But take heart, you don’t have to live with such an individual. You can teach your puppy proper bathroom behavior: to do its business only at the times and only in the places that you want it to. This teaching process is called housetraining and your puppy can ace basic housetraining as long as you follow these seven simple steps.

Step One: Buy A Crate

Years ago, people didn’t use crates to housetrain their puppies, and the process was a lot tougher than it is today. Crates tap into a dog’s basic desire to keep its den clean. It’ll do anything to avoid pooping or peeing there. That avoidance gives your pup the incentive to develop the bowel and bladder control that’s essential to effective housetraining.

In addition to housetraining, your puppy will learn to see the crate as a place to relax and sleep. Right now, though, all you need to know is this: Housetraining is much easier on you and your puppy if you use a crate. Don’t try to do it without one.

Here’s a tip: In addition to a crate, baby gates can keep your puppy safely confined and help prevent housetraining accidents when you can’t watch your puppy.

Step Two: Pick A Potty Spot

Before you can teach your dog to pee or poop in a specific area, you have to choose the right area best suited to your property. Generally, the best place for that spot is in the backyard near the house. That way, you and your pup won’t have to go very far when it needs to poo. Make sure the area is easy to clean; dogs don’t like using dirty potties any more than we do.

Another important advantage to using your own property is that you can better protect your puppy from deadly diseases, such as distemper and canine parvovirus. Both diseases can be transmitted through contact with infected dog’s vomit or bodily waste.

Because other dogs except those that already live with you aren’t likely to eliminate in your yard, your puppy won’t come in contact with those potentially disease-transmitting agents.

This means that somebody has to take the dog outside. Somebody must place him in the proper position and the proper place for elimination, so that the action can be followed by praise. Somebody must be there to praise him. Dogs learn by associating their actions with pleasing or displeasing results. It is not enough that somebody is there to chastise and verbally admonish the dog for doing wrong; someone must be there to praise him for doing right.

The praise will be relatively meaningless unless it comes from the leader of the pack. This is you, his owner. If you fail to live up to your responsibilities, then you cannot justifiably blame your mature dog for failing to live up to his. Someone must show him the way. In the dogs mind, it only counts if the teacher is the person the he loves and in whom he has confidence.

When you take your dog outside and fifteen minutes have elapsed without him eliminating, bring him back inside the house. But the supervision should not stop. In fact, it should be more constant. When the dog drops his nose to the floor and starts sniffing again, the owner should once again take him outside.

When your dog eliminates outside, you should be right there when it happens and praise him, then bring him back inside the house immediately. It is the same method that should be used if dealing with a puppy. Praise and correction are the keys with which we can successfully communicate with your dog.

It takes four days for the average dog to learn an average thing. For the mature dog or puppy who has unlearned something, it also takes four days for that dog to unlearn a learned behavior. Supervision is crucial to your success. The dog must be kept under constant watch while indoors so that positive corrective action can be taken.

The methods are identical for the dog that has never been housetrained. When a person adopts a mature dog from a pound, the dog is brought home and inside the house where he immediately eliminates on the floor. Training is therefore, crucial. It is much easier to train a mature dog than it is a puppy. Any dog, whether a year or twelve years old, can be trained to eliminate outdoors if the four day rule is followed through. The four day requirement for learning to take place in your dogs mind should provide you with all the necessary patience.

Regardless of your dogs age, praise is the communicating factor. Too many people feel that chastisement is the key. This is not true! Praise is the main ingredient. But in order to praise the dog for doing the right action, one must be with him nearby so that he can administer the praise.

There are five basic principles that a knowledgeable dog trainer always follows: Patience, knowledge, repetition, praise, and correction. By following these principals, you will have your housetrained dog back in less than a week. Good luck!

Is it possible for an occasional accident to become a learned behavior in your mature dog? If an occasional accident goes unnoticed by a dog owner for any length of time, the possibility exists that the dogs actions will become a habit. Consistency in performing a particular act results in that act becoming a learned behavior. Therefore, it is possible for a perfectly housebroken dog to become trained to use the bathroom indoors due entirely to lack of proper supervision.

When this situation happens, there is no alternative except positive retraining methods. Removing the motivator is fine in the early stages, before the bad act become a learned behavior, but when the act has been allowed to become a routine, then it is the owners responsibility to retrain the dog.

Retraining is relatively simple and requires a minimum amount of patience, but a maximum amount of supervision. The training, on the surface, is similar to house training a puppy. The primary difference, and a fact which is in the dog owners favor, is that the new puppy doesnt know he has done wrong when he makes a mistake in the house. A new puppy is not quite sure at first why hes scolded in the house and praised in the yard. The mature dog is quite tuned in to two of the five basic principles of training correction and praise.

