If your dog seems to be having more accidents than usual, be sure to get him/her to a vet ASAP. Some house training problems are actually medical problems in disguise and no amount of training will help until the medical issues is taken care of.

If your vet can find nothing medically that would be causing your dog to have an accident, then you need to look at where you are making mistakes. Contrary to popular belief, dogs don’t go to the bathroom in the house to get even with us. They may be ill, nervous, seeking attention, scared, confused, having anxiety or any number of other things, but they aren’t acting out of spite. As gross as we find it, dogs love pee and poop. It’s their calling card to other dogs and it marks their territory. Why would they leave us something so valuable if they were angry with us?

The first rule of thumb in house training is to never let the dog out of your sight. You want to catch them just before or during the act. Either keep the dog closed in the room with you by using a door or baby gate or tether the dog to you with a leash attached to a belt or belt loop. This way the dog can’t wander off and leave a mess for you to find later. If you can’t pay full attention to the dog when he is with you then put the dog in his crate. It’s better for the dog to be in the crate a little more at this point than to let him learn bad habits. You wouldn’t let a toddler roam around the house unsupervised. It’s the same with a dog; especially one that isn’t house trained yet.

Start by taking the dog out every hour on the hour, after the dog wakes up, eats, drinks or plays, unless the dog is crated. This seems like quite a bit, but soon you will be able to figure out a schedule for your dog. This is easier if you are closely monitoring water intake and feeding the dog on a set schedule. Increase the time in between gradually. Soon you should be able to take the dog out every 2 hours, then 3 hours and so on.

If you take your do gout at a time when you’re fairly sure he has to go and nothing happens after 5 minutes, take the dog back inside, crate him, and try again in 30-60 minutes. Keep doing this until the dog finally goes. Be sure that you are not playing with the dog; you are merely an observation tower on the scene to make sure things get done. Remain in one spot so the dog can only circle you. If you keep walking, your pup will find too many interesting things to smell and potty time will take longer.

Watch your dog while he’s going to the bathroom (that will only seem weird for a little while, I promise!) When he’s just about finished, start praising in a fairly mild tone. You don’t want to praise so much that he stops before business is complete! However, you do want him to know that it’s the actual act of eliminating that makes you happy. Feel free to bring a clicker out with you if you clicker train your dog and even if you don’t, treats are always an appropriate gift for a dog at a time like this.

You can also throw a command word in as your dog starts going to the bathroom so the dog makes the connection between hearing the word, doing the action and you being very happy. Dongs can be commanded to “go poo” or “go pee”. You can say anything you’d like: go potty, do it, hurry up, get your business done, do your thing, etc. This can be very helpful not just for getting a dog house trained but also if your dog is nervous about going to the bathroom in a new place like a rest area.

With any luck, your dog will start to signal when he needs to go out. The first time he does this, have a praise party after the dog has gone to the bathroom. Have treats, sing, dance, pet your dog in his favorite spots – do whatever you have to do to let this dog know how happy you are. This greatly increases the chances of it happening again. However, not all dogs give a clear signal so you will need to keep an eye on your dog and on the clock once you’ve figured out a pattern. A clear signal would be your dog sitting or pawing at the door. A subtle signal would be the tail is held at a different angle or the dog drops his nose to the ground for a second. Hanging a bell on the door for the dog to ring is another option. I personally don’t recommend it as dogs quickly learn that if they ring the bell, the door opens and they usually start ringing it just to go outside and play.

When you catch your dog in the act of making a mistake indoors, you can give a brief shout to try to stop the dog but don’t show anger. Anger will only teach the dog not to go to the bathroom in front of you, whether it’s in the house or in the yard at 2:00am. Get the dog to the correct spot as soon as possible. If the dog does something in the right spot, praise him like crazy and give him some wonderful treats. If the dog doesn’t go to the bathroom when outside, put him in his crate while you clean up. Rubbing his face in the mess doesn’t teach the dog anything, other than to make sure he’s never in the same place as a mess when you’re around. Keeping the dog from seeing you clean up can help eliminate “maid syndrome” in your dog where he figures it doesn’t matter what he does where, you’ll always make sure that his home is clean.

It is very important to use an enzymatic cleaner when cleaning up the mess. The cleaner will “eat” the particles of odor, which not only makes living in the house more pleasant for you but also removes the dog’s odor which marks that spot as his.

If you are doing all of these things and still having house training issues, there are some other things that you can try. Some slightly off the wall ideas, especially if your dog is leaving messes in the same area all the time, include feeding your dog in the area or spending quality time with the dog in that area. Dogs naturally like to keep their den area clean. By feeding the dog and/or spending more time with the dog in an area where he is going to the bathroom, you are making that area more den-like to him and may encourage him to stop leaving messes there. This is also why crate training is so effective for most dogs.