what is asked of him. Petting and words of praise should also go hand in hand with the rewards.

The Paper Method
For those of us who have had a litter at home, there will be a fair amount of potty management required before the pups actually go to their new adopted houses. At this stage the paper technique of puppy potty training is known to be much more effective, since the pups don’t walk around too much and covering the area that they do with paper is fairly easy. In fact this technique also helps in cleaning up quite nicely.

Dog Potty Systems
As a side note, dog potty systems have become ever increasingly popular due to the messy cleanup that is necessary after your dog or pup uses the newspaper that has been laid out for him or her. The dog potty systems are self contained and easily washable so that you don’t have to engage in a rather extensive cleaning up process of urine and feces.

Puppy potty training is not rocket science and anyone who is willing to offer the puppy affection and a schedule along with a good potty training program is sure to achieve success.

Dog Toilet is commonly used nowadays for dog potty training. It is indeed frustrating to see your own dog not to be able to learn to potty outside your house. You may find it easier said than done. And you came to a point where you have asked yourself, why can’t my dog learn it?!

In reality, it is not difficult to have your dog potty trained as long as you find the best dog toilet there is to make your dog learn it consistently. There are no trade secrets to training your dog for potty training, just make sure you do it the right way with the right equipment and your dog will be potty trained in an instant.

A good and functional dog toilet called Porch Potty compliments your intention of having your dog potty trained. It is the best dog toilet ever invented to aid in teaching your dogs the right way of doing it. Grass is the key to training. The included synthetic grass in Porch Potty is great for years of use. But nothing works better for training your dog, than the smell of REAL GRASS. Use the Training Sod for the first 3 weeks while you train your puppy to use the Porch Potty, then switch to Synthetic Grass for years of care free grass. The Training Sod is a special soil-less sod that is easily placed in the Porch Potty in seconds. It eliminates the dirt and mess of typical sod and has the scent of real grass dogs are familiar with.

Absolutely, Porch Potty saves you time, money and the hassles of cleaning up your dog’s mess!

Indoor dog potty training may take few weeks. Some dog owners would just hope for the day that their dogs could go to toilets like we do. It would definitely make all our lives simpler and easier. On the contrary, majority of dog owners know that dog potty training entails educating them to do their business outside, and not on the living room carpet. You have to put on your patience and a huge level of development will rely on the dog’s cooperation. Once he has completed the housebreaking phase, all the efforts are well worth it.

Possibly, the simplest method for dog potty training is the newspaper method. In its basic terms, newspaper training requires placing newspapers in the chosen potty spot of the house. It can be the extra bathroom or utility room, this should be the assigned place as well where your dog get to only do his duty there. Ideally, you have to take your dog each hour to this assigned place and make use of the same instructions every time that you signal your dog to proceed to the bathroom. Make sure to observe your dog around the house and most especially if he begins to go potty, take him to the assigned potty area and give him the same instructions you did, soon after he will begin to realize that that was the assigned spot to potty.

It is a rule that you praise your dog when he gets it done the right way. This is positive reinforcement support. It’s one way of making them feel great since dogs have been satisfying their owners almost their entire life. If your dog does not commit any mistake, then there will be no need to punish him, specifically if were not there and catch him yourself in the act. Dogs won’t be able to comprehend that he is being punished, not until you do something to make him eventually start to fear you. But if you get the chance to catch him doing wrong things, then you can punish him and take out your dog outside to where you have assigned the potty area.

There may also be a problem when it comes to urinating instantly. Other dogs sometimes get excited when their dog owner comes home or they meet a new dog which makes them lose control. This may result to having themselves wet and whoever may be around them. Your dog will be able to learn bladder control when you have properly housebroke him even when he faced the most shocking or pressuring situations.

The potty area should not be just near your carpeted floors inside your house. It may be on near the dirty kitchen or somewhere that does not have any carpet. The good news is that we have potty training systems out in the market which can save you from cleaning their urine or feces every single time they mess up your home.

Porch Potty is the best tool you’d ever need in completing the potty training phase of your dogs. It is the best tool ever invented to aid in teaching your dogs the right way of doing it. It saves you time, money and the hassles of cleaning up your dog’s mess!

Indeed, indoor potty training will consume time and patience. The effort you give to this whole process and the type of your dog you have will determine how quick your dog will learn to potty the proper way. Other dog breeds are faster to learn and are much effortless to train. At the end of the day, your newly potty trained dog will bring happiness to both you and your furry best friend.

If you want to be successful in potty training your puppy, then you have to choose a tried and tested method. But not only that, you have to ensure you are committed – it’s the key to successful potty training. Keep in mind that it might take a few months before your dog is fully potty trained if you do not spend enough time training him in the beginning.

