Potty Traning an Adult Dog

[blklabgrl]

Hello everyone. I'm am new to this, but I thought I'd jump right in with my question in hopes of getting some advice from others.

I have three dogs. One of my dogs however doesn't seem to be potty trained/housebroken. I rescued her from a neglectful situation - she was kept in a small apartment that didn't allow dogs and was never trained, especially housebroken. Because these people lived in a apartment, that wasn't garden styled and didn't provide them a way of getting the dog outside unnoticed, they allowed her to pee and poop in the apartment. Since it wasn't her fault, my assumption is that they never corrected her behavior or let her know that it is bad. She was never abused physically and is the SWEETEST dog. I love her very much.

Shortly after bringing her into my home, I noticed that her "accidents" would increase in the house and it has gotten to a point where she will NOT go outside, but instead wait to come back inside to do her buisness. I have tried applying some puppy training tips to the situation that I read out of a book - I take her outside after she eats/drinks, then again 30 min later. I take her outside after naps and when she wakes up in the morning. We stay out there too for a good 35 minutes too - because I don't want to rush her. It seems that she has developed a knowledge that it is NOT ok to pee in the house because everythime she does and I say her name, she cowers and gives me the "i'm sorry, mom" treatment. I believe in positive reinforcement, and I praise her (so much sometimes, my other dogs get jelous) when she goes outside. But it never fails, she turns around and does it again in the house. I don't know what to do at this point. I will work with her till the end of time, because I love her and she is a otherwise PERFECT dog. Does anyone have any tips for me to try out or suggestions on the topic?

Thanks in advance!:)

[ClarkFarm]

Crate-training is the best as long as it is done properly.

That is the technique I used on my little toy sized dog who was beat by her previous owners when she would eliminate indoors. She hadn't learned to not go indoors, she just learned to hide afterwards or hide while she was doing her business. It took about two months before she was completely housebroken. She likes her crate still and will go into it if she needs some alone time but it is no longer needed for housebreaking purposes.

[Saladhater]

I adopted a maltese yorkie cross who is 12 months old and not house broken and pee's everywhere!! I was told when I adopted her that she was pee pad trained ( she's not) i crate her when I'm at work. I feel foolish as to have not bought stock in "natures miracle" im using so much of it.The bedrooms smell of dog pee As she was peeing in bedrooms under beds I've now baby gated my kids room as well as my own. I'm really having challenges. I can take her out and when I come in she immediatley piddles in a hall or corner on a carpet and not on her pee pads. I'm getting frustrated as hell but luckily she is cute. im looking for help. Thanks guys

[Patch O' Pits]

This may sound silly but both dogs that are posted about need to be treated as if they were pups and trained from the very beginning.

First off for the lil' one, little dogs often take longer to train. Using piddle pads often teaches them to pee in the house IMO.

This goes for both.

Get them on a schedule for feeding water and potty breaks and be consistent

take them out when they get up after they play, after they eat and drink and before they are crated. Crates should be used when you can not supervise. make sure the crate is the right size or the dog will use it as a toilet. Do not leave the dog out of the crate unattended or accidents will happen until after the dog is fully trained

Go outside with the dog until they go and give ample sniffing time dogs often go more than once. Do not bring them in until they have gone

praise them for going outside

start teaching a potty command ; it will make your life easier especially on cold or rainy days

training doesn't happen over night

make sure to clean up any accidents completely
and remember any accidents are YOUR FAULT for not paying attention to the signs like sniffing, circling or squatting

Good Luck, I hope that helps you

[seraphicia]

I think in your situations where a dog goes in a particular place or hides while going or whatever, keeping him/her on a leash within four to six feet from you at all times when not crated, you can make strides in the right direction. It can be a hassle, especially at first(then again, so is constantly cleaning up messes), but since they're smaller dogs, not huge crazy puppies, it could be easier than it seems. Consistency really is the key, and not punishment, but rewards for going in the correct spot. Pretty much whats been said has been good advice, but also constant leashing and being able to pay closer attention to the signals could be whats needed. I had to go it with a fifty pound crazy shepherd pup(six months old, previously abused, aggressive-submissive issues AND never worked with on housetraining) which was a struggle at first, but we had good success, and it was worth it in the end. Good luck!

[Courtney&Henry]

This may sound silly but both dogs that are posted about need to be treated as if they were pups and trained from the very beginning.

First off for the lil' one, little dogs often take longer to train. Using piddle pads often teaches them to pee in the house IMO.

This goes for both.

Get them on a schedule for feeding water and potty breaks and be consistent

take them out when they get up after they play, after they eat and drink and before they are crated. Crates should be used when you can not supervise. make sure the crate is the right size or the dog will use it as a toilet. Do not leave the dog out of the crate unattended or accidents will happen until after the dog is fully trained

Go outside with the dog until they go and give ample sniffing time dogs often go more than once. Do not bring them in until they have gone

praise them for going outside

start teaching a potty command ; it will make your life easier especially on cold or rainy days

training doesn't happen over night

make sure to clean up any accidents completely
and remember any accidents are YOUR FAULT for not paying attention to the signs like sniffing, circling or squatting

Good Luck, I hope that helps you

I 100% agree with this. I adopted a small terrier mix about 2 years ago and he also wasn't potty trained as they said he was. I bought a great book, house training for dummies, from the book store and started him back to puppy house training basics. He couldn't be out of my sight for even a second or he'd go in the house. Even when I took showers he either had to be in his crate or in the bathroom with me. We would be watching TV and he would go into the other room and go to the bathroom even if we had JUST been outside. He lifted his leg on things right infront of me even. It took months of crate training and constant supervision and scheduled walks before he finally caught on. I still don't completly trust him home alone. When at work he is in his crate and I come home during my lunch to let him out and play. Luckly now we have a nice yard so he is outside during the day playing with our other dog. I have had a lot of success with teaching him to go potty on command too. Even on walks he isn't allowed to mark anything unless I give him the command. I think he finally understands that I am leader of the pack.

Whatever you do, don't give up and don't give the dog more freedom than you should. One accident and you are back to square one. I highly suggest the book because it kept me inspired that potty training an adult dog could be done. I also have had a lot of luck using simple solution. I find that it works better on urine than Nature's Miracle. But all directions have to be followed and you must BLOT not rub. It worked well enough that I got 100% of my damage deposit back from my apartment even with all of my dogs accidents.