House training your dog
my dog is almost 2 years old and no matter what I have tried he still messes inside the house, any advice tips or tricks to get him to go outside would be a big help.
Don't rub his nose on it, usually this only makes your dog do the same but when you're not around.
The best way is to reward him when he goes outside. There are times when it's more likely he'll go to "toilet" which will help you decide when to take him out.
I have a hub about it, be glad to visit it http://cardozo7.hubpages.com/hub/Teach- … -as-toilet
If he was a puppy I would say take him outside every 30 minutes and wait until he did something. While he was "going" use a verbal prompt of your choice and reward him when he went. Really make a fuss. Eventually you can train them to go by using your verbal prompt.
As he is older, maybe going outside every 30 mins is a bit much. Do it after each meal, when he wakes up, etc. Still use the prompt and reward system.
At night, put newspaper down all over the floor. Gradually reduce the area covered by newspaper until there is just one sheet right by the door. Eventually do away with the newspaper.
If he is a boy and he is in tact, is he marking? May be it is a dominance/territory thing?
If it is just a pup, keep him a crate. Most dogs won't mess in their sleeping area. If it is a large crate, you'll need to put something in that he can't get across or he'll mess in the area that he doesn't sleep in.. At young ages they may need to be taken out as often as every 15 minutes to a half an hour until they get enough bladder control.
Reward him everytime he goes outside. Never scold him for accidents as a dog becomes completely confused and thinks going to the bathroom is wrong. Then he just won't do it in front of you.
As long as your dog is healthy there are a number of options, depending on your dog.
Which type of "messing" are you referring to? And what size/breed is your dog?
All these will determine your next step. For instance if you haven't tried crate training him yet, it is your best first option. See my hub on house-breaking for a detailed explanation of crate training.
If he is urinating inside, this is most likely because the scent is already there, and you will have to thoroughly clean your floors, carpets, etc., where he's urinated.
I've found gallons of "Nature's Miracle" is truly miraculous for cleaning urine scent. Expensive, but worth it. You would follow the indoor cleaning with a spray to use outside which will prompt him, through its scent, to "let down" his urine. Dogs cannot help but pee when they smell pee, it is a physical reaction.
If you have a small dog, there are indoor pee pads of all designs from grass-like to mats, which once you spray with the urine scent, work well. Then you can gradually move the pee pad outside. They are easy to clean off with a garden hose.
No matter what, if you want a predictably house-trained dog, you have to be committed and vigilant until the job is done. You simple can't slack on it, at all. It's a big job, and can take several months especially with an older dog, but worth once it's done. You have to watch your dog constantly. That's why the crate training is so great! In a properly-sized crate, your dog will not soil it and you can dash him out when you let him out. If your dog is large, outdoor kenneling is helpful in decent climates if you work all day and he is home alone.
That said, you have to limit the length of time he's in the crate, because eventually he won't be able to hold it and then once he soils the crate, crate training is out the window too.
Try these, let me know how it goes and as always, Good Luck and Good Dog!
thanks everyone i will try these until i find a solution your help has been much appreciated.....jimmy
Have you read my article on it? http://lauramatkin.hubpages.com/hub/Dogs-Like-Us If you have read it would you contact me directly? I need more information, Does he go in the same places? When your gone? Same room as you or does he walk out of the room? What kind of dog is it? That actually matters. Are you using a crate? Does he go in the crate? etc. I am a professional dog trainer, tell me everything you can think of about it and I can help.
I would first suggest an exam by the vet, a two year old dog that is not house clean raises a huge warning flag with me. Perhaps some health issues are the reason? Also what kind of breed is it, some are more difficult to house train than others. And, most importantly, what have you done regarding house training so far? What have you tried and for how long?
Due to getting a Professional State Certified Dog Trainer, through (CCPDT; Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers) and doing my internship, I have to ask a couple of questions before consulting:
1. How often do you take you dog out a day?
2. How often does your dog "mess" in the house? More than 2x a day?
3. Does your dog have any emotional issues, such as anxiety, seperation anxiety, nervous issues. Fear issues.
4. What are all the things you do to prevent the messing in the house?
Of course it is hard to know over the internet without seeing the situation, however, I maybe able to help if you let me. You can message me on this site and answer these questions. No need to post on here.
By the way, I have 3 dogs of my own, I have an Austrilian Cattle Dog; mix, Austrilian Shepard; mix, and a Shepard; Mix. I also work at St. Huberts Shelter, so I have experence in this field. I am also in the study of Dog Behavior and Regular Training.
Please don't take this as a criticism, I remember having a my first dog at 14 and, know nothing about training. We all went through it for those of us who had dogs for the first time.
I look forward to hearing from you. I can help if you can message me with some answers.
Take him to the vet to make sure there is no underlying health issues. If he is healthy, put him outside if you catch him trying to go inside. Reward him when he manages to pee outside.
by Lisa Petrarca 17 years ago
We have a Siberian Huskie named Allie. She is a wonderful dog, however......when we go to work she pees in the house and sometimes poos! She is 3 years old and we got her from a Huskie rescue. She is very loved and knows what she is doing because the minute we get home she runs...
by Lisa Petrarca 16 years ago
My husky goes to the bathroom on my new carpet constantly. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. One time she'll go out the doggy door and later she may decide to go on the carpet. It's very random and FRUSTRATING!Any ideas?
by Michelle Liew 12 years ago
What is your view of crate training dogs?
by bombshel 12 years ago
I have a boxer named Buster that I adopted from PAWS when he was around six months old. The previous owner had adopted him but brought him back saying he couldn't be trained. I adopted him and had him trained immediately. The best way to train a dog is with positive reinforcement. Never spank your...
by Eiddwen 13 years ago
Hi,I'm trying to find a solution to a six year old Staffie who will not be house trained.Rocky has been rescued by my daughter about 8 months ago. He is the perfect pet, and so sweet natured except he will not do his business outside, he waits till he's in the house.This is when he wants to...
by Susan Holland 13 years ago
Have you crate trained your dog?Crain training your pup gives them a sense of place and security. It also protects your house when you are gone. Ha!
Copyright © 2025 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2025 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |