Benefits of Crate Training Your Puppy/Dog
Everyone is always more worried about puppy potty training, but whatever happened to older dogs needing potty training? Not every dog has been potty trained so they may commit accidents inside your home if its not taken care of right away.
 So how exactly can you train a dog that has already hit that age where they should already know all the tricks? The same way you’d teach your puppy, just be more consistent and very patient because your older dog thinks he knows everything already so they may be hesitant to learn new things.
When you first decide that you want to begin training your dog to stop using your living room carpet as his toilet decide on a schedule that will not be interrupted what so ever. If you as the owner, the person in charge can’t be consistent with your schedule you can’t expect much more from your dog. Dogs learn from you and your schedule. Just look at how your dog will be waiting by your door or a nearby window everyday when you are suppose to be getting home from work, imagine if you didn’t come home when you normally did, they’d be confused greatly, just as they would if you were inconsistent with your schedule for potty training.
If you are unable to set up a specific schedule for potty training your older dog you may want to consider having someone else do it for you. Dogs need to have consistency if you expect perfect results.
Some things that you should avoid when you take part in dog potty training are as follows:
- If your dog has an accident inside do not scold them for it, its pointless now. The deed has been done.
- When a dog is introduced to a new environment or home they tend to want to mark their territory, so avoid allowing your dog to roam around freely until you’ve introduced them to all areas of your home and property to prevent accidents from happening.
- Never leave a full bowl of food out. This doesn’t set a strict feeding schedule for your dog making potty training difficult
- For diet changes never do a sudden change of food, gradually change your dog’s food or accidents will be more likely to occur.
- Avoid late night snacks/drinks just like you’d do with your children, this could cause midnight mishaps.
 It may be complicated training your dog not to go to the bathroom inside, but it will be worth all the effort that it takes to get there. You may have trained a puppy in the past and felt the puppy learnt so much faster, well this will happen. Puppies’ minds are still growing and absorbing tons of information in, but older dogs have already gone through this process and learnt everything they thought they needed to know.
when you are going to be away for long periods of time. No dog wants to do their business in an area that they are going to be in for a long period of time training them to hold it till they are let outside to do their business. Many people feel crates are a bad idea, but in the end they can be very humane if used properly. Crates should not be used for punishment, they are your dog’s home when you aren’t home, so make it comfortable for them and not a place they dread going too.
One thing you should really attempt doing when potty training an older dog is having a designated area for them to do their busy in, and another area where they play in. This not only keeps the cleanup much easier, but it will also allow the dog to know that when he goes to that certain area he’s going to the bathroom and in the other area you are going to play. This is exactly like what you’d do in your own life, you have a bathroom dedicated to going to the bathroom, and rooms dedicated to all other life activities, so give your dog some privacy as well.
When you potty train an older dog you will want to use specific words for this training method. Avoid using several different sayings when you want to take your dog outside to go to the bathroom, use just one and they will understand much better. By using one phrase with your dog for every training technique you attempt they will understand you much better, so if you are training your dog to go outside to go to the bathroom use something like “Go pee” and then take them outside, they will eventually understand that when you say “Go pee” you want them to go outside and do their business. At first you’ll want to take them out on a leash while they do their business, but eventually you will be able to take the leash away and have them go out on their own, but give it time.
Every dog will learn at their own pace and understand you in their own way, so every dog needs to be given different attention methods. If you feel your dog is taking longer to grasp the understanding of going pee outside continue trying, if you give up and get frustrated your dog will less likely want to learn and not listen, meaning more accidents occur inside.
Lets summarize some of the dos and don’ts for potty training an older dog.
The dos of potty training:
- Be consistent
- Schedule
- Praise your dog for going outside
- Set one phrase for potty training
The don’ts of potty training:
- Yell at your dog for going inside
- Change diet/food
- Put nose in urine or doo-doo when accidents occur inside
- Use multiple phrases
- Ignore good listening
 Potty training doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be fun to an extent. Make your dog enjoy learning to go outside to go to the bathroom and you’ll love the results that you get. Not every dog will learn quickly, and not every dog will understand certain phrases, so do a lot of trial and error till you find the perfect method for potty training your older dog.
You will be training your older dog the same way you’d treat a new puppy, with consistency and scheduling, so treat him exactly the same way you’d treat a new puppy, with tons of love and affection. Potty training is a blessing for everyone, so make it one. |