How to Start Potty Training Your Pup

Potty training a puppy is to a large extent reliant on a good daily routine. Like babies, a pup has to poo every hour, and pee every 15 to 20 minutes in the beginning. So it’s important that you learn when to take him to his potty spot (oh, you have to decide on one before you bring him home.

Usually you should take him to the toilet straight after a meal, when he wakes up after a nap, after extended periods of play and excitement, and before you take him to bed. Over and above that check with him every 15 to 20 minutes. Also, beware of the tell tale signs of him needing to go: restlessness, digging, going around in circles or sniffing. Once you see these signs, take him to his potty spot. He will get used to the idea that that is his designated potty area.

Unfortunately at least in the beginning you need to keep a constant eye on your puppy – or it will go anywhere. If you feel you have no time to spend with your puppy now, maybe look for an already potty trained pup, or postpone getting a puppy until you can get some solid time together.

How to Deal With Potty Accidents

Number one rule: do not hit or yell at your dog when he’s not gone to the potty spot you assigned him. Remember – he’s not doing this to spite you – he’s simply following nature. In these early days, if your pup relives himself in the wrong place it is more your fault than his – he’s just a puppy that’s learning…

If you catch him in the ‘act’ pick him up calmly and take him to his potty spot. Wait for him to finish there and tell him he’s a good boy. If his potty spot is just too far to take him to while urinating, then just leave him to finish (he’ll make less mess that way), then be more vigilant next time and take him to his potty more often.

Your puppy wants to please you – so be patient and he’ll soon learn where to go by himself with very little if any accidents.

Things You Need to Remember Before You Start Puppy Potty Training

As a last note, I would like to give you some pointers that will make potty training your puppy much easier:

Dogs hate soiling their territory. It’s important to clean his potty spot often or he might just decide to go somewhere cleaner. Give him treats or praise whenever he poops on his designated area. Actions which are rewarded tend to be repeated. Follow a schedule. Feed your dog at the same time every day. This would make potty training easier and more convenient for you. Believe it or not what goes in will come out. So feeding your dog solid food will make his doos more solid and hence easier for you to clean up. Dogs need to go to the potty a few minutes after they wake up. So try to wake up at the same time your dog to minimize accidents. If do not have an open area to train, you can lay down papers on an area where your dog can relieve himself.

From then onwards, all you need to do is to make sure that your dog relieves himself in his designated area. You have to be consistent and patient, and soon your dog will know what to do, how and where to do it.

If your dog is driving you crazy, you need to read this article. Training a dog is not as easy as buying it. Dogs only know their own “dog language”. We have to teach them our language, and make them listen and understand what we want. Dogs are generally smart, so whatever stuff we teach them, good or bad, leave lasting impressions in their minds.

So how do you exactly train your dog to listen to you? This section will touch on the basics only. Specific commands and instructions will be left to the professionals.

1. The most important thing when training your dog, is to build a strong relationship with your dog. A relationship that is very much like that of a family member. There is love, mutual respect and common understanding. To let your dog understand you, you must find understand it. And you are the best trainer for your dog, no one else.

2. Training sessions should be kept short. 15-20 minutes per training session is cool. There may be repeated training sessions in a day, for several days until your dog has fully learnt the desired behaviour. If it has not done so by then, you should change your approach entirely.

3. Make sure you reward your dog after it has learnt to behave itself. You are reinforcing its good behaviour with rewards. But do go easy on those rewards, as you might give your dog the wrong idea that a reward follows every action done.

4. Punishment as a way too? You should scold your dog only when you catch it misbehaving. Then quickly correct it by showing it the appropriate behaviour, followed by rewarding it. Never hit or kick your dog as it might result in a fearful or aggressive dog.

Similar to human babies, puppies should not be left alone unsupervised. Just like babies, puppies are not fully aware of what is the expected protocol and might make mistakes. Do ensure that there is somebody who can be with the puppy to make sure he is monitored. This lessens the frequency of mistakes committed. Time and patience is a natural part of the learning curve. A puppy is not seen to be house-trained until he manages to avoid defecating in the house for at least 4 weeks. Bear in mind that it might take slightly longer if you are training older dogs.

Until then, you should keep a constant vigil over him, set up baby gates to control his movements in the house and confine him to his crate when unsupervised. Take note that if your puppy squats and urinates when he greets you, he may probably suffer from submissive urination. Such dogs are hypersensitive and should not be scolded for this behavior, since punishment only worsens the problem. However, as he grows older, he will no longer do this if you are calm and quiet. Or you could ask him to sit down for a tasty treat till someone greets him.

