House Breaking a 3 Year Old Dog

I agree with Tara - no pads, no scolding, just vigilance and loads of praise! Take her out after she eats, after she wakes, after a play session and every hour. As she starts to catch on, you can lengthen this duration but to start with you're trying to catch her doing something right so you can lavish her with praise! Also, don't play with her when you go outside. Just keep repeating Go Potty Go Potty...and if she doesn't go, bring her back inside. Stick with it, it will work.

The problem with puppies and dogs that have been crated their whole lives is that they become accustomed to doing "everything" in their crates, eating, sleeping, and unfortunately, going to the bathroom. The concept that dogs will not soil their living space just doesn't hold true for many of these puppy mill dogs. We had the same problem with our yellow lab puppy - the place we purchased her from insisted we buy a large crate for her. Not knowing any better, we did just that - we would take her out during the day and crate her at night, only to be awakened every night by the sound of her crashing around her (soiled) crate. After about a week or so of this, we got rid of the crate, and began gating her in the kitchen where she also had food, water, and a bed. We kept up the routine of taking her out at regular intervals during the day, and praising her like crazy whenever she would "go" outside. Yes, there were some accidents along the way, but she seemed to make very fast progress once we ditched the crate and gave her a larger space. Keep patient and praise your new dog alot - she WILL get the hang of it. Good Luck!

First of all, do NOT use a potty pad, unless you want to be using them for the rest of your dogs life. You need to start by crate training her. Get a small crate that leaves her enough room to stand, sit, lie down, and turn in a circle. Put her in the crate when you can't watch her, otherwise take her outside frequently for potty breaks. When you take her out to potty stand in one spot and do not allow her to wander around. Wait for 5-15 minutes and if she doesn't go take her back inside. Come up with a command you will use when you want her to go potty, preferably something simple like "go potty," and use it when she does go potty outside. After any successful potty trip reward her lavishly with attention. Never scold her for accidents. Housebreaking a dog isn't much different than potty training a toddler. If she doesn't show any improvement in a week or so take her to the vet to rule out any health problems. Also, if you can afford it, you might want to consider private obedience classes.

Good for you! Take her out often, like every hour for the first few days. As hard as it might be, the best way to normally train a dog would be to crate train. You would put the dog in the crate when you leave and when you go to bed. I would wonder if the puppy would be ok since they have lived in a crate for so long. :o( take the dog out immediately when you get home or wake up You could try to train the dog in a small room like a bathroom or laundry room. growing up we used to keep our dog in the laundry room..she had a bed and her food dish in there. We would say "go to your room" and she would go to the laundry room. Take her out often and praise her when she pottys or poops outside. Give her a treat each time until she starts to go to the door on her own. You can even hang a bell on the door and ding it when you take her out....our dog used to go and hit the bell when she had to go out.

your best bet is to talk with your veterinarian about it. most vets will recommend AGAINST a potty pad, but your vet can better help you with info more specific to your dog since he/she will know more about your dog's personality.

We also adopted a dog that was about 2 and had to train her like a puppy. We secluded her to a bathroom that was in our TV/Kitchen great room & would put a baby gate up with a potty pad. She would go out in the morning & night and slept in the house. When she has an accident, tell her No real firm in her face and take her outside to where you want her to go potty. Its work