Potty training a new puppy may seem like an uphill struggle but by sticking to a strict schedule it should take you no more than two weeks to fully house train a young puppy. The difficulty can lie when older dogs have developed this habit. The act of dog house training older dogs is very similar to that of training a puppy. If you have adopted a dog or your older dog suddenly begins using the house a toilet then the first thing you should do is see the vet in case there are medical reasons, but failing this then a strict training regime will do the job.

Older dogs can wait much longer than puppies once they are trained but there are still certain times of the day when they are more likely to need to go that other times. The best way to train any dog is to help them do the right thing and then praise them for it. It is very likely that there will still be the occasional accident but this is to be expected. If you catch them in the act or immediately after they've finished then you should verbally reprimand him with a firm 'NO' and then take him outside. If he's still in the act then don't wait for him to finish.

Once outside let him finish and then give him lots of praise for being a good boy. Once he gets used to being reprimanded for going inside and praised for going outside he will be much more likely to behave properly for you in the future. Dogs generally need to go about half an hour after meal times, early in the morning and last thing at night. Make sure you let them out or walk them during this time.

If you find that they are going more frequently than you expected and are regularly making mistakes in the house then you need to take them out much more often. While it is possible to leave them four hours or more, if they need to go more regularly then you need to let them out more regularly. If you need to leave your dog while you go to work out go out and you do not think they are trusted enough to manage this amount of time then you can place them in a confined area that is easy to clean and much easier to survey when you return.