How-to-Potty-train-your-adult-dog-in-an-apartment

Potty train your adult dog

If you’re living in an apartment and want to know how to potty train your adult dog in an apartment, don’t worry it is not impossible, need only patience.

However, with patience and a bit of help from your pet, training can be successful. It can take up to two months for a dog to become completely housetrained.

Make sure that you provide clear, consistent instructions and supervision. It depends on how long your older dog has had the problem of urinating and feces at home. 

If this problem is there for a long time, it may take you more time. However, if you work patiently and consistently on the tips below, you will soon eliminate the problem of your older dog urinating and pottying inside your house.

Table of Contents

Tips: How to potty train your adult dog

Step one: Pick the right dog potty spot.

First, you will find a suitable place for your adult dog to urinate and potty in your home or apartment.

For example, a corner of your balcony or a bathroom can be. While choosing the place, remember that your adult dog does not eat food at that place, and your dog does not sleep there.

While choosing the place, keep in mind that that place should not be too far from the site where your adult dog is always sitting. When you have set aside a part of the house for your adult dog to pee and potty.

Below are some steps for potty training your older dog in an apartment.

Step two: Put pee smell in the selected dog potty spot

dogs-in-apartments-toilet
dogs-in-apartments-toilet

You have to put your dog’s pee smell in the newly selected location of the adult dog.

For this, you soak a few drops of your dog’s pee in the tissue paper so that the smell of your dog’s pee comes into it.

Prepare four to five such tissue papers. Stick this tissue paper with tape to four or five areas of the selected place.

Step third – Get rid of dog urine smell outside naturally.

How to get rid of urine smell in house

How-to-get-rid-of-urine-smell-in-house
How-to-get-rid-of-urine-smell-in-house

Make a liquid solution at home. For this, you will need vinegar and water. 

Mix vinegar and water in half quantity, i.e. 50 ml water and 50 ml vinegar. 

Make a solution by mixing both. Put this solution in a spray dispenser bottle.

If you do not want to use the above mixture, you can also use enzymatic cleaner for dog potty training.

Now after cleaning the spots of urine made by the dog in the house, spray the mixture mentioned above.

Please wait for 2 to 3 minutes and wipe it off with a dry cloth. During this potty training, if your older dog urinates from place to place in the house according to the old habit, please do not scold or beat an adult dog. 

Help the dog break this bad habit by treating him patiently and lovingly.

Step fourth-Potty training older dog on the selected spot

Why do dogs pee in the same spot?

Why-do-dogs-pee-in-the-same-spot
Why-do-dogs-pee-in-the-same-spot

Now we will find out the adult dog’s favourite or preferred spots or items where your dog likes to pee or potty.

Such as flowerpots, newspapers, hard surfaces like roads, grass, vertical surface, or soil area.

After identifying the dog’s favourite or preferred spot to urinate, try to create the same environment at the new place, you have set.

For example, if your dog likes to urinate in the newspaper, you should put some newspaper in the new place. 

You have already pasted the smell of tissue paper of the dog’s urine. Suppose your dog likes to urinate in the soil, then you put dirt in a tray and keep it in a new place.

Similarly, you can also put the flowerpot in a new place. Always try to keep the surface dry of the new location you have chosen.

Step five- Train older dog to pee in a new place

How do I get my dog to pee in a new environment?

how-to-train-an-older-dog-to-poop-in-one-area
how-to-train-an-older-dog-to-poop-in-one-area

The dog does not constantly urinate in the new place until it feels safe or comfortable. Nor can you force your adult dog to urinate in a new place.

Also, remember that you do not lock the new selected spot, such as the balcony and bathroom.

Whenever the dog wants to urinate, take him to a new place, and you should stand near him for four to five minutes.

When you feel that your dog is not feeling safe and comfortable in the newly chosen place, then you should find another place for the dog.

Such as the roof of your house or any common open area. If you live in an apartment or society, you must get permission from your society secretary.

Step six-Track the dog’s behaviour before urinating.

How does a dog behave before urinating?

dog-urinating-in-house-behavioral
dog-urinating-in-house-behavioral

Try to develop your adult dog’s habits to pee or potty at a new location.

You will have to keep trying to get the dog used to urinating or pottying in the new place. 

It means consistency, and it can take time. You have to observe the behaviour of your dog. 

Once you understand your dog’s behaviour and daily routine, you are ready for the next step.

Conclusion-potty train your adult dog in an apartment

Keep trying despite adversity; you will definitely be successful in Potty train your adult dog. Keep doing this process continues until your dog learns to urinate in the new place.

Give your dog liquid food so that he will not be able to control the urine, and it will be easier for you to train the dog quickly.

You or any household member should not punish the dog during this training. This will make it difficult for the dog to understand. 

If a household member has punished the dog because of urinating in the wrong place, then the dog will not feel comfortable with that member in pee training.

In this training, if every house member supports and works together as a team, this training will become even more accessible.

As a responsible dog, you should always keep the dog poison helpline number as well as the pet emergency helpline number with you.

If you want to know how to train your dog to follow your order, you can visit our post “Good dog training“.


Disclaimer: We are not veterinarians, and this article should not be taken as medical or veterinary advice. If you have questions about your pet’s health or dietary needs, do not hesitate to contact your local veterinarian.