The keys to successfully re-housetraining the older dog are supervision and the judicious application of praise and correction. It would be unwise for the dog owner to follow the dog from room to room and, in fact, this tactic just might prevent the dog from making the mistake; thus, it would prevent corrective measures from being established. The dogs actions must be completely supervised, but he should not feel that he is being watched.

A typical situation might find the family sitting in the kitchen eating dinner, with the family pet sleeping near the living room. Suddenly, the dog gets up, stretches, yawns, and slowly makes his way down the hallway to another room. The dog owner should then follow, unobtrusively, to keep an eye on the actions of the dog.

The dog is getting attention which is, after all, what he wanted in the first place. As long as he is getting this extra attention, whether it is shaming or admonishment, he will continue whatever action prompts his attention. Competition can cause a breakdown in toilet habits without the problem evolving into a psychosomatic urinary tract infection. The dog owner should understand that competition alone can be the cause of the problem. And when there is competition, the dog wets!

The competition can be real or imagined. In either case, a thorough examination into any recent changes in household routine would be in order. Something may be giving the dog a feeling that his position, or your affection for him is in jeopardy. Whether actual or simply imagined, it is very real to the dog. If competition is to blame, extra time spent with your dog, and maybe even exaggerated affection, will normally suffice in removing the motivator of his bad deeds.

Then there is the sort of dog who indulges in the type of wetting where he lifts his leg against everything; bedding, curtains, furniture, etc. and finds it necessary to try and own or control his environment by wetting on it. This is the type of dog who is self-oriented, selfish, narcissistic animal that he wets on everything to make it more his own territory. This is a dog that needs a master in all the purest and literal sense of the word.

That type of dog suddenly realizes that he is the leader of the pack, although he really doesnt want to be. This dog is insecure and wants, in fact needs, strong and confident leadership. These actions usually materialize as a result of soft, permissive, easy-going dog owners who spoil and baby their dog. The ratio of love and discipline are tipped only in the direction of love.

Love in this instance is not a healthy love, both for the dog owner and his dog. Its permissiveness by an owner who is afraid that discipline may cause the dog to not like the owner. In reality, mistaken kindness can be a bitter and unneeded cruelty. When these dogs are placed in the pound and put to sleep, theres nobody to blame but their owners who thought so little of their pets that they failed to bring them up with the proper balance of love, discipline, and control.

The first solution is to go to your vet. The reason is simple the aging process is not the only medical reason why a perfectly well-housetrained dog may suddenly backslide and forget his toilet training. The reason for the unwanted activity must be discovered and properly dealt with though. Unwanted activity, when not properly corrected, can soon become a learned reaction.

Your dogs vet can examine your pet and rule out such possibilities as nephritis, diabetes, or both. These two diseases can cause a dog the inability to hold urine. A urinary tract infection may be the cause, whether your dog is considered old or simply middle-aged. Your vet can check to make sure parasites or infections are not causing the incontinence.

Whether your dog is young, middle-aged, or old, a thorough medical examination by a vet is the first and most important aspect to consider when a dog that was perfectly housebroken suddenly forgets and has accidents. Only when all possible medical causes are ruled out should you start examining the possible psychological causes.

To have a better understanding of the many possible psychological causes, we must start with the simple and progress to the complex. If you own a male who quite suddenly forgets that he is housebroken, examine the possibility of a female in heat right next door. The compulsion to lift a leg in such cases is very overpowering and surpasses even the most rigid puppy training.

The problem here is, once the mark is left on the leg of the dining room chair, the scent remains long after the female dog next door completes her heat cycle. The scent instinctively draws the dog back to that same location for repeated leg raises.

The problem becomes worse if shag carpeting is involved. Wiping it up with water magnifies the problem because of the possibility of mildew. Mildew is notorious for attracting dogs. This type of accident (and it is considered an accident) is quite normal when a female dog is in heat nearby. Even the well-trained dog feels the compulsion to leave his marking. This lets the female dog know (or so the male dog thinks) that there is a perfectly capable and willing stud close by.

One of the best formulas for removing the urine scent from furniture, drapes, and carpeting is club soda. Removing it is a must if you are to return your dog to the status of the well-trained household pet that you know he is. Scolding and verbal reprimand at the time of the accident is perfectly in order as long as you have ruled out medical causes.

The screaming and disbelief was followed by the slam of the back door as the old family pet is quickly banished out-of-doors like a nine-week old puppy that had just had an accident. Such harsh and fast action in such an instance can have serious and detrimental effects on the older dog. Whenever a completely housebroken dog starts urinating in the house, there is a medical or psychological cause involved.

The medical reasons will be covered first, since the majority of cases can be traced to that cause, rather than the psychological. It is important that the reasons for such behavior be pointed out and thoroughly checked before any retraining techniques are instituted.

