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My dog is house trained – but not in other people’s houses!

We stayed at my sister’s house over Christmas, and to my mortification, my dog forgot her house training several times. Why was this?

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HOUSE TRAINING A DOG
Jackie Drakeford
Dogs are programmed by instinct to eliminate away from their food and sleeping areas, but we have to teach them about “indoors” and “outdoors”, which is quite difficult for them to grasp in unfamiliar surroundings.

Ideally, when staying somewhere new, whether a home or a hotel, we should take the dog straight outside upon arrival and encourage it to empty out, so that it knows where the right place is.

Throughout the stay, we should take the dog out more often than we do at home, and keep an eye on it otherwise for signs that it needs to go out, rather than expecting it to “ask” or hold on.

Staying away from home is quite unsettling for most animals, and that can make them need to empty out more than usual; with dogs, they may also feel safer if they add their scent to the household smells.

If there are other dogs about, they too can cause the dog that is off its own territory to eliminate indoors if they make it afraid to go outside.