Adapted from Way to Go! How to Housetrain a Dog of Any Age by Karen London & Patricia McConnell
If you dog has just suddenly started having issues eliminating inside or is no longer a puppy and is having trouble with the housetraining, please consult your vet to rule out any medical problems such as a urinary tract infection.
While you are working on housetraining , your dog should always be in one of three states:
1. Outside supervised by you
2. Inside supervised by you
3. In a crate or puppy proofed area
1. Outside supervised by you
Have a leash ready by the door (with a clicker and treats in a bag as well) so that you can quickly leash your dog and be able to click and treat him when he eliminates outside. Take him to a designated potty area and when he begins to eliminate, say your potty cue. Click when he finishes and provide a very tasty treat – perhaps one that you reserve for this occasion only to make it extra special. Cheese and meats work really well rather than giving him his normal kibble or normal training treats. We want to let him know that he did something really wonderful.
2. Inside supervised by you
This can be tethered to you (his leash is physically attached to you), or he is tethered in a location in which you can keep an eye on him. Be careful that you are truly watching him however, as he can easily have accidents if you look away briefly. Baby gates also work great for this and help keep him in a area that you can supervise him.
3. In a crate or puppy proofed area
A crate works great when you leave the house, for nighttime, and any time that you cannot directly supervise your dog. Crate training is explained below, but if you cannot crate him, a puppy safe room or exercise pen (for smaller breeds who cannot knock it over) can work so that you limit where he can eliminate. It’s best to have the crate in your bedroom so your pup does not feel alone at night and you can hear him if he really needs to go outside at night (while you are allowing time to help increase the strength of his bladder). Generally a pup can hold his elimination for the months of his age plus 1 month when he is not running around. So a five month old pup should be able to hold it for 6 hours. Every dog will be different though and smaller breeds have relatively smaller bladders and while young will need to go more frequently. Recent activity level increases your dog’s need to eliminate, so taking him out after any play time is recommended for puppies.
Crate Training
Initially start by tossing in a few treats for you pup and see if he will go in to get the treats. You may need to click for any movement towards the crate and then for looking inside the crate and for stepping inside, and building off this. Do this 3-5 times every couple of hours in the day. As you dog grows comfortable with this, begin to shut the door for a second, after a few more sessions, close the door and begin to feed treats though the door. After this is going well, being to leave your pup in the crate for a few minutes with a stuffed Kong and leave him for 3-5 minutes while he works on the Kong. You want to return to him before his finishes the Kong so that you are asking him to leave the crate (and the Kong) before he is looking to leave. Take the Kong as he leaves the crate and give him the Kong when he goes back into the crate. We want the crate to be associated with wonderful things.
Putting your dog in his crate when he is tired is also a great way to help him associate the crate with sleeping. Also, putting an article of yours in the crate, such as a t-shirt, can also be comforting to your pup. You can cover the crate with a towel or sheet if he finds this comforting.
Ignore immediate whines to get out if you know that your dog does not need to eliminate, but if he cries in the middle of the night when he is normally quiet, take him out for potty time, but do not play with him and once he eliminates return him to his crate and try to begin to extend the time that you take him out so that a pattern is not established and his ability to hold it increases. Also, try to let your dog out of his crate when he is quiet, not barking as we don’t want him to think that barking is what lets him out.
Signs to watch for that your dog may have to eliminate:
Accidents Happen
Don’t beat yourself up too much, just take it as notice that more supervision is required. It is important to eliminate all the odor with the accident, so clean up with an enzymatic cleaner. Don’t punish your dog for the accident, just promise to supervise more. If you catch your dog in the act of eliminating, make a sound to interrupt him (a light slap on a wall for example). We don’t want to scare your dog, just interrupt him so that you can take him outside and hopefully he can finish out there. If he does, praise and big treats are in order!
Expanding your dog’s den
Since you’ve been supervising your pup with you in areas that you spend more time and he has shown success in these areas, it’s time to being to introduce him to other areas so that he can begin to extend his den. Spend time with him on the floor (to help have your scent on the floor), feed meals in the new room, play there and train there, but do not allow him in there unsupervised. As you spend more time in there, your dog will begin to accept this area as part of his home and will do his best to keep it clean. After a few sessions (and your dog has recently gone out), give him time in the new room with a stuffed Kong and check in after five minutes. Gradually increase freedom as detailed above on a trial basis, expand with success, retreat with any accidents.
Putting things on cue
It helps your dog if you put the behavior on cue. When you see that your dog is about to begin eliminating outside, say the cue (suggestions: Hurry up, Get busy, Go potty -- just make sure you are willing to say the cue in a public area), and click and treat for your dog doing the behavior. After pairing the cue with the behavior many times, your dog will begin to associate the two and eliminate on cue when he needs to go.
It takes diligence to go through all these steps but if followed, it will work and the investment you made in properly training your dog to eliminate outside will make for a happy household.