How to housebreak a dog

Our neighbors just adopted an adorable rescue terrier. She’s such a cutie, and Vance is already smitten. (He sits at the fence, waiting for her all day, and when she finally comes outside, he runs to the back door to make sure that I know “She’s out! She’s out! Let’s play with her!”) The vet thinks she’s probably five or six, but she’s always been an outdoor dog (and sadly, seems to have been pretty badly neglected), so she’s not housebroken.

Ick! It’s driving them a little crazy. Fortunately, she’s a fast learner, and I’m sure they’ll have her housebroken in no time. But, in the meantime, I wanted to share how we got Vance housebroken in just three days and he never again had an accident inside the house.

Granted, I work from home, so this was a lot easier for us with a puppy–if you have a puppy and work outside the home, you’re going to come home to accidents. Puppies simply can’t “hold it” until they’re a certain age (what age that is depends on their breed–small dogs take longer than big dogs) so if you can’t let the puppy out every hour or two, don’t scold. Just prepare the area for those accidents, and help your puppy do the best he can.

If you have an older dog or you can let the dog out every hour, housebreaking is really easy (and tedious). Simply set a timer and every hour, on the hour, outside the two of you go. Go together so that you can go crazy with the cookies and the love every time your dog goes outside. Also, take the dog outside when:

• He gets a drink of water (about 5-10 minutes later, outside you go)
• He eats a meal (immediately, and just hang out outside together until you discover how long it takes–with Vance, he always wants to go out within 30 seconds of finishing his dinner)
• He finishes playing
• He wakes up from a nap
• He asks to go out (even if he’s just bored, take him outside, you want to reward the asking)
• He starts sniffing for a place to go
• He’s already starting to go to the bathroom, and you see him. Say a sharp No! which usually stops a dog in his tracks, then carry him straight outside. No hitting, no yelling, just a “hey, that’s not where we do that, buddy” and move right on with your day. Resist the urge to glare as you mop up.

By following this play, you’ll housebreak a dog very quickly. You’ll also spend more than half of your life taking the dog outside or being outside with the dog. But, trust me, this phase only lasts a week or two and in no time, you’ll have a housebroken dog and you’ll only have to let the dog out every few hours.