Start Housebreaking Your Older Dog Today
If you're a person that thinks the old saying "You Cannot Teach an Old Dog New Tricks" applies to your dog...you may be wrong. Not only is it possible to housebreak an older dog, it's actually fairly easy.
The Pro's and Con's of House Training An Older Dog
If you've house trained puppies in the past, you may already feel as if you know how to correctly potty train any dog. However, potty training puppies is completely different from housebreaking older dogs. Below is a good comparison of house training older dogs using pro's and con's.
Advantages to House Training Older Dogs
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Older Dogs Are More Focused - Older dogs are already familiar with their surroundings and know the family, plus they don't have as much energy. Because of this, they will be more focused and will have better attention spans than younger dogs.
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Older Dogs Already Understand the Reward Process - It takes younger dogs a while to understand why you are giving them treats (eventually they catch on that good behavior = a treat). Older dogs, however, usually already understand that receiving a treat means they have shown good behavior. This will help speed up the learning process.
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Older Dogs Can Go Longer without Using the Bathroom - An older dog can usually go 8 hours before having to use the bathroom, meaning you will have less accidents to clean up and less trips outside. Younger dogs, on the other hand, can only go 2-3 hours before needing to use the bathroom.
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Disadvantages to House Training Older Dogs
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Older Dogs Use the Bathroom Less - Older dogs don't have to go to the bathroom as frequently, which to some people can be good that they don't have to take them outside every few hours. Unfortunately, this also means that you will have less opportunities to practice your training with them. With younger dogs you can get 6 or more chances each day, but with older dogs you are lucky if you get 3 or more.
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Older Dogs May Have Developed Bad Habits - Puppies and younger dogs are new to the world and haven't yet developed any bad habits that negatively effect house training. Older dogs, on the other hand, may have picked up some bad habits from previous attempts to become house trained which can make it more difficult.
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Can Your Dog Be Too Old to Be House Trained
All dogs are eager to learn to please their owner, but just as a puppy can sometimes be too young to be house trained an adult dog can sometimes be too old. Of course, this doesn't depend on your dog's age as much as it does his or her physical condition.
If you have an older dog who has any of the following problems, it will increase the difficulty in housebreaking an older dog and could possibly make it unlikely he or she could ever become fully house trained.
- Dogs who are blind or have trouble seeing
- Dogs with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (dog version of Alzheimer's)
- Dogs who physically cannot control their bowels
If your dog suffers from any of the above problems, it is best to contact your vet to determine if your dog will be able to be potty trained, because if not, an attempted training process could become frustrating for your dog.
How to House Train An Older Dog
Housebreaking an older dog is not as complicated as people make it seem. In fact, it can actually be fairly easy as long as you're using the right training program. Below are some of the thing you need to know when house training your dog.
What Do You Need to Get
Luckily, you do not need to get very many things to housebreak your dog. In fact, you most likely already have all these items at your home. Of course, all of these items are not required, but it does make the training process go a lot faster and easier.
- A leash and collar to use when taking your dog outside.
- A bag of your dog's favorite treats
- An area within your home that you can turn into your dog's area (if you don't have one you may need to get a crate)
What You Need to Do
The first thing you need to do is to create a dog potty schedule. This is where you will write down what time(s) of the day to give your dog food. This will help put your dog on a regular pottying schedule, since most dogs need to use the bathroom at the same time after they eat.
The next step will be to introduce your dog to your home slowly. Remember, dogs by nature are used to small dens to live in and they will not understand that the entire home is yours. So in the beginning only let your dog stay in one room and slowly introduce him or her to new rooms in your home as they make progress.
Another thing you will need to do in the beginning of the training process is to monitor your dog while he or she is inside. You will want to make sure they do not use the bathroom so either you or another person will at least need to keep a watch on your dog.
Of course, there are many other things you need to do to housebreak your older dog. This is just the basics. We recommend downloading the guide House Train Any Dog below for full step-by-step instructions on how to properly house train your dog in just a few days.
Get the Complete Guide to House Train Your Older Dog
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Want to learn how to housebreak your dog in the shortest amount of time possible? Get the complete potty training guide for dogs and learn step-by-step exactly how to house train your older dog so you will see results in less than 7 days.
- Learn how to Potty Train Your Dog in 7 Days or Less
- Get step-by-step instructions on how to potty train your dog correctly
- Discover the same techniques professional dog trainers use
- Guaranteed to work for your dog regardless of age or intelligence
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