Not a lot of people jump for joy at the mention of house training dogs. As a result, some people who adopt older dogs will be surprised to find them still untrained in ‘doing their business’ outside. While it may be easier to teach puppies to eliminate properly; adult dogs can still be taught correct toilet behavior anytime.

If you plan to teach your dog to not do something anymore, good luck. You won’t encounter much success. Instead, you should unseat the wrong behavior in his daily activities by substituting it with a new pattern. In this case, its learning to go outside for eliminating.

Choose an area for this specific purpose. Around ten to fifteen minutes after meal times, go out and walk him around the designated spot. As you walk back and forth around the spot, clearly speak out a phrase that relates to this particular activity like, ‘go potty’. Say it repeatedly until he finally ‘goes potty’. Praise him enthusiastically right after to let him know he’s done a good job. Do this for a few weeks, always using the same toilet area. Remember house training dogs require consistency in the patterns you set.

Once in a while you will still come across the dreaded mound of discharge inside your house. If he is in the middle of potty, stop him quickly and bring him outside to finish his business. Give him treats when he discharges outside successfully. If you do find the poop without the pet nearby it will be no use to yell at him anymore. He will not understand your reason for being upset and this will only serve to confuse him. To ensure this doesn’t happen again, be extra vigilant after meals.

In case it happens, clean the accident immediately as thoroughly as possible. Use a solution that combats odor to get rid of any residual smell it might leave behind or else the dog will revisit his spot and use it to eliminate again. Remember in potty training dogs, they do not like sharing their sleeping area and their toilet area; so keep their cage or crate as small as possible without it being too cramped for them.

Do not feed him or put water and food inside his cage at night so your sleep will not be disturbed. You can take him outside to discharge in the morning or even after he wakes up from a short cat, I mean, dog nap. When you have succeeded in teaching him how to go out for this particular activity, see to it that leaving the house is as convenient as possible for him. A swinging dog flap installed in your doors or a cage near an open back door will do the job.

Potty training dogs is every responsible pet owner’s priority. This will keep your dog disciplined and mentally stimulated- a good preparation for other obedience tasks. More than that, your home will welcome the change and thank you for it.

Geraldine Dimarco enjoys house training dogs. Get free information on great tips for Potty Training Dogs today.