To prevent your puppy from committing the same mistake, you should remove all urine and fecal odor so that your puppy does not return to the same spot in your house where he made a mess. They have an innate tendency to go back to a spot they visited earlier.

To completely remove the odor, use a good deodorizer for doggy odors. If he urinated on a carpet, saturate it with a cleaning agent. Shut off all those rooms in your house where your puppy has made frequent mistakes. Let him enter here only when accompanied by a family member.

An extra tip to remove urine from carpet is to use black lights to find the exact urine spot to make cleaning more efficient. You can use commercial or create a homemade deodorizer by mixing 50% water and 50% white vinegar. Take note that you should never use ammonia on a urine spot. It will encourage your dog to return to the same spot.

As mention earlier, it is quite natural for a dog to make a mess during the potty training period. This is why you need to be ready to handle these problems.

a. Punishing him only after a mistake has been committed will slow down the speed of training.

b. Be patient. Like any training endeavor, potty training requires a lot of patience. Don’t rub his nose into his mess. This will not teach him not to repeat it and will only end up making him frightened of you.

c. If you catch him while he is in the midst of doing, stop him with a quick grab of his collar and pull him up while making a startling sound, a sharp noise or say “No” using your deep, stern tone loudly. Do this only when you catch him red-handed, but be sure not to be too loud or he will eliminate in front of you or perhaps even outdoors.

d. Then, take him outside and let him finish what he is doing. Lastly, pat him on his head while saying “Good boy!” or praising him. It is important to show your dog praises whenever he does something correct. Giving him food as a reward when he does his business in the appropriate spot can help too.

During potty training, the use of common sense will aid you big time in dealing with your puppy’s housebreaking endeavor. Use your common sense to determine the amount of water given to the dog before his bedtime especially if he is prone to urinating in the middle of the night. It will be useful to try to suit his timing initially before trying to get the dog to adjust to your timing.

Aside from patience and common sense, consistency is also one of the important factors of this dog training activity. If you suddenly forget about the routines yourself, don’t blame if your dog if he starts committing accidents more often.

Remember that the stakes are high

There are many lessons for a new puppy to learn and understand in the house. While these are important for every puppy, most owners will include potty training as one of the most essential lesson for all dogs. Potty trained dogs will relief owners on the problems to clear up his mess in the house which can be unbearable.

There are numerous ways to potty train your puppy, depending on your circumstances and dog type. Puppies that did not go through any vaccination yet are recommended to stay indoor to learn potty paper training, it is also suitable for apartment living dogs.

Crate training will train your puppy to control his bladder and relieve outside by making use of a dog’s instinctive nature of not dirtying its sleeping area. This training is suitable for dogs living in apartment.

The common choice would be to train your dog to go outside to the back yard or the garden to relieve.

A suitable time to start potty training as recommended by most experts is when your puppy is eight to twelve weeks old. Can you remember about the adage on old dogs that learn new tricks? It is not completely true but right in some ways because it is much easier to train a younger dogs when undesirable habits are not formed. So, don’t take any chances.

There are many ways and things you can do to achieve the right results. Of them, there are hard ways and easy ways, right ways and wrong ways. The best course of action is to use the easiest and fastest way to get the right results. Much effort, time and positive reinforcement is needed. Let’s see what are the things you can do to train your dog fast and effectively.

To begin, you should allocate an area for your puppy to eliminate outside or inside the house, you should show him the way to this spot and praise him generously after he finishes

If you praise and reward him immediately after he finishes his job, it encourages him to eliminate in that area alone. The urine odor will be detectable by your puppy and he will learn to associate it as the place to relieve himself.

To help the puppy to remember, always use the same door and spot where you want your puppy to eliminate. Use soiled newspaper to mark the area and hint your puppy on where is the right spot.

The next part is to start an elimination routine and make your puppy familiar with it. Dogs are habitual animals, they are born instinctively to keep to routines. When your puppy is six to eight weeks old, you should bring him out to relieve after every few hours. The frequency will reduce as he grows older and can control his bladder better. During puppyhood, take him to the allocated elimination area at the following times of the day – Upon waking in the morning, after naps, meals, play, training session and just before bedtime.

Taking your pup out at around the same time every day will be very beneficial for the both of you. This is vastly useful in setting up a routine for your puppy and will help him to learn and control his bladder until you take him out.

Now, you need to pick up signs your puppy displays when he needs to relieve. This is important especially when he is used to running around freely. Be attentive and observe your behavior when he needs to relieve himself, such as sniffing heavily, circling around, and staring at the door intensively to get out.

You can train your dog with two more commands to help him understand potty training faster. Use “Hurry up”, or “Potty now”, command to associate it with potty time. So, say “hurry up” or “potty” in an encouraging tone just when he gets the urge to “go”. He will soon learn that when you say the command, he will begin to sniff, circle and then get down to business. Once he’s done, praise him lavishly.

It is common for puppies to make mistakes during the process of potty training. In part 2 of this article, you will learn how to excuse his mistakes and more tips to help you train your puppy in double quick time.

While many animal lovers welcome puppies, and sometimes full grown dogs, into their home, many are blissfully ignorant to the care and nurturing necessary for training your dog to realize its full potential. Below, are a few tips for your dog’s early life, upbringing, and prolonged, enjoyable existence! They are presented in chronological order.

1) Be Loving, But Firm

From its first days as a puppy to the moment you finally realize that your little angel is a full-grown canine, your dog needs to live in a nurturing environment. Shower your little friend with love and attention to make him or her feel special. Whenever he or she makes a mistake, lay down the law but never use cruel or harmful means of correction. Instead of smacking a dog when something goes awry, simply use the “tsk, tsk” ideology. Let the animal know a mistake is made by temporarily denying it love (emphasis on temporarily). But do not hold your anger for long.

2) Housebreak Your Dog Early

Anyone that has ever had an experience with an indoor dog knows that accidents are inevitable. The key is to realize that the presents and messes left by your dog are not its fault. To curb this trend, simply place your dog (or lead your dog to, depending on the size) on a particular item (newspaper is popular, but also an old pillow or blanket could suffice) whenever he or she begins to do his or her business. Gradually lead this item closer and closer to the door as your animal excretes, finally ending it with the item outside. If the training is done properly, the animal will now be used to heading outside to use the restroom. Naturally, there may be some more accidents here and there (for example: if you are away from home for an extended period of time), but this is one of the most effective ways to potty train your dog.

3) Provide Your Dog with the Proper Nutrition

Giving your dog quality food throughout its life is of paramount importance. Simply buying generic, cheap dog food will not suffice as an individual dog has individual needs. Certain animals may become crippled by arthritis; there are specific foods for that. Certain animals may develop heart problems; there are also foods for that. You cannot assume that all dog food is the same as it may become detrimental to your animal. Discuss the proper formula for ingestion with your veterinarian.

Obviously, there are many, many, many more variables to consider when deciding to adopt and raise your very own dog. But handling these problems will provide you with a smooth beginning, wonderful middle, and enjoyable conclusion to raising your animal. All of God’s creatures are important and each one has its own personal needs. Be sure to take this into consideration when deciding to adopt a pet. Dogs are not toys that can be cast aside and picked up whenever you feel like it. They need love and affection from their owner to show that they truly matter.

A crate is a valuable and useful training tool. Its main purpose is to provide security, safety and protection for short term confinement while training a puppy or new dog about its own and house boundaries.

A crate may look like a jail cell, but when used properly is your dog’s natural den – a personal space where he’ll feels secure and comfortable. The best place to place a crate would be where your dog can see the environment and family members, hear and smell your house – the kitchen is usually a good spot.

An ideal crate should be large enough to allow your dog to stretch out, stand without hitting his head and be able to turn around. The crate should not be so large that your dog can relieve himself in one corner and play move away to play and sleep in another. If your puppy is still young and is not fully growth, try to block off certain section of the crate with cardboards or wood boards.

To encourage your dog to “like” his new den, you should preferably equip it with soft beddings, a bowl of water and a toy that he likes. (You might want to remove the water at night when you are potty training your dog)

You must introduce the crate slowly to your dog. Crate him in smaller interval, about 10 minutes, and gradually increase over time. Your dog need time to get used to being crate. Never crate him for more than 30 minutes or longer for the first time.

It is not advisable to crate a young puppy for long period of time – about 2 hour and pup should always be exercised before being crated.

It’s quite normal for dogs to kick up a fuss, bark and moan while in the crate. If these things happen, do not give your dog any attention! Yes! Do not even look in his direction.

Dogs are intelligent animals – Don’t let him know that he’ll get your attention when he kicks up a fuss. Simply ignore him! Let your dog out only when he settles down.

*if it’s a young puppy whom you’ve just introduce the crate to, maybe you can offer him a treat in the crate to calm him down. Whatever you do, don’t let him out of the crate at that very moment!*

The exception I can think of is if you think your dog has to relieve himself. Even so, bring it out only after he stops barking. Another exception is when your dog is chewing on himself. Let him out immediately and consult a trainer or behaviorist.

Lastly, dog should not be crate for too long day after day. He’ll develop destructive behaviors and anxiety problems. If you notice that your dog displays hyper active behavior compare to before, you might be crating him for too long!

Most important of all, never ever punish your dog in the crate, he’ll dread going back to the crate. It is meant to be a comfortable and safe space, not where he’ll get punish.