Veterinarian Tips On How to Housebreak an Old Dog

Dogs typically are housetrained when they are just puppies. Sometimes, however, older and even senior dogs have no experience with housetraining. They may have lived their lives outdoors or had inconsistent and incomplete housetraining in their younger years. Still, other older adult dogs may have been fully housetrained but suddenly start having accidents. You want to live peacefully and in a clean home with your dog, so you will need a good method to housetrain your older dog.

  1. Visit a Veterinarian

    • The first step in housebreaking an old dog is to make an appointment with a veterinarian, especially if this is a dog that was previously housetrained. Older dogs are subject to a number of health problems that younger dogs aren't. Urinary tract infections, digestive problems, loss of bowel or bladder control and even senility can cause senior dogs to have accidents in the house. Taking your dog to a veterinarian can eliminate the possibility that a health problem stands in the way of your dog's housetraining. In some cases, medication may even solve the problem entirely.

    Don't Punish

    • Finding a mess in your home can be frustrating, but avoid punishing your dog. A health problem may be the true culprit, or your older dog may simply not know any better. Punishment can confuse your dog. If you didn't catch your dog in the act, it won't understand why it is getting in trouble. It may start to associate the punishment with you coming home from work, which can cause it to fear you. Even if you do catch your dog having an accident, don't scold it, or it will start to think that going potty -- at least in your presence -- is a bad thing. This will lead it to find secret places to go, and can cause fear-related behavior problems such as aggression. When you do find a mess, just clean it up. Put your dog outside while you do, or confine it to another room.

    Where to Go

    • Teach your old dog where it can go potty, especially if this is a new pet in your home. Even at its age, it may have never been trained properly. Walk it outside frequently throughout the day and encourage it by saying "potty." Reward it with treats and praise whenever it does this. This will teach it that doing its business in the yard makes you happy and shows it that this is an acceptable place to go. If you catch your dog having an accident, interrupt it with a noise, take it outside and allow it to finish. When it does, reward it with treats and praise.

    Frequent Breaks

    • Your older dog may not be able to hold its bladder or bowels as long as it used to. Give your dog frequent potty breaks outside. You might even have to schedule one or two during the night, if your dog can't last that long. If your dog is comfortable in a crate, leave it crated when you aren't home. Dogs instinctively avoid soiling in their dens. Don't leave an older dog confined for more than a few hours at a time -- six maximum, less if you know your dog can't make it anymore. If you work during the day, hire a dog walker or ask a friend to take your dog out once or twice.

    Change Food

    • In some cases, an older dog's digestive system may not work as well as it used to. Digestive upset can lead your dog to have accidents inside. Change your dog's food to a senior formula dog food if it is older than 7 or 8. This kibble is formulated to meet an older dog's energy requirements and can be more sensitive on the stomach. If your dog was having digestive problems, changing foods can put its housetraining back on track.