toilet training an older dog?
27 Feb 2010
Is it very hard to try and re-train one year old dog? The dog is still going in the house and using puppy pads and wee’s when she gets excited. (this is not my dog by the way, one im considering adopting)
Also the dog isn’t and hasn’t been crate trained. Could she get used to a crate at this age and would a crate be the way to do it?
Go to http://www.pet-supplies-review.com/older-dog-training.html
House Training an Older Dog I found this there
"If you’ve just brought home a newly adopted shelter or rescue dog, your first task will be to be sure he’s housetrained. If not, then you’ll want to have him become housetrained ASAP. One big advantage of housetraining an older dog is that he has more bladder and bowel control than a puppy – is able to "hold it" for longer periods of time. However, in the beginning your new dog won’t know where to go, and his system may be upset from a change in location and/or food, which can cause diarrhea. So at first, introduce him to his bathroom area and let him eliminate before bringing him in the house for the first time. Be patient and wait if necessary, praising him when he does.
After you bring him inside, don’t expect him to know right away to tell you if he has to go out. Just expect it, and take him out, very frequently at first, praising him each time he goes. Once you are sure he is eliminating normally with no diarrhea or other upsets, then put him on a regular elimination schedule as you would a puppy: in the morning, after meals, after play, and at night before bed. Accompany him, and praise him each time he goes. Make it a point to prevent accidents before they happen, rather than deal with or discipline him if they happen. Never punish him for an accident. Rather, just quietly clean up any mess, and continue with your schedule." http://www.pet-supplies-review.com/older-dog-training.html
6 Responses
2010 Feb 28
Dogs are wonderful animals in that they can learn and relearn new things no matter what their age is. You should be able to potty- and crate train her with consistency and rewards. We adopted a 1.5 year old dog that was semi-house broken and within a few weeks he was having absolutely no accidents anymore. I personally don’t really care for crate training, but I’m sure that he would be able to learn that in no time at all.
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2010 Feb 28
You can absolutely house train and crate train the dog now. Use the same system as you would a puppy.
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2010 Feb 28
This dog is still VERY trainable. I am a believer that a dog of any age is still trainable as long as it’s healthy and loved, and has persistant parents.
However, your potential pooch is very much trainable as 1 year for a dog is young still. And she’s going to have that puppy playful energetic quality for at least another 1-4 years.
Anyways, to help answer your questions, first things first, you need to understand that the peeing when excited is very common for a lot of dogs especially females. There isn’t a whole lot you can do about it, maturity will help with that, also teaching her to calm down will help as well, and keeping her bladder empty.
Crate training shouldn’t be difficult if you’re persistant. I would recommend putting the crate somewhere in your bedroom if you have the room for it (if not then another safe area in your home where you spend a good amount of time), and put a blanket over the top of it so that she can’t see through it. Mind you the crate should only be used for bed times, times you leave the house, or times you can not directly supervise her if you don’t have a suitable yard to play in. Training to potty in the crate will start to become a hassle to clean up especially if it’s a large dog, so you don’t really want to encourage potty in the crate, it should be a safe place for her, and a safe place for you to keep her when you can’t watch her. So the crate WILL help.
If the dog is consistantly using the puppy pads then use those to your advantage. Start with moving the puppy pads close to the door, and also taking them outside with you when you want her to do her business. Take the pad to a spot in the yard that you want her to go and praise her to go there. Frequent potty breaks will help this routine a LOT. She will most likely want to go potty directly after eating so make sure that you take her out as soon as she’s done! Remember to praise every time she goes outside!
If she has an accident inside the house that is NOT on those puppy pads, then make sure you take her to the spot and tell her a firm NO! If it’s poop, pick up the poop, take it outside to where you want her to go to the bathroom, let her smell it and then praise her. She will then start to understand inside bad, outside good. If it’s urine I understand that’s a little more difficult, just make sure you take her to the spot and tell her no.
But this dog is very trainable especially at her age.
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2010 Feb 28
Go to http://www.pet-supplies-review.com/older-dog-training.html
House Training an Older Dog I found this there
"If you’ve just brought home a newly adopted shelter or rescue dog, your first task will be to be sure he’s housetrained. If not, then you’ll want to have him become housetrained ASAP. One big advantage of housetraining an older dog is that he has more bladder and bowel control than a puppy – is able to "hold it" for longer periods of time. However, in the beginning your new dog won’t know where to go, and his system may be upset from a change in location and/or food, which can cause diarrhea. So at first, introduce him to his bathroom area and let him eliminate before bringing him in the house for the first time. Be patient and wait if necessary, praising him when he does.
After you bring him inside, don’t expect him to know right away to tell you if he has to go out. Just expect it, and take him out, very frequently at first, praising him each time he goes. Once you are sure he is eliminating normally with no diarrhea or other upsets, then put him on a regular elimination schedule as you would a puppy: in the morning, after meals, after play, and at night before bed. Accompany him, and praise him each time he goes. Make it a point to prevent accidents before they happen, rather than deal with or discipline him if they happen. Never punish him for an accident. Rather, just quietly clean up any mess, and continue with your schedule." http://www.pet-supplies-review.com/older-dog-training.html
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http://www.pet-supplies-review.com/older-dog-training.html
2010 Feb 28
Crate training is my personal favorite way of training a dog. Especially for potty training because it works and there is no room for accidents because you are there to guide outside and reward right away. Crate training works for any age dog. Even dogs who have been trained differently on different things other than potty learn things great crate training.
Just make sure that you get a crate that isn’t too big, nor too small. And, the most important thing is to make sure that you reward and praise your dog when he/she potties where you want her to. They learn Fast!
Also, if you have another dog your dog will learn twice as fast because they will watch and learn at the same time they are being praised for good.
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Owner of a Great Dane and Austrailian Shepherd!
2010 Feb 28
Age shouldn’t make much of a difference, except that an older dog will have a larger bladder and be physically able to hold more (ie. it should be easier).
If she makes any mistakes without you catching her at it, just clean them up with a biological detergent and carry on as normal. She wouldn’t associate any punishment with the act of fouling indoors, and even if she did – that could be counterproductive anyway.
If she wees inside and you catch her, distract her and take her outside to finish. Then LOTS of praise when she "goes" in the right area.
Lots of praise when the dog "goes" in the area you want him/her to on a walk. She should hopefully get the idea fairly soon.
If you are stil having problems, consult a trainer. If you’re in the UK, these people are very good and affordable:
http://www.apdt.co.uk/local_dog_trainers.asp
Good luck.
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