When it comes to adopting or saving a pet, there are certain advantages to adopting an adult dog over a puppy. One of these is that there is a greater likelihood that you will see an adult dog that has already been home trained. Unfortunately, not all adult rescue dogs are potty trained. How do you train an adult dog? Is it any different than training a puppy?

Learn How to House Train Your Adult Dog

Home education basics

Current house training techniques for puppies are based on what is known as operant conditioning. This is a training method that combines behavior (going to the bathroom outside) with an effect (praise and treats). Fortunately, adult dogs understand operant conditioning just as well as puppies! So, for the most part, house training an adult dog is no different from house training a puppy.

When you start training your dog, you want to establish a routine as soon as possible. Establishing a routine will take out all of the variables and make it easier for your dog to see which behavior is rewarding them. Always take your dog with you at the same time of day and in the same place in the yard. Use the same word or phrase, e.g. B. “Do the potty” to combine a verbal cue with the action of going to the toilet outside. Immediately praise your dog after they go to the bathroom outside. Don't wait for him to come in to praise him. That way, you run the risk of actually training your dog to ask to come back in right away. Finally, feed your dog on a set schedule. If he hasn't finished his meal in 30 minutes, pick it up off the floor. This prevents him from eating at non-routine times and therefore from having to go to the bathroom at non-routine times. Also take his water bowl in hand before going to bed to keep the nightly toilet breaks as short as possible.

Monitoring is the key

Now that you know how to increase the behavior of your dog going to the bathroom outside, how do you decrease the behavior when he is going to the bathroom inside? As inconvenient as it may be for our hectic lives, supervision is the best way to teach your dog that the inside is not the potty place. Keep him on a six foot leash tied to you or put up a baby gate to keep him in the same room as you. This will allow you to watch your dog for signs that he may need to go outside, such as: B. sniff around or circle.

If you can't keep an eye on your dog, limit him to areas that are small enough that he doesn't go to the bathroom, such as the bathroom. B. a box or a kennel. When you get home, take him outside to use the bathroom immediately and praise him when he passes out in his place outside the bathroom.

Never punish your dog

If you catch your dog eliminating, take him outside immediately so he can finish. Praise him when he goes to the bathroom outside. Never punish your dog for accidents in the house. Animals just don't understand the punishment after the fact like humans can. Even if the punishment occurs only seconds after the undesired behavior. If you punish your dog for having an inside accident by either yelling at him or rubbing his nose in it, you run the risk of frightening your dog of you or of going to the bathroom in front of you. Instead, just clean up your dog's accident and keep supervising and rewarding them for potty training outside. Remember: dogs love to please their owners. Therefore, rewarding your dog for the desired behavior is enough to figure out what behavior he should display.

Other reasons for home pollution

Adult dogs, especially intact dogs, may have urine stains on their homes too. This is behavioral but has nothing to do with house training. Spaying and neutering can fix this sometimes, but if your dog has had urine marks for a long time it can be such a learned behavior that it can be difficult for him to stop. If your dog has separation anxiety, they can also have household accidents due to their anxiety. This is also behavioral, but has nothing to do with house training either. While we've already established that punishment has no place in home training, I don't want to mention that you definitely don't want to punish your dog for an accident due to separation anxiety. This would only serve to make your already anxious dog even more anxious.

Of course, there are medical reasons for home pollution. A key difference between home training for an adult dog and home training for a puppy is that there are more medical reasons why an adult dog can have an accident indoors than a puppy. A simple urinary tract infection can increase your dog's accidents, but there are other diseases that can cause this as well. If your dog is diabetic or has Cushing's disease, they may have increased thirst, and therefore increased urination. Drugs like prednisone can also cause increased thirst and urination. If your dog feels the urge to go to the bathroom more often but cannot go outside more often, accidents can occur in the home.

House Training Every dog ??can be a chore and frustrating at times. If you stick with it, you will be successful. Contact your veterinarian for more training tips.