Teaching the dog to pee and poop in the right place

One of the main concerns for first-time pet parents is how to teach a dog to do their business in the right place. Regardless of age, whether it’s a puppy or an adult, they need to learn where to pee and poop without making a mess in the house and causing unnecessary stress. It’s part of the pet’s adaptation process. The good news is that even if you don’t know how to make a dog poop in the same place at first, with a little practice and the right tricks, they will eventually learn where to go to relieve themselves.

If you want to avoid problems with dog pee and poop, Patas da Casa has gathered the best tips for the first weeks of adaptation with your pet! Take a look and learn how to make your dog do its business in the right place once and for all!

How to teach the dog to do its business: does the pet’s age affect learning?

When bringing a new pet home, many people prefer puppies, but it’s also possible to adopt an adult or elderly animal. In all cases, a major concern is how to train a dog to do its business in the right place. However, the learning process varies depending on the pet’s age.

Puppy – One way to teach a puppy to do its business in the right place is to take advantage of the first days of coexistence to educate the animal. Since they are still learning what is right or wrong and have no past experiences, puppies learn faster than older dogs.

Adult Dog – In adulthood, dogs usually already have behavior habits, which can make the learning process a bit more challenging. Therefore, be persistent, but don’t scold or punish the animal when it makes a mistake. It’s essential to keep in mind that if the dog hasn’t learned where to pee and poop, it’s because no one has ever taught them.

Elderly Dog – Knowing how to teach an old dog to do its business in the right place is not as difficult as it seems. Even though they may have lived a long life, dogs in this phase tend to be calmer. They may have behavior habits inherited from adulthood, but nothing that proper training with patience and love can’t solve.

Step-by-step guide on how to teach a dog to do its business in the right place

Step 1: Establish the location

It is crucial to choose a suitable space to be the dog’s bathroom. It could be the laundry area or the balcony, for example, and you should gather there the training pads, food and water bowls — with a considerable distance between each. This will help the animal understand the concept of the right place for each activity. This applies to teaching both a puppy and an elderly dog.

Step 2: Choose the most suitable material

There are at least three accessories to meet the animal’s needs: newspaper for dogs, training pads, and a litter box. Therefore, decide in advance which material will be most appropriate for dealing with both dog urine and feces. Evaluate the pros and cons of each option and adapt the pet accordingly.

Step 3: Establish a routine with the pet

The routine is one of the greatest allies when learning how to train a dog to do its business in the right place. Set a schedule for feeding the dog and, for it to work, it’s ideal for you to stay close after they eat. Observe the signs that the dog needs to pee and poop and direct them to the right place. A valid strategy is to confine the dog to this space from eating time until they finish peeing and pooping.

Step 4: Give a command for the action

Having a command for this moment helps in the process of how to train a puppy to do its business in the right place. When you see that the animal needs to go, take the opportunity to point to the designated bathroom. Once they’re done, allow access to other rooms in the house.

Step 5: Reward when the dog gets it right

During the adaptation, your dog is likely to pee and poop in the wrong place a few times, and instead of scolding them, do the opposite: reward the animal every time they do their business in the right place. This way, they will start associating peeing and pooping on the training pad with something positive and will understand more easily that this is the right way to do things. The reward — whether a treat or affection — should happen immediately after the correct behavior.

Step 6: Alert to the mistake when they make one

If the dog makes a mistake — and it’s likely to happen — there’s no use scolding or reprimanding them: they won’t understand, and they will probably associate peeing and pooping with something wrong. From then on, it’s common for the animal to become afraid of you and try to hide their needs whenever they go — either by going to a hidden corner or even eating the feces. Therefore, the alert should always be subtle, without punishments.

Step 7: Clean the wrong place with specific products

Still talking about how to teach the dog to pee and poop in the right place, remember that when the dog does its business in the wrong place, you should take them to another room and clean the area with products that completely remove the smell from the floor. This will prevent the dog from sniffing and thinking that’s the right place — it’s also a way to eliminate their territorial marking. Dogs scratch after doing their business for territorial reasons, but by cleaning the space thoroughly, this smell also disappears.

Step 8: Be patient with your dog

Knowing how to teach a puppy to do its business in the right place is a training that also requires patience and persistence with your dog. This applies to puppies, adults, and the elderly. Your little dog will probably make mistakes a few times, and that’s normal. But with time and the right training, they will eventually learn.

My dog unlearned to do its business in the right place: what could be the reason?

If the dog goes back to doing its business in the wrong place, it’s because the training wasn’t done well, or the location of the dog’s bathroom isn’t the best. However, there are some tricks to prevent a dog from urinating in the wrong place. Besides cleaning the space, some products can be applied to avoid new occurrences of pee there. See what to put on the floor so the dog won’t pee:

• Vinegar (can be applied alone or with a mixture of alcohol);
• Sanitary educator;
• Dog repellent.

The product to teach a dog to do its business in the right place has the function of repelling the animal from spaces where they usually urinate but shouldn’t. They have a smell that the dog doesn’t like,

so the pet only has the option to resort to the training pad.

It’s worth noting that sometimes the reason why the animal isn’t using the bathroom correctly may be a health condition, either physical or psychological. A dog with urinary incontinence, for example, simply can’t hold their pee in time to use the training pad. The behavior may also be derived from emotional or psychological disorders, such as separation anxiety. The main reasons why a dog unlearns to do its business in the right place are:

• Urinary infections
• Urinary incontinence
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Locomotor difficulties
• Separation anxiety
• Stress

How to make the dog defecate in the same place if they’re used to the street?

If your dog only does their business outside, know that it’s possible to reverse this situation so that they can also use the bathroom at home when needed. It takes time at first, especially because dogs tend to hold their pee and poop, but a tip is to isolate the animal after meals in the place that will be the toilet.

On the other hand, if you want to know how to teach the dog to do their business outside, it’s necessary to identify when the dog needs to pee or poop to take them for a walk. Don’t forget to use the positive reinforcement techniques mentioned earlier and remember to bring suitable materials to collect the feces.

Newspaper for dogs or training pad: which is the best material?

To teach the dog to pee and poop in the right place, in addition to knowing how to make a dog do its business in the right place, another crucial point is to define the material that will serve as the pet’s bathroom. One of the most economical and popular options is newspaper for dogs, but it’s essential to be very careful. Despite seeming like a good way to reuse that old newspaper that’s useless, it’s not the most appropriate material for this because it can leak and cause allergies in the dog.

On the other hand, dog training pads and the litter box are perfect for taking care of your friend’s needs. The training pads come in two versions: disposable or washable. The disposable ones are more practical and should be discarded daily, while the washable ones are sustainable and need to be washed for reuse. The litter box functions as an “intelligent toilet” for dogs and is very similar to the litter boxes for cats.

How to teach the dog to do its business in the right place: mealtime should be observed

Routine is the ideal partner for your dog to get used to any behavior — including going to the right place to pee and poop. It all starts with food: based on the number of times and the moments your little dog eats every day, you’ll be able to predict the time of their needs. In puppies, this interval is usually very short: pee and poop come almost immediately after they eat. Adults usually take 15 to 30 minutes for complete digestion — but if they have the habit of walking and prefer to do their business outside, they can hold the urge to poop for hours.

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