Housebreaking: Not Just a Puppy Problem!

With potty training, most owners get that taken care of when their dogs are puppies. It is such a common puppy problem, and is usually addressed immediately, as no one wants to constantly clean up accidents every day!

Still, I have come across MANY cases of grown dogs still struggling with housebreaking. With some of these, owners adopted the dog from a shelter and is now facing the challenge of teaching them to eliminate outdoors. I’ve had some owners call me and tell me that their dog that they’ve owned for years has NEVER gone to the bathroom outside. The concept is just foreign to these dogs.

Although the dog may not be housebroken and is past the puppy phase, that does not mean the dog is doomed to wear diapers or use pee pads for their rest of their lives. Housebreaking, while it seems intimidating and complicated, is actually an easy thing to teach, including with older dogs.

Take for an example: one of my most recent housebreaking cases was a dog named Piper. She was a sweet five-year-old that loved her owner, John. However, whenever John left her alone to go to work, he would return later in the day to a complete mess. Piper also was having accidents when John was at home, but the majority of them took place when he left the house. It was becoming so bad that John was restricting his social life but staying in most nights to be with Piper. It had come to a point that John was dreading on going home after work.

This is not how a dog or a dog owner should live! When I met this pair for Piper’s initial consultation and assessment, I could see the anxiety stirring within her. We had to address this root problem in order to see positive results, while also creating a consistent schedule for Piper, where her potty times outside, and her food and water intake was more monitored. John also bought a crate but did not know how to get Piper acclimated to it and associating the crate with positivity and as a “safe haven”. This needed to happen ASAP if John wanted to meet his training goals with Piper!

To successfully housebreak a dog, strict scheduling is crucial. Additionally, it is all about eliminating (no pun intended) the opportunity for the dog to potty inside. Many people like to use crates to house train a dog, because we help the dog understand that the crate is their own place, a comfortable, safe place where they sleep, relax, and sometimes even eat in. Dogs are actually clean creatures that do not want to soil the places they eat or sleep in. By making the crate a positive management tool, the dog learns more self-control, and with the scheduling, they become more regulated and understanding of the boundaries. Consistency is key, and without it, the dog is bound for failure.

Unless there is a medical problem causing frequent accidents, housebreaking can be achieved even with older dogs. Age does not come into play most of the time. It is all about setting the dog up for success and making sure he/she does not have the chance to eliminate indoors. Going back to Piper and John, just after a couple of weeks, we have seen remarkable improvement. The anxiety levels have lessened and almost completely dissipated. As for the accidents, John is happy to report that he has not cleaned up a mess since we last met. He’s also been able to go on a date without worry, and come back to a happier dog and a clean home!

If you puppy or dog is struggling with housebreaking, have no fear! Call me at 800-649-7297 and we’ll get your fur child started on a consistent regimen where they will succeed and learn to use the toilet outside!