Can you house train an adult dog?

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Just taken on a small adult bully. He pees and poos inside and my house stinks.

Been giving him a treat every time he toilets outside but with no success. Today I caught him peeing whilst he was eating his food?!

Is there anything I can do about this? He's 1.5.

Yes, it's a back to basics approach as you would with a puppy. Make sure you clear up any accidents with an enzyme urine cleaner so they don't smell their own wee; it triggers them to go in the same spot again.

If the dog isn't 'getting it' within a reasonable period of time (i.e. showing some signs of improvement, even if he isn't 100% yet) then a vet check would be in order; there are some medical issues that affect house training, and some of the newer bully breeds aren't known for their good health.

Absolutely , you need to treat them exactly as you would a puppy , out regularly , teach them a cue word ( we use quickly ) and watch for signs of needing to go . Might be useful to put him on a house line so he can’t wander off .

It's absolutely possible - you just need to go back to basics and treat them like puppies.

Agree with the others but this bit "Today I caught him peeing whilst he was eating his food?!" is exceptional and suggests something else is going on. Peeing near or even on a food bowl can be territory marking, but if the dog was being territorial I would guess you might have noticed other signs of this. So this could be submissive behaviour / nerves - think "I'm worried about having food taken away from me / being fed makes me anxious somehow" so the dog is losing some bladder control. Peeing whilst eating is very uncommon, and if there isn't a medical reason I would suggest it may be more about anxiety and uncertainty.

Do you know his background?

Peeing while eating is odd and would warrant a trip to the vets. Otherwise yes treat as if he was a puppy

Vet check first. Ask for bloods and urine check so take a sample with you.

If no health issues then yes you can train an adult dog. Treat as a puppy so out ever half an hour to start with.

If you are rewarding with treats make sure the dog has weed or pooed and taken a step forward before you reward.

If you reward too early the dog does half the wee gets the treat and then comes back indoors to finish off the wee!

I agree that a new dog in a new home could h ave some stress issues going on.

I would not let the dog have the free run of the house yet but keep in one room and train for that room to start with then gradually increase the house up to him when he is ready .

Your house should not stink if you clean with an enzymatic cleaner

You train as you would a pup. I’ve done it. But I’d want a full vet check done first to rule out issues, especially given his breed.

Mine was about that age when we got her and it took 9 months of near constant vigilance before she finally cracked it. She is pretty dim though, bless her.