Dog Obedience Training

Potty training an older dog?

My dog is two and a half and we’re just now getting around to finally potty training him. For the most part he knows to do his business outside, but if no one is looking and he has to go, he won’t hesitate to go on the floor. So he has to wear a diaper at all times, put still won’t hesitate to pee in it. Any suggestions for potty training an older dog?
I DO NOT need to hear how i should have potty trained him earlier. that does nothing. if you have something to help, feel free to post. but please keep unnecessary comments to your self.

You house train any dog the same way. Take him out at regular times and praise/reward him when he goes in the right place. When inside, you must watch him and be ready to get him out if you think he’s about to go. You said it yourself – if no one is looking, he’ll go on the floor – so make sure someone is always looking, so that you can prevent him from going on the floor! When you are gone or to busy to watch him carefully enough, he should be crated or confined to a small room/area.

Potty training tips for older dogs?

I picked up a 3 yr old Terrier from a rescue shelter about a month ago. Hadn’t had and problems until today. My dog seemed to be potty trained and I found no evidence of misbehaving while he was left alone. He sometimes whines by the door when he needs to go out. So today I took him out as usual for a walk and he pooped and pee’d….. So then i had to go out for about an hour and when I returned I found that he pooped twice in the house. Now I am starting to wonder if he may have pee’d in the house on any other occasions. How do you really know for sure? And what should my reaction have been when I returned home? Should I have disciplined him some how? And now what do I do? Any tips ?

Excessive stool production could be an indication of illness. If he keeps pooping so often for the next day or two, take him to the vet (or sooner if you notice other problems, such as not eating or being lethargic).

Punishment after the fact doesn’t work, so don’t bother.

Could this be a symptom of separation anxiety? Here’s some more info on the disorder and how to handle it: http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/sep-anxiety.pdf.

If not, crate him when he is alone in order to prevent accidents.

Help! Training older dogs?

I have a Bichon Frise. My family and I have spoiled him and didn’t stick with the crating. He has calmed down a lot and is now pretty good at going to the bathroom outside and such.

We have now taken in a Shih Tzu for the time being, until we can find a more suitable home. The Shih Tzu is a male, as is the Bichon, and he is not trained. They are now having peeing battles. They go behind each other and pee in the same spot.

I have started crating them and watch them closely when they are not in their "houses". Is it possible to potty train older dogs? They are both 2 years old. Any suggestions would be great.

Thank you.
I am also kind of feeling guilty about crating the Bichon because we’ve had him for 2 years and never really crated him before. Is it ok to just start?

First, better late than never. I suggest whenever someone is home they rotate dogs out of the crate using a tether rather than having the dogs spend their life in a crate. All a tether is, is a leash tied to the belt. Consider making a dog proof, pee ok room for times you are away more than 4 hours, crates can also stay open in this room. Make sure both dogs are neutered, this helps but i recogize it doesnt solve the issue. Even my 4yo fixed boy likes to still mark everything in site when he goes out. Throughly clean the house, I keep bulk supplies on natures miracle onhand. Once a week i vacume then use a garden sprayer to spot clean and room clean then I shampoo once a month whether I think I have a marker in the house or not. My kirby has become my best friend.

New puppy potty training, older dog regressed?

We have an adult dog, almost 2 years old. He’s fully housebroken and knows basic commands. Well, we just brought a new puppy into the household, only 3 months old, and we’re trying to housebreak her. Now the problem here is that I think the older dog is regressing with his house training. I discovered poop on the wee pad that was most definitely *not* the puppy’s (I know this because I caught the puppy getting ready to poop on the floor and got her outside in time).

Is there anything I can do about this, to make sure he doesn’t fully regress while we’re housetraining the puppy? I’m really concerned about this, the last thing I need is 2 dogs poopin on the floor, y’know? (But hey, at least he went on the wee pad, at least that’s something… right?)
Okay, just to make it clear, my adult dog doesn’t need housetrained, he already is. Just the puppy. And I’m not looking for advice on how to housetrain the puppy. Just about the older dog.

And I *like* wee pads, thanks. If she’s going to go before I can get to her, at least she can not go on the carpet.

My 14 year old doxen/terrier regressed a bit when we brought home our Mini Schnauzer. It didn’t last long though. We were lucky because Murphey was trained very quickly, and then Rambo (the old guy) was back to being himself. However, if become a huge problem talk to your vet. They may have a few suggestions. Just make sure your older dog is getting the same, if not more, attention he got preppy.

Good Luck!

Unexpected Benefits While Potty Training Dog

My new Christmas puppy was a wonderful surprise, what I didn’t expect were the many unwanted surprises that followed. I’ve had dogs all my life but always my mom and dad had done the heavy lifting of potty training the dog. I remember it wasn’t always pleasant to be around as dad tried to make the dog bend to his will. When he was at work mom usually worked things out with the dog so at the end of a couple of weeks dad could be proud of him self for potty training dog.

Living on my own I had this mixed view of what needed to be done with a new puppy and as I tried to apply it things weren’t going well. Being an internet child I searched and found some online dog training videos that included a section on potty training dog. It was great training that not only handled the situation at hand but had other, far reaching, benefits.

As you potty train your dog you will learn positive reinforcement and you will learn to be persistant, patient, and consistant. Your dog will come to understand that the rules are always the same and she will appreciate that you let her know when she does something right. if your dog is older you will probably have to reverse some old habits. You need to become aware of what your dog does before relieveing herself. You have to do your homework and watch for the patterns and signals. When you see them let the take the dog out or to the place she should use. When the dog goes in the new place praise and reward her. It is that simple. Of course puppy potty training is a little easier since there is no behavior to unlearn.

