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Potty Training A Dog: Our Best Tips + Some Great Products That Work!

potty-training-a-dog-by-schmidty-lucky-and-kasey-anne.jpg From time to time, all dog owners are going to find doggie accidents on the floor.

This is especially true when you first bring home a new dog — whether it’s an adult dog or just a puppy.

Yes, even older adult dogs that were once housebroken will occasionally have accidents in the house.

If it’s happening with an adult dog that you’ve recently adopted, it’s probably due to the new surroundings, strange sounds & smells, and the change to their daily routine.

If it’s happening with an older dog that was once housebroken, then it might be due to a number of factors associated with old age.

Don’t become frustrated, you can re-train your dog to go potty outside again by revisiting our best tips for potty training a dog.

Here’s a refresher course…

 

Your Dog’s Daily Routine

When housebreaking a dog, remember that all dogs need to go outside at these times:

  • After eating
  • After Playing hard
  • After drinking a lot of water
  • After getting up in the morning
  • Before going to bed

If your dog keeps having accidents inside the house, watch your dog’s behavior closely. Take notes of what he does in the moments immediately before he goes potty in the house. You may notice a pattern there that would be easy to correct before it gets out of hand.

After that, it’s time to try our best tips for potty training a dog.

 

Helpful Products For Potty Training A Dog

There are lots of helpful items you can use to assist you in keeping your house accident-free.

  • I know a lot of people who use piddle pads.  I personally tried using them a couple of times with my min pins, but they refused to potty on them.  Instead, they would shred the pad.  Other friends of mine have had great success with piddle pads.
  • You could always have a corner of a room that “seems” like the outdoors, but isn’t.  Many dogs will make it a habit to go potty on fake grass mats inside the home.  These dog potty mats look and feel like real grass to your dog (well, kind of).
  • Maybe you wish your dog was more like a cat and would use a littler box inside the house. Well, you’re in luck!  There are a variety of dog litter boxes that you can train your dog to use.
  • We taught our dogs to ring a doggie doorbell to let us know when they had to go outside. To train them how to use the bell the first time, whenever we thought they had to go outside, we would tap the bell with their paw. After doing this several times for them (each time before we took them outside), they eventually started to ring the bell themselves to let us know when they had to go outside.  As with every other training scenario, after they did their business outside we would then praise them and give them a treat.
  • We also used a crate to help potty train our dogs.  (Tip: Even if you didn’t start crate training your dog as a puppy, you can still crate train an adult dog.) Any time we left the house, we made sure the dogs went inside their crates.  That way, when we came home we didn’t have to look for accidents.  As soon as we got home, we let the dogs go outside to go potty and get some exercise.  One great thing about crate training is dogs usually won’t soil the place where they sleep.

Here are 4 steps to follow when potty training a dog.

 

Carrie

I have 2 Miniature Pinschers. My husband and I consider them our 4-legged kids.

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  • Anonymous

    This post is a great reminder of key points in potty training. Nobody likes having to clean up accidents! One other point I would like to mention is that when an accident does happen make sure you use the appropriate cleaner. Your typical household cleaners may clean it well enough so that you can’t smell it, but the same is NOT true for your dog. If it can still smell where the “accident” happened your dog may associate this area as an acceptable potty area. So make sure you get cleaners that are specifically designed to remove pet waste from floors.

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  • Donna B

    My Boston is 7 months old, we have had him 4 months and have been trying so hard to get him housebroke but nothing seems to be working, I have shampooed carpets so many times its crazy, he seems to be now deciding on going in his kennel, he is outside maybe 8 hours or more during the day yet STILL goes in the house EVEN after being taken out. I am so frustrated!!! HELP

    • http://thefuntimesguide.com/ FunTimesGuide

      I’ll cut to the chase: Even though he is 7 months old now, try re-training him as if he is a 3 month old puppy that you just brought home for the first time. Whatever he’s been ‘allowed’ to do (such as free roam of the house) should be reconsidered until he is completely housetrained. Make the dog crate your friend. It’s the best tool for clarifying to a dog when he gets to go “outside” vs when he’s inside and has no place to pee.

      Since you said he’s going in his kennel sometimes, it’s going to take a lot of extra patience and round-the-clock attention to his behavior inside the crate. As soon as you notice him starting to pee/poop, [calmly] take him outside to finish the job. Then, IMMEDIATELY bring him back inside. No playing where he should be only doing his business at this point. Eventually, he will make the connection that outside is where his all peeing and pooping should be done.

      If you’re gone during the day and he’s inside the crate, try putting ‘puppy pads’ in one corner of the kennel for him to use. Some dogs will use them. Some won’t. Some dogs will chew & destroy them. Some won’t. It’s worth a try.

      Instead of him spending “8 hours or more during the day outside” limit those outside times to precisely those times when you want him to use the bathroom. Your goal is to get him on YOUR schedule as an indoor dog, right? It’s clear he hasn’t grasped the concept that “outdoors is for peeing & pooping”, so now you want to make it clear that “outdoors is ONLY for peeing & pooping”. (…just until he’s fully grasped housetraining)

      Finally, be sure to reward with plenty of treats after every single pee/poop outside. (Of course, you don’t want to ever scold him for going in the house… because he doesn’t clearly understand the concept of going inside/outside yet.)

      That’s my $.02… since you asked :-D