Transitioning an Outdoor Dog to Living Indoors

Sometimes people end up with dogs who have been living outdoors - perhaps due to allergies in a previous home, or because they never received training and are too rambunctious - and now the family wants to welcome their dog indoors with them. The first few tries may be disastrous, as the dog jumps all over the couch and coffee table, knocks things off the shelves, and steals the remote and any food left on the counter. How could you possibly teach such a dog to just hang out with you calmly?

This article presents one way to work through this transition. Please note that this does not cover potty training, integrating the dog with other animals already in the house, or teaching polite interactions with humans - though those things can be worked on simultaneously.

First things first

You must make sure that your dog is already getting sufficient physical exercise and mental stimulation/enrichment before you try bringing them indoors. No dog can settle calmly if they are full of energy and deeply bored.

The second thing for you to prioritize is arranging an area of your home so that your dog cannot easily get to the food, kids’ toys, decorative ceramics, etc. In most cases, a dog who has been living in a backyard or roaming a property has never learned that there are things that are “off limits” to them. You are going to be busy teaching your dog good habits and how to settle while in the house. If you are spending your time chasing him around and pulling things out of his mouth, you’re already off to a bad start.

• Use baby gates and x-pens and closed doors to limit where your dog can go.

• Put away everything in reach that’s valuable or dangerous.

• Use a leash as needed to keep your dog close and under supervision.

• Within the safe area, place your dog’s bed or mat, water bowl, several toys, and chews or food toys (see enrichment article for suggestions).

Once your dog is making progress with settling and engaging in appropriate activities, you can start trusting him with more freedom and progressively lowering the restrictions.

Teaching good habits

Take your dog out for a walk or run him around just before you bring him indoors, so that he’ll have an easier time relaxing. If needed, put him on leash in the house so that he can’t chase other pets, jump on the counters, etc. Let him sniff around your safe area otherwise, so that he can see what all the new stuff is.

After a minute or two, give him an appropriate activity to entertain him. You have several options:

• A chew or food toy with which he can entertain himself on his own.

• Play tug or fetch with him. (Note that for dogs that go crazy for fetch, you may want to keep that as an outdoor only activity.)

• Do active training, such as teaching a down stay on a mat or tricks to work his brain.

• Provide a massage as he relaxes.

Switch between the different options as you see fit. You can also periodically reward your dog for calm behavior, as shown in this video from Emily Larlham/KikoPup:

If your dog gets bored with one activity and starts getting into things he shouldn’t, you can:

• rearrange your safe area to prevent that in the future

• work on “leave it” or “settle” behaviors

• provide him with more exercise (eg go for a walk or hike)

• put him back outside

• move him to a crate or small pen to nap

Shifting to full-time indoor living

Once the routine is working well within the initial safe area, slowly expand your dog’s territory.

A key things to keep in mind during this process:

• The more time your dog spends indoors, the easier this will be. If he only gets to come in once or twice a week, the novelty and initial excitement won’t wear off.

• The dog is often most rambunctious in the first 5-10 minutes, then settles down.

• If you don’t provide enough appropriate outlets for his energy (both mentally and physically), it will be very difficult to keep him from stealing and chewing on things, jumping on everyone, harassing the other animals, etc.

Potty Training

The principles of potty training are easy to understand, but require good supervision, consistency, and patience for your dog to become reliable.

Prevent your dog from making mistakes:

• When you are out of the house or unable to supervise your dog, put him into a crate, pen, or small room (such as a bathroom or laundry room). This keeps him from roaming the house and eliminating where you don't want him to. Your dog is also likely to hold his bladder and bowels while he is in a confined space, since he wants to keep his area clean.

• When you are home, keep your dog close, so that he doesn't sneak off and have an accident.

  • Use a leash to tether him to you or to a nearby object.

  • Use baby gates or pens to keep him from leaving the room.

Watch for signs that your dog is uncomfortable and looking for a place to eliminate:

• sneaking off

• circling

• pacing

• sniffing

• trying to get your attention

• being frantic and bitey (for puppies)

• quietly moving toward the door

Take your dog to the proper potty area frequently:

• For puppies, take them out every hour, on the hour. (Some young puppies need even more frequent trips out.)

• Also take your dog (adult or puppy) out after:

  • seeing any of the signs listed above

  • mealtimes

  • breaks in playtime

  • waking up from a nap

• While you're outside, stand still and be boring, so your dog learns that this isn't playtime.

• If your pup is busy exploring or chewing, use a leash or pen to keep him in a boring area.

• If you want your pup to only potty in a specific area of the yard, use a leash or pen to keep him in that area during potty trips.

• Wait 2-3 minutes for him to do his business.

• If you think he needs to pee or poop but hasn't yet, take him back indoors, but restrict his freedom and supervise him to prevent any accidents. For example:

  • Keep your pup on leash and walk a lap or two around the room, then go right back outside.

  • Play a (not overly exciting) game or do a training session, and take him outside as soon as he disengages or turns away.

  • Give him a chew or toy to self-entertain, and take him outside as soon as he pauses chewing/playing.

Reward your dog for peeing and pooping outside:

• Praise your dog quietly as he eliminates.

  • If the praise makes him stop before he’s finished, either say it more softly, or wait until he is done.

• Give special, extra-yummy treats as soon as he's done. (Not when he comes back to the house - you should be outside with your dog so that you can reward him promptly!)

• If he's empty, he can have extra freedom of movement inside until he's likely to be full again. (Generally 30 minutes to 1 hour for puppies, a few hours for adult dogs.)

Teaching a “go potty” cue:

• Your dog will learn the meaning of “go potty” if you say it right before he actually pees/poops - as he’s starting to squat or lift a leg.

  • He needs to make a strong association between the sounds “go potty” and the action of eliminating.

• Don’t repeat the “go potty” cue just hoping that he will do so. That will either make your dog focus up on you, or teach him to ignore those words.

• If your dog gets distracted and stops eliminating because you said something, try:

  • Saying it more softly at first, then increasing to a normal volume over time.

  • Saying it in the middle of the act at first, then earlier in the process over time.

• Once your dog is quick to potty when you take him outside, you can start saying “go potty” earlier in the process.

  • Say “go potty” as he is sniffing or circling.

  • Eventually say “go potty” as soon as you go outside.

  • Remember not to repeat “go potty” over and over - that will break the association he has with the correct action.

  • Remember to reward him when he eliminates on cue, to keep him motivated to listen for it.

• Some people have different cues for urination versus defecation, while others use the same cue. Here are some ideas for verbal cues you could use:

  • “Go pee” vs “go poo” (or “peepee” vs “poopoo”)

  • “Do one” vs “Do two”

  • “Business” (as in “do your business”)

  • “Toilet”

If your dog has an accident:

• If you find the mess after your dog is done, it is too late - your dog cannot make the connection between the act of eliminating in the house and you being unhappy.

• If you catch him in the act, you can communicate your displeasure by giving a quick yell in an unhappy tone (“Ah, not there!!”), but…

• Do not punish or scare your dog! This is likely to a) make your dog more determined to sneak off and eliminate in a different room, and b) be nervous about peeing or pooping in front of you at all, even outside.

• Instead, this is a sign that you need to up your game in terms of supervision and taking your dog out frequently.

• Clean with a product that is specifically formulated for cleaning up pet messes, such as Nature's Miracle. “All purpose” cleaners may not break down the proteins in the pee/poop properly, and your dog will still be able to smell them - which is a big sign saying “do your business here.”

Developing reliability:

• When your dog is successfully going outside and rarely has accidents, you can slowly start to extend the time between trips outside.

• You can let your dog have more freedom of movement / less supervision in the house during times that you're home and you’re sure he's empty.

• Start leaving him alone outside of the crate/pen for short periods (less than 1 hour) when you're sure he's empty.

  • This should be in a puppy-proofed area, so that he’s not chewing things up, either.

• The better you are at picking up your dog's signs that he needs to go out, the easier it will be.

  • In fact, as your dog learns that you will take him out when he needs it, he will try harder to communicate when he needs to go.

• Some people have success teaching their dog to ring a bell or other noisemaker to communicate.

  • Teach him to ring the bell as a trick, separate from potty training.

    • This works best if your dog understands how to ring the bell on his own - not because you held his paw and hit the bells with it.

  • Place the bell near the door. Ask your dog to ring the bell right before you take him outside.

  • At some point your dog will try ringing the bell without prompting. Praise and immediately take him outside.

    • You can't rush this part - your dog has to figure it out on his own.

  • Here is a video tutorial on teaching your pup to use a bell:

Troubleshooting:

• My dog pees outside, then comes in the house and pees again.

  If he does this regularly, either:

  1. spend more time outside so he can pee twice, or

  2. just assume that he will soon need a second potty trip, and restrict/supervise in the meantime.

     • It can help to keep your dog on leash and walk 1-2 laps around the room, then go right back outside for the second potty.

• According to his age, my puppy is supposed to be able to hold his bladder for X hours, but he has accidents sooner than that - even when I’m really diligent about supervising him.

  • The bladder is a muscle, and just like other muscles, it's weak if it hasn't been exercised. If your dog is young, or if he has grown up peeing whenever and wherever he wants, he may simply not be able to hold it as long as he “should.”

  • Take him out more frequently, and slowly extend the time between trips.

• You don’t understand - my dog is peeing ALL THE TIME.

  He may have a bladder infection or kidney problem. Make an appointment with your vet to check that everything is working as it should.

• Do I need to get up every 1-2 hours during the night to take my puppy out to potty?

  • Most puppies can get through the night with only 1-2 trips outside by the time they’re 8-10 weeks old.

  • By 3 months old, most puppies can make it comfortably overnight with only 1 trip outside.

  • Instead of setting alarms, try waiting for your pup to wake you up by whining or shifting around at night. You might be surprised by how long he can sleep without needing to pee.

  • If your pup ends up having accidents because he doesn’t wake you up, then that’s when proactive alarms are warranted.

• But if my dog is able to hold it so long at night, why does he pee so much during the day?

  Your body's metabolism slows down when you're asleep or resting - you simply can't compare the two.

• My dog refuses to use his potty area.

  • Make sure that it is clean. Many dogs don’t want to use a potty pad more than once or twice, especially if they might have to step on top of their previous deposits.

  • Make sure that it is comfortable. Watch out for these factors:

    • Too much heat under the hot sun (especially when using artificial turf, which can get very hot).

    • Too wet from rain.

    • Close to neighbor dogs barking at the fence.

    • Uncomfortable footing (for example, some dogs really don’t like walking on large, loose rocks).

  • If his area is clean and comfortable, then simply follow the usual plan: prevent accidents, take him to the area frequently, and reward when he does potty there - but keep in mind that some dogs will have very strong preferences, so you may need compromise on the location or substrate!

• My dog pees in his crate/pen/small room.

  • More frequent trips outside! Consider enlisting the help of a family member, neighbor, friend, or pet-sitter.

  • Make sure that the designated potty area is clean and comfortable (see above).

  • Talk to your vet about ruling out a bladder infection or kidney problem.

  • Talk to a trainer or behaviorist about ruling out separation anxiety - one of the common symptoms is eliminