House Training an Adult Dog?

Hanson Family

January 16, 20140 found this helpful

My 7 year old poodle & chihuahua was 4 years old when she was house trained. We never use a clicker to train our dogs. We made sure that if she went potty in the house we let her know what she did wrong BUT you shouldn't punish your dog if they did it 30 mins ago. They live in the moment so you should only do it when it just happens, if it looks fresh, let him or her know. Also, you have to keep him or her on a strict schedule. If it means letting them out every hour, so be it. Eventually they will learn! Hope this helps.

Ruby's Mum

January 20, 20140 found this helpful

HI, I foster adult dogs so I get to house train a few of them. All I do is in the first few days they come, I take them outside say every hour. If they have a drink I wait 20 mins and go outside. If they eat, wait half hour and go outside. When they do pee or poop outside I make a HUGE fuss of them. I tell them they are awesome, I might even give them a small treat (right at the second they are finishing that pee) if they have been a bit harder to train. I never reprimand them inside unless I actually catch them doing it.

A few tips, use "Urineoff" or similar to get rid of any pee pheremones inside as some will want to use that spot once its marked. Also, get a vet check and ensure there is nothing wrong with the bladder. In older dogs, spondylosis (mild arthritis) in the spine which is completely normal, can affect the muscles around the pelvic area, so even though they dont want to pee inside, they cant help it. Good luck!