Almost 72% of the family who lives in an apartment with dogs want to know how to potty train an older dog in an apartment, it’s not tough to potty train a dog; it is just a patience game.
I also lived in apartment ones, and at that time, I adopted a 2-year-old dog (Pretzel) from a nearby dog shelter. And when I took her to my apartment, she pooped on the bedroom floor on the same day.
Somewhere I knew that it’s gonna be a tough call for me to give her potty training on my own, but with lots of patience and proper methods, I trained (Pretzel) in just 12 days.
And the same experience I’m sharing here with you so you’ll also know how to potty train an older dog in an apartment in just fewer days.
And if you want to dog-proof your room, here are the 5 easy steps to dog Proof a whole house.
Things that you have to know about your dog, before starting his potty training.
If you adopted a stray dog, then there isn’t anything that you could identify about his background. But if you adopted a dog from an animal shelter, there are plenty of things that you should ask about him from kennel workers, such as:
Dog’s Background
Ask animal attendants about your dog’s previous owners (as my Pretzel’s previous owner was a homeless man! The animal shelter rescued Pretzel when his owner died).
And some other thing like where they found the dog, why the dog’s previous owner left him, and since when the dog is in the shelter.
Dog’s Habits
Ask each detail about the dog’s habits, like how’s the dog behavior with new people, how does the dog feel when left alone, what’s an average time when the dog poops in a day, how often does dog drink water form water bowl in an entire day, and the thing that the dog does before pooping around.
Dog’s Behaviour
This is something that you can identify on your own or ask a kennel worker like, how does the dog behave during feeding time, how does the dog act when eating more than his diet, what kind of activity dog does after eating, how much area does dog covers while pooping.
These small pieces of information will help you a lot while giving potty training to your dog. Let’s learn how to potty train an older dog in an apartment.
How to potty train an older dog in an apartment step by step guide
There are some hand full of things that you may require while giving your pooch potty training, such as;
Pee pads OR Plastic sheets (big enough for a dog to stand on), and make sure the sheet color must be Blue or Yellow, as dogs can see those colors very quickly.
Treats & Toys: To encourage them when they do their business at the right place.
Nature’s Miracle: To entirely remove potty smell and urine stain, rather than just covering them. Removing the odor and pee stain is an excellent step! If the potty or pee smell stays, the dog will assume it is a good place to go again.
These things are the must-have stuff that you should have till the last day of your training.
Now here are the steps to give potty training:
First two days are the most important days of the training, as in these days, you have to observe your dog properly, like how often he eat & drink, how many time he poops in a day, how your dog acts (body movement) when he needs to poop, and how much time he takes to poop properly.
While observing, don’t give him any treats & Best Toys except food and water for both days. Make sure you also don’t scold and punish him for pooping around, as punishing will make him upset and scared. Just clean the surface with Nature’s Miracle!
If your dog is in front of you while cleaning the surface, don’t do any of these things (No Touch, No Talk, No Eye Contact) with your dog as it will make your dog a little confused why you are so silent, which is good for the next step.
On the third day, you have to place his Pee pads OR Plastic sheets where you want your dog to do the poop (as I put it on the balcony with the attached pet door). Also, take him to show his pee pad at the same time, and try to make him stand on the pee pad once he stands on that pad, give him a treat or toy, and praise him gently.
Repeat that (pee pad) process 4 to 5 times, and every time he stands on that, give him a little treatfor doing the right thing. If you already have his eating schedule, that is kudos! And if you don’t have one, then make one so you can feed him at the exact time during training. Here is a simple schedule |7:00 a.m. – Breakfast | 6:00 p.m. – Dinner|
On the fourth day, when your dog eats at a scheduled time, it’s easier to predict when your dog will have to go potty. For instance, if you feed your dog at 7:am, then you likely know that in 15 to 20 minutes your dog will have to go potty. So until he poops, repeat the pee pad process once in five minutes! Do not force him, just do it gently.
Once he poops on that pad, give some treats and praise him mildly. And if he poops nearby the pee pad (not on the pee pad), only pet him once (no treats, no praise). Then clean the surface again and remember (No Touch, No Talk, No Eye Contact) with your dog while you’re cleaning the floor. And the same process you have to repeat after his dinner.
Repeat each process with love and patience for a week at least unless you get the result! In some cases, such as: if your dog experienced a disturbing past/background, and if he is angry or scared, then the dog will take some extra time to get fully trained.
But in the end! I already told you this is a patience game! Pretzel learned his potty training in just 9-days, but for any future mishappening, I trained her for 3-more days, and believe me, after 12 days of training, Pretzel never pooped/pee inside the apartment.
And don’t worry if your dog’s peeing somewhere else but not on the pee pad! As soon the dog learned the potty training, he will start pee in the same spot where he poops.
I assure you that this simple but effective training method will help you to learn how to potty train an older dog in an apartment excellently, just in a few days.
Giving potty training to a dog not only requires patience and perseverance, but it also requires your love and faith toward them, so no matter how angry you were with your dog, don’t ever try to scold and punish them for doing a wrong thing.
They are just animals, and animals can’t act like humans. Just have some patience and stay consistent in potty training you will see the results very soon.
And one more thing, if you are at work and your dog home alone! Make sure you hide all those toxic stuff like Alcoholic beverages, Apple seeds, Apricot pits, Avocados, Cherry pits, Candy, Chocolate, Coffee, Garlic away from the reach of your dog.
So you will not regret it later. And do provide some scented dog toys so the dog will play with them and stay active rather than sleeping the whole day.
Thanks for reading so far! I hope this article of How to potty train an older dog in an apartment will help you to train your dog too.
Now, this time to answer the most relevant questions that most people asked during a search of how to potty train an older dog in an apartment. I have tried my best to give you an appropriate answer.
Q: Why is my dog peeing in the house when the door is open?
Ans: There can be several reasons for this: Your dog may not yet have a fully trained home, as he should be, or maybe your dog drinking too much water. And there could be another possibility for peeing in the house; maybe your dog is suffering from some health-related issues such as kidney disease, bladder stones, arthritis!
Q: How long can you leave a dog alone in the house?
Ans: An adult (2 to 4-year-old) dog can be left alone in the house for up to 4 to 6 hours a day, but experts suggest that dogs should not be left alone for more than 4 hours a day depending on their age. Leaving an untrained dog alone for more than 4 hours can feel separation anxiety in dogs, and on the other hand, the well-trained dog may feel more comfortable being left alone for long.
Q: What can I mop my floor with to stop my dog from peeing on it?
Ans: You can use Distilled White Vinegar and orange essential oil for that, first mix 2-tablespoons of distilled white vinegar in a bottle of water and then add some drops of orange essential oil (the more you add, the better it would be). Now mix everything together and spray on any surface where you don’t want your dog to get pee on.
Q: How to Keep a dog in an apartment while at work?
Ans: If your dog is well trained, it’s easy to keep your dog alone in the apartment with some simple methods, such as: provide your dog easy access to food and water as well as some favorite toys to keep your dog active when all alone. And make sure you also place a pee pad for your dog to go to the bathroom far from the dog’s food/water. You can also use a dog monitor with an attached speaker so you can easily talk to him while at your work.
Q: What can I give my senior dog for diarrhea?
Ans: If your dog has diarrhea, the first thing to do is consider what your dog has eaten in the past 48 hours. Like spoiled or rotten food, drink from a dirty puddle, or you switch with a new brand of food if these are the reasons, you may also want to give your dog some loperamide (Imodium AD™), which can help to reduce fluid loss until the rice-water fast, white rice and acidophilus, and the dog’s own healing system can overcome diarrhea.
