How do I retrain my dog to go outside?

To stop your dog from going to the toilet indoors, you’ll first need to show them where they should go. Rewarding them when they do their business somewhere appropriate will help them form good toileting habits. Take your dog out regularly and at appropriate times. It’s essential to give your dog plenty of opportunities to go to the toilet outside while they’re learning to control their bowel and bladder. Take them outside when they’re likely to need to relieve themselves, for example: after a sleep, after eating or drinking, after play or exercise, whenever they become very excited, for example when visitors arrive. Recognising the signs that your dog needs to toilet, keep a close eye on your pooch until you start spotting the signs they’re about to go to the toilet. If you see these signs inside, gently interrupt your dog, and take them outside to see if they’ll go to the toilet. Always reward them for toileting outside, it’s essential that you give your dog a reward as soon as they have toileted, so they know that you are really pleased with this behaviour. Be sure to tell them what a good dog they are and give them a tasty treat as a little bonus.

Therefore, for the first few weeks after you bring him home, you should assume your new dog isn’t housetrained and start from scratch. Establish a routine Take your dog out at the same times every day. For example, first thing in the morning when he wakes up, when you arrive home from work, and before you go to bed. Praise your dog lavishly every time he eliminates outdoors. You can even give him a treat. Choose a location not too far from the door to be the bathroom spot. Always take your dog, on leash, directly to the bathroom spot. While your dog is eliminating, use a word or phrase like “go potty,” for example, that you can eventually use before he eliminates to remind him of what he’s supposed to be doing. If he was housetrained in his previous home, the re-training process should progress quickly. The process will be much smoother if you take steps to prevent accidents and remind him where he’s supposed to eliminate.

Developing a routine for your dog’s potty breaks will help alleviate the uncertainty. If your dog is still soiling inside, proper housetraining steps should be taken first. Creating a pattern for feeding and going outside will help them get into a routine. This prevents them from relieving themselves in your house. Reward them for going outside with affirmations and treats immediately when they’re finished to condition the act. Housetraining your dog involves a lot of conditioning. For example, you may already have a routine with your dog to go potty a half-hour after each meal. Your dog may even be conditioned to need to potty when your alarm goes off in the morning. Training your dog to ask to go out involves adding an extra stimulus into their housetraining routine. The most common technique trains your dog to ring a bell when they need to go out. You may prefer teaching your dog to ring a bell when housetraining, rather than to bark or stand quietly at the door. This technique trains your dog to pair ringing a bell with their need to relieve themselves. Step 1, you need to train your dog to ring the bell, hold the bell close to their nose, when they touch the bell, reward them. Repeat until your dog doesn’t hesitate to touch their nose to the bell, start adding a cue or command word like “touch” to their act of touching the bell. Hold the bell far enough away from them so that they must take a few steps to touch their nose to it. This adds a physical aspect to the task. At this point, your dog will be trained to touch the bell on cue, this step teaches your dog to touch the bell at a specific time. Approach the door and cue your dog to touch the bell with your command word, when they do, react with excitement, open the door, and take them outside. With enough repetition, your dog will learn that you will open the door and take them out whenever they ring the bell. Sometimes, your dog may ring the bell just to go outside and play, you’ll have to reinforce to them that the bell is for potty time. When they ring the bell, put on their leash and take them to the part of the yard where they typically relieve themselves for a few minutes. If they go potty, affirm and reward, if they do not, go back inside. With enough repetition, your dog will learn that ringing the bell means going out to potty. This requires a lot of repetition, patience, and participation from everyone in your household.

When you begin toilet training you need to give your dog plenty of opportunities to go in an appropriate place. Puppies need to toilet regularly and should be taken outside: When they wake up, Before bed, After every meal, After playtime or exercise, After any excitement, for example visitors to the home, Before you leave them and when you come back. Then every 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the puppy’s age. When you recognise the signs that your dog is thinking about toileting: Take them to the correct place so that you can reward them when they go. Try to take them to the same place each time. When they begin to toilet, use a verbal cue they can associate with the correct behaviour, for example, 'toilet'. When they've finished, reward them immediately, every time, with lots of praise, treats and play. Continue taking your dog outside and reward them with lots of praise when they go and eventually they'll let you know when they need to go outside to toilet.