Most dog owners know that the aging process of their dog will manifest itself in a gradual loss of hearing, followed by diminished vision. Squeezed somewhere in between, signs of arthritis might show up, decreased in appetite, more frequent naps, and other tell-tale signs which may become evident. What is not widely known is that toilet training is one of the first things to go!

Because this fact is not widely known and realized, it causes frustration and confusion to the dog owner who suddenly thinks that his dog has forgotten, is not as smart as previously thought, is lazy, or has turned into a sneak. Such behavior on the part of a perfectly housetrained dog could simply be the first signs of the inevitable aging process. In this aging process, the muscles of the bladder gradually lose their control.

In the male, the aging process can also cause the prostate gland to enlarge, and this will produce an inflammation which will cause him to urinate often. Kidney diseases occurs in about 76% of dogs over eight years of age. When a dog ages, there is a gradual degeneration of kidney tissue with a weakening of the kidney function.

The older dog should drink at least twice the amount of water than a younger dog since the older dogs kidneys will require it. Naturally, this will involve more frequent urination, thus more trips to the bathroom.

Where the middle-aged dog would have required being let out in the morning and once at night, the aging process will require more freedom outdoors. In most cases, the older dog will try to make his needs known to his owner. However, the owner, who is used to a regular routine, just isnt tuned in to the dogs new requirement. Then, the old dog is left with just one alternative. Its just as embarrassing to him as it may be to the owner.

In such cases, shaming and scolding will only make the situation worse, especially if the dog tried to communicate, only to have his communication fall on deaf or inattentive ears.

When an accident happens, handle it carefully. After all, urination and defecation are not wrong; your dog must do these things! What is wrong is where the actions took place. If your dog senses that you are angry at the urination and defecation then it may become sneaky and never relieve itself in front of you.

You may then find puddles and piles in odd places, such as behind the sofa and under the bed. Instead, teach your dog the correct places to go and make sure you praise him enthusiastically when it cooperates.

If you find a pile or puddle in the house with the dog nowhere in sight, do not punish him, yell at the pup, hit him with a rolled-up newspaper, rub the pup’s nose in the pile or puddle, or otherwise reprimand the dog in any other way. Your puppy is not at fault here; the owner is because the owner, not the pup, has the ability and obligation to prevent accidents.

Successful housetraining is based on setting the pup up for success by limiting him to the fewest possible accidents, then praising the puppy whenever it has done the right thing. That means praising every single time the dog goes out to the correct spot every time!

Some accidents may happen because your dog doesn’t feel good. If your pup has diarrhea, for example, don’t treat this as a housetraining accident. Instead, call your veterinarian. If you begin finding several puddles of urine when your pup had been doing well with housetraining, again, call your veterinarian. If could be the sign of a serious health problem.

A Quick Word About Submissive Urination

Some puppies will pee a few drops when they become overly excited, most often when greeted by those he is close to, like family and friends. Many dog owners consider this a housetraining problem, but it really isn’t.

The urine that your dog is letting out is simply a matter of submissive urination. This is a reaction that is 100% physical and happens with both males and females. In time most puppies will grow out of it.

Although a dog crate is a wonderful training tool, that’s not all there is to housetraining your puppy. You also want to teach your dog where you want it to relieve itself and a command that he will respond to in order to go potty, something that will get to do his business when you ask, and more importantly, where you ask.

You can begin teaching both of these concepts right away. Take your pup to the place where you wish it to relieve itself. Let him sniff and circle but do not interact with the dog. This is not the time to play games. Instead, let your puppy concentrate on what it should be doing.

After your dog has begun to relieve itself, tell it softly (so as not to interrupt), Go Potty! Go Potty! (You can use whatever vocabulary you like.) When the dog has completed his business, praise even more, Good Boy… Go Potty.. Yes!

Take your pup to this spot each time the dog needs to go, and repeat the process every time, for as long as the process takes. For some dogs this may mean several weeks of going outside before it understands that this is the potty spot.

You cannot simply send the dog outside alone. If you do, how do you know whether the dog has actually relieved himself? It may come inside and immediately use the bathroom on the carpet, or worse yet, sneak off down the hall and go under the bed. If the dog goes outside alone, you cannot teach it a command, either, nor can you praise it.

During walks, if you come to a spot where it would not be annoying to other people, such as a vacant lot or specified doggie potty area, tell your dog that it can relieve itself here, too. When your dog does, praise it and of course clean up after it. A big part of responsible dog ownership is choosing wisely where your dog should relieve itself. Don’t allow your dog to soil your neighbor’s front lawn or the lawn in front of a business.

It’s important to practice housetraining in varied locations. Don’t make the mistake of having your dog relieve itself only in your backyard. Some dogs take this message so seriously that they will not relieve themselves on walks. Should you ever travel with your dog, he may try to go without relieving himself for too long.

As your pup learns the routine, begin asking him if it needs to go outside as you walk toward the door, Do you need to go outside to potty? Potty? Potty outside? Good dog! When you use words your dog understands in a happy tone, he should begin bouncing and dancing toward the door. When he does, praise enthusiastically!

By doing this, your dog will learn to let you know when it has to go outside. On the day your pup comes to you, making eye contact, bouncing and dancing… pay attention! He’s finally saying, Hey, I have to go potty, I need to go potty! Please take me to my potty spot!

All dogs are born with the instinct to keep their beds clean and as soon as their legs are strong enough to support them, puppies will toddle away from their littermates to relieve themselves. Before that, momma dog stimulated the puppies to relieve themselves and cleaned up after them.

Using a crate as a training tool takes advantage of the puppy’s instinct to keep its bed clean, and helps the puppy develop bowel and bladder control because the pup will make an effort to hold it when he’s all relaxed in his cozy den.

Several types of crates are available for puppy owners. Some, like the soft-sided fabric carriers, are strictly for traveling. However, the plastic or wire crates can be used both for traveling and for housetraining. Plastic crates have a wire door and are usually made of two pieces a top and a bottom that fastens together with bolts. Wire crates look more like a cage and are open all around.

The kind of crate to use is a personal preference. Plastic crates provide more security for the puppy; open wire crates allow more air flow. Wire crates often fold up for storage and make a compact (although heavy) bundle, whereas the plastic ones are quite bulky, but lightweight. Weigh the pros and cons of each and choose the crate that will fit your lifestyle and puppy best.

Choose a crate that is big enough for your pup but not big enough for an adult-sized dog. Make sure your puppy has enough room to lie down, get comfortable and move around, but no more. If the crate is too big, your puppy will be able to relieve himself in a back corner and still have enough space to get away from it.

Remember, the purpose of the crate is to capitalize on your dog’s instinct to keep its bed clean. If you already have a crate, and it’s big enough for a full-grown standard sized breed, use a piece of cardboard or a thin plank of wood to section it off so that your puppy doesn’t have access to the entire crate.

Introducing your pup to the crate is not difficult. Simply open the crate door, propping it open so it won’t swing closed accidentally, then toss a treat or toy inside. Encourage your dog to go get the treat or toy with a personalized command, which you’ll want to continue using.

For instance, say, Sweetie, go to bed! When the dog goes inside, praise Good Dog! Do this several times throughout the day. At feeding time, place your dog’s food bowl inside the crate so that it must enter the crate to eat. After two or three days of this routine, begin closing the door behind your pup as it’s eating and open the door when he is done.

Once your dog is comfortable staying in a closed crate, you can begin using it at night. Place the crate in your bedroom so the dog can hear you, smell you, and to close to you all night. This is eight hours of closeness you couldn’t find time for any other way. With your dog close to you, you can also hear it should it become restless and need to go outside.

Mark and Sandra Richardson just adopted a 5-month-old black Golden Retriever puppy from the local rescue group. The group informed Mark and his wife that the dog was already housetrained. But the couple quickly learned otherwise.

When we drove up to our house, my wife took the dog directly to the backyard to relieve himself, Mark says, He sniffed around, urinated a little and then wanted to play, so my wife brought him in the house. Within 5 minutes he had urinated again and before we could get him back outside, he pooped!

Although many puppy owners have difficulties teaching housetraining skills, it really doesn’t have to be a difficult process. Housetraining is the process by which you teach your dog to eliminate when you want it to and where you want to and to refrain from eliminating at any other time or place.

Sounds simple? Actually, it can be, and it is so long as you stick with the tried and true basics of approach. Housetraining does not have to be frustrating or overwhelming.

Start With A Schedule

Dogs are creatures of habit and a schedule will help your puppy develop good housetraining skills much more quickly. You can establish a schedule that takes your own needs into account as long as you realize that almost all puppies and older dogs will need to relieve themselves when they first wake up after a night’s sleep or a nap, after they eat or drink, and after playtime.

An 8 to 12 week-old puppy may need to go outside when first waking up in the morning, after eating breakfast, after playing at mid-morning, then again at about noon. If the puppy naps, it will have to go out when it wakes up, then again at mid-afternoon. A schedule like this should continue all day.

As the puppy grows and matures, it will develop more bowel and bladder control, and you can increase the length of the intervals between trips outside. However, increase this time between potty trips gradually. You want to set your dog up for success (no accidents), not failure.

By 8 to 9 months of age, a dog that has been housetrained using a consistent, realistic schedule will need to go outside first thing in the morning, at noon, later in the afternoon, after dinner and before bedtime.

However, keep in mind that all dogs, no matter what their age, have their own unique needs. Some will have to go outside more often; others will be able to hold it longer. During the housetraining process, you’ll need to learn your own dog’s particular needs, strengths, and weaknesses.