House breaking older beagle...

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mmccluskey
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Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2002 2:00 pm

House breaking older beagle...

Post by mmccluskey »

So we recently obtained a 5 year female beagle. She is having major problems with house breaking! We are doing all the typical training stuff...taking her out every couple of hours and rewarding when she does her business, crating her at night, keeping her on a short leash when at home, etc.

It has reached a point where she will go outside when we take her just to get the treat, but she still makes no attempt to go for the door on her own.

The frustrating thing is that if she see's something in the backyard she will run to the back door and scratch like the dickens to get out. :???:

How do we get her to put all this together? Are there "special" techniques for house training older dogs?

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Bev
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Post by Bev »

I've found that normally older dogs are easier to house train than small puppies. You may have to start with paper training her first. She probably has a favorite place she goes. As hard as it might be, pick that spot as hers for a while, place a trash bag out flat (to protect your floor) and lay newspapers on top. Soiling the first set of papers with one of her "accidents" will probably get her going. If she potties on the papers on her own, you've got a lot of it licked. You can slowly move her "spot" closer to the door - or, if she has gotten the idea that potties go on the paper, just put another potty paper set-up right at the back door. Then move it just outside the door, etc.

Hopefully she will get the idea that potties don't just go everywhere. Continue to take her outside like you are doing. If your yard is fenced, leave her out there for a while by herself and try to observe out a window. When she does her business, call her to the door and give her the treat upon returning to you. In the meantime, close the doors to any rooms you don't want her in. Naturally take her directly out after eating, or crating periods. If she doesn't housebreak within 3-4 weeks, you may have to consider reversing the process by keeping her outdoors and just coming in for visits. She won't mind that either. She will become accustomed to going potty all the time outdoors again and you can extend her indoor visit times according to her progress.

I've house trained several "outdoor" females when I've brought them inside to whelp their litters for 3-4 weeks. I have one inside right now that has housebroken to the point she will go to the door.

Good Luck, hope this helps. :bigsmile:

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