HOW MANY DOGS DO YOU HAVE? HOUSEBREAKING ADVICE

[Sofa King]

We have 2 cats and now 2 dogs. Adopted our 2nd dog last friday. She was a former stray and from what we can see has not had much contact with people. Tho she is very friendly but rowdy as can be. She is a little over a year old and gets along with our other pets great! (thank god). I wanted to get some advice/experiences on housebreaking a dog. How long did it take you? Have watched some videos and read some info online and we are doing that but its to early to really see any results yet. She is part beagle/Corgi. Thanks.

[lizzzi]

I got my puppy at 14 weeks. He and I mostly lived gated together in the kitchen for two months or so, with me taking him outside to "go" every hour or so--so lets say 16 times from around 8 am until 11 pm. He slept all night in his crate at the foot of my bed, but only a couple times did he get me up at night to "go". He was a good sleeper for the most part, thank God. The times he had accidents during the day, it was mostly my own fault for not taking him out--a couple times I was on the phone, or just caught up in some activity I didn't want to stop. I think as their bodies mature, the housebreaking falls into place almost automatically...like with little children--when they're "ready" it is easy to potty train them. (I realize your dog is not a pup.) I really suggest Nature's Miracle for clean-ups--really does remove odors. It's available in pet stores.

[ooeei]

I have a now 1 year old labradoodle, got him at 8 weeks.  Housebreaking basically comes down to making them want to pee outside.  Treats and lots of praise every time they pee or poop outside, immediately when they're done (not when they run back to the house).  Also right when they're finished use whatever your bathroom phrase is, and say it the same way every time, just say it once.  "Potty" "Go pee" etc all work fine.  Eventually you can use it if you're in a hurry or something to have them go.

The hard part is you have to set them up for success, and notice before hand if they need to go.  Since your dog is older it shouldn't have to go as often as a puppy which is both easier and harder.  Easier in that you don't have to take him out as much, harder as in you won't know when he needs to go as easily.  Sniffing around is a common sign.  My puppy often gets really hyper before he has to poop, not sure how common that is.  Also get some enzymatic cleaner in case they have an accident, if they pee somewhere and it isn't perfectly cleaned, they'll smell it and decide that must be the bathroom.

We also put a bell by the door and rang it every time we went out.  Eventually the puppy started ringing it when he had to go.  He also rang it when he wanted to go out for a walk, so we ended up getting rid of it lol. 

The other hard part is not punishing them if they do have an accident inside.  Rubbing their nose in it may work sometimes, but I know at least one friend who did that strategy and his dog ended up just making sure he did it in another room or under a bed or something instead.  He didn't understand "bathroom in house = bad" and thought it was "owner sees me bathroom = bad".  Ended up making his problem WAY worse than it should have been.  If you notice them about to pee you can say something to startle/interrupt them (not scare them) and quickly carry/lead them outside.

kikopup is a great youtube channel for all things dog training.


edit:  Just realized you may be talking about calming the dog down inside rather than pee/poop.  If that's what you're concerned with, exercise is your friend.  A tired dog is a good dog.  Long walks, lots of playing in the yard, etc.  When he/she IS being calm and good in the house, a treat dropped by his nose is a good idea.  No big show of it or praise, just a simple reward for being calm.  We were also advised of a strategy when we got the puppy where you hold him in a sit posture in front of you, hand on his chest.  If he struggles, hold a bit tighter, when he relaxes, loosen your grip.  Pair it up with a command like "settle" said in a calm tone, and eventually when you get him in that position he'll calm right down.  Not sure how well that will work on an adult dog that may not really trust you yet, so be cautious implementing it. 

[MasterStache]

Ha! We have 2 dogs and 2 cats as well. Got our 2nd dog last August. No problems housetraining. I think letting her roam around outside for quite a while and watching our current dog do his business really helped. Didn't take her long to catch on. 

[lizzzi]

Forgot to say to always give praise and treats for doing their business outside. I would just ignore it if he peed/pooped in the house. No punishment, but no reward either. I never did that thing with the bells, because I thought it would drive me crazy. He learned to go stand by an exit door, and maybe bark or make this funny little "huff" sound if he wants to go out. Also, over the months we've established certain times when he goes out to "do his business."...just formed repetitive habits from day to day living. Now that he's a year and a half, he goes out roughly every four hours, with an extra 10 pm outing just for a quick pee before bed. So...approximately 8 am, noon, 4 pm, 8pm, and 10 pm. And we go out to take walks, get the mail, etc., just depending on whatever.

[zinnie]

I adopted a dog that wasn't housebroken and my best advice is to supervise while they are inside, and when you can't, crate them. Each time the dog has an accident in the house it reinforces in their little doggie brain that it's a place to go (especially if you don't get 100% of the smell out.)

In the beginning we took out every couple of hours, praise for going outside, and when inside either in crate or on a leash at our side. I actually tied the dog to my waist so I could keep and eye on him. But once we removed the opportunity to have accidents inside he became perfectly housebroken in a couple months.

[RetiredAt63]

If people tell you to use a rolled up newspaper, the proper training method for that is, every time the dog has an accident in the house, you whack yourself on the head and say "you weren't  paying enough  attention. Pay more attention!"

[zinnie]

If people tell you to use a rolled up newspaper, the proper training method for that is, every time the dog has an accident in the house, you whack yourself on the head and say "you weren't  paying enough  attention. Pay more attention!"

Lol. True!

[Just Joe]

You need a dog like our's. We're not sure she ever goes. She likes to be very discrete about that topic. Disappears into the tree line at the back of the property and she may or may not ever go. ;)

[chubbybunny]

I adopted a dog that wasn't housebroken and my best advice is to supervise while they are inside, and when you can't, crate them. Each time the dog has an accident in the house it reinforces in their little doggie brain that it's a place to go (especially if you don't get 100% of the smell out.)

In the beginning we took out every couple of hours, praise for going outside, and when inside either in crate or on a leash at our side. I actually tied the dog to my waist so I could keep and eye on him. But once we removed the opportunity to have accidents inside he became perfectly housebroken in a couple months.

+1 

I volunteer for a pet rescue and we currently have 5 dogs.  Our latest foster is a 2yo dauchsund mix who came from a hoarding situation with 16 other dogs.  He had NEVER been outside and did all his business in the house (I can only imagine).  The solution is the same, crate and supervise.  I have him on a leash with me at all times in the house, and crate him when I'm not home.  When I take him out of the crate, I immediately bring him outside, and lots of praise when he goes. He is figuring it out, though I understand it may take him a bit longer than most.  Side benefit is he is also being trained to stay at my side all day.  Good for when we go for walks, he doesn't pull and always comes when I call him.

[Rural]

We've never crated a dog. But, that has sometimes meant 100% supervision in house training puppies.


I worked from home when both of ours were babies, so the girl puppy was in the office with me and in the bed at night so she could let me know if she had to go.  It worked, perfectly – she has never in eight years had an accident in the house ( barf excepted, and it's not like that’s something that can be delayed when you're sick).


With the older boy, we had a better living arrangement, and were able to leave him free to go outside on his own  in a little fenced yard area.  When the weather was nice,  he was on the porch right outside my office window during the day a lot of times (also fenced with some yard access). When the weather got bad, then it was 100% supervision with him also.  But he was older when we got him, still a puppy, but about five months,  so he didn't have to go in the middle of the night. She was only eight weeks and still small enough to be at risk from predators (both are Great Danes).


 Regardless of how you manage it, I'll second (third? Fourth?) that your mission is to praise when they go outside and ignore when they go inside. I didn't ever have to implement the ignore part, but I made ample use of the praise portion. Also, having a "potty" phrase  that you use every time really helps. The come to associate it with going, and with being praised for going, so fairly quickly it gets to the point where they will go when you tell them to – useful, that.


The little girl, the one who's never peed in the house in eight years, still looks at me for praise every time she goes in the woods when I'm outside. :-)   And if we get warning of an incoming storm, I can just tell both of them to go outside and take care of it ahead of time.

[Just Joe]

Someone once told me that dogs want to do the right thing and its up to us humans to teach them what the right thing is. I know I'd be frustrated if I got in trouble and didn't know why.

[Spork]

Some dogs are really easy.  Some dogs are REALLY hard.   I had one that would look outside, see it was raining, then look you straight in the eye and pee on the floor.  "I ain't goin' out in that!"   And I have one now that was a puppy mill rescue that lived in his own filth.  He was incredibly hard.  He still probably has one accident every 3-4 months and he's 12 years old.  It will generally be something like middle of the night -- when I didn't wake up when he started meandering around the house.


Like everyone before me said: It's constant attention and developing a habit for them.  If you have the ability to add a doggie door, this can help immensely.

[tarheeldan]

If I had to do it over again, I would keep the dog confined to an area with easy-to-clean floors like the kitchen, and be super vigilant, until training seems complete. During this period, if the dog started to pee inside, I'd calmly carry it outside. I'd take it outside often though, to create lots of opportunities to praise it and give it a treat whenever it did business outside.

[RetiredAt63]

It is amazing being outside every night at 3 AM in a Canadian winter with the stars blazing and the air a crisp -25^oC.  Why would I be outside then?  Because that was when a puppy needed to go while house-training.

My breed is considered a "hard" breed in some ways, heeling is not something that comes easy to them.  But mine all house trained, because crate and attention.  You have to watch the puppy like a hawk watches a mouse, and get it outside fast when necessary.  And reward, always reward, mine got praise and small treats for pees, more praise and bigger treats for poops.

For those of us in variable climates, changes of season can be an issue.  Summer puppies don't want to go on snow, winter puppies keep looking for a patch of snow to go on.

[Rural]

And nobody.wants to potty in the rain. ..

[RetiredAt63]

And nobody.wants to potty in the rain. ..

I imagine Labs don't care.

[Rural]

And nobody.wants to potty in the rain. ..

I imagine Labs don't care.

Well, maybe not, but I sure don't want to!

[RetiredAt63]

And nobody.wants to potty in the rain. ..

I imagine Labs don't care.

Well, maybe not, but I sure don't want to!

At least rain means it isn't -25C. 

[GuitarStv]

My experience has been that it's much more difficult housebreaking an older shelter dog than training a puppy.  They develop habits when little that never truly go away, and may therefore entail a lifetime of vigilance.  Our beagle (I suspect) was a puppy mill dog before we adopted her, and if you confine her to a crate she'll pee in her bed and sleep in it because that's how she learned that things are when young.  We've got housebroken at this point (a process that was ongoing for about a year), but it still occasionally happens that if we miss the signs she wants out she'll find her bed and go pee in it.

[DeltaBond]

I have 4 dogs.  The two we had to housebreak we did so by consistency, and giving them bites of steak after they did their business outside, every time.  We also took them outside a lot, so they had lots of chances to go.  My husband and I both work from home, so that made this possible.  We did not do any crate training, ever, not even at night.  They became outside dogs after a few weeks, but they still understand that when you're inside, you hold it or you get your arse thrown out.