As this process was getting the dog potty trianed I found an unexpected benefit. The positive reinforcement methods being used were becoming a part of my, a part of the way I acted in the world. Train the trainer as they say, as the dog was trained so was I. My relationships are working better, I find myself using positive reinforcement and patience with the people around me and they are responding. Not only are they more cooperative but they tell me of the nice transformation that I am going through. They don’t realize that the dog trainging has become second nature to me and that I am using it with them but that is what is happening. It’s true, dog potty training has changed me in a most unexpected but wonderful way.

Renee Pullman
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/unexpected-benefits-while-potty-training-dog-750211.html

Potty Training Older Dog?

I obtained a Chihuahua female, unfixed, that’s somewhere between 2-4 years old. She came from the pound, though I didn’t get her there directly. Long story short- I believe she was a puppy mill breeder or was just terribly neglected. This dog doesn’t appear to come with ANY previous training or obedience what-so-ever.

So we’re doing the potty training thing. I opted for an adult dog in hopes to avoid this issue, but she’s already here so we’re trying our best. I have a crate for her that she stays in at night. I take her outside first thing in the morning and she usually does her business. During the day I try to keep her on a schedule of 3-4 hours (less and she just stares at me like I’m stupid) and she’s normally pretty good. However, in 3 weeks I see NO sign that she’s improving (holding it until she gets taken outside or "asking’ to go out).

She still goes on the carpet. Many times, it seems, it’s as I’m getting my coat or getting ready to take her outside- always seconds too late. I don’t catch her directly in the act often but catch the scratching of her feet that signals she just did it- and I find the quarter-sized wet spot on the carpet. GRRRR.

If I take her out more often she just doesn’t go. It’s cold outside- she’s skinny- so she hates it outside anyway. I HAVE to go with her and stand there, freeze my own tooshy off, or she’ll just sit and wimper at the door.

I tried tethering her to me, as some people suggested. She’s not leash trained either- and we’ve been gradually working into that- it was just terror for her. She pulls and struggles, then just lays down in defeat. She acts like I’m abusing her- so the tethering thing not so good.

I’ve tried gating her in a single room so I can keep an eye on her. I turned my back for literally less than 10 seconds and she peed.

I don’t use puppy pads because I am afraid to encourage the big dog- who is house broken- to pee on those, too. I’m not sure what to do to make some headway with this little dog.

Ideas?
To the first answer- lots of ideas, but I think you forget she is NOT a puppy. She does have the bladder control- she can go the whole night without troubles in her crate. I DO spend the entire time outside with her- it’s just really really cold right now so NEITHER of us want to be there. And I do praise her every time. I do not spank her for accidents but I try to take her outside right away.

I certainly hope it will take less than a year to get somewhere with her, but it’s good to know that it may eventually come even if it takes awhile. Again- she has good bladder control since she’s very good in her crate. I will try to confine her to a room but it’s rather limited where and how I can do that given the layout of the house (very open floor-plan). Will see how that all goes. Thanks.

I had the same problem with a smaller dog. She was older and about 8-10 pounds. She was not abused, but had been a street dog and was very distrustful of humans especially males besides me. I find the last post was almost exactly as I did. Keep her in a confined space or right next to you in an area she can’t get away from you. It seems she is hiding her peeing from you from what you have said since you say you never really see her go. She knows she shouldn’t be going inside. Keep her close to you or in a confined area for a while. Truly praising the dog is SO IMPORTANT and SO IS THE TREAT. Praise her a ridiculous, crazy, nutso, embarassing amount while she is going or/and after she goes and immediately, immediately give her the treat afterwords so she associates that with the treat. Another trick i learned from my vet was feeding. My vet recommended that I only feed my dog once and if that was not enough but twice a day. Keep the food out for an hour two at the most and remove it. After about a week or two she will see that she needs to eat and drink right away. I do of course bring out the water after a walk or intense play session. By doing this you will be able to better predict when she needs to go. I was told that even though small dogs will get bladder "control" they have extremely small bladders and must go frequently until a little older, and I know your dog is older, but this may take a while. But the crazy praise and treat, regulating eating, and as said above leash and not picking up your dog help tons. I’m sure you are leash training, but something I found helped me was to put a few loose treats in my pocket and have the leash wrapped as short as possible constantly saying the same phrase like "with me" and rewarding AND praising the dog when they pay attention to me and stay with me. I also highly recommend crate training. I was also told by a dog behavorialist that it it sometimes good to put the dog in a crate even when you aren’t going anywhere in the same room. Crate training works wonders when you are potter training and is extremely important. I am very careful about this with little dogs, but I also resist furiously any attempt for the dog to pull me off course or get away from me. I don’t jerk (small neck bones on little dogs can be injured), but I do a quick half pull to let them know who they are with, this is not as necessary if you keep them close on a short leash. I’d love to hear how this turns out for you, I hope we all helped.

potty training old dog’s year old dogs?

all right so i have two 14 year old dogs GIGI, Thunder and a stray tat was seen tossed out of a car tats is practically blind/DEF. If were home or not they mostly pee in the house. How would i go about potty training them. I dint be live in putting them in crates either. All info is greatly appreciated, also does any one know any good potty taring sites for old dogs

Thank you

If you don’t want to crate train them then you’ll need to keep your eyes on them all the time. Any time they succeed in going in the wrong place they are automatically reinforced. I’ll be frank: it feels good to pee. That’s reinforcement.

You can try putting them on a schedule to try to control when they need to go. Remember that they tend to need to go when they first wake, about half an hour after meals, and after exercise. Otherwise you still take them out every two hours.

But the problem will not fully resolve, especially with dogs with such a long history of undesired behavior, unless you can 100% prevent them from doing it in the house. Put them in a room where you don’t mind cleaning it up if you don’t want to use a crate. But so long as they have free access to the house without very careful supervision they will continue to self-reinforce and house training will be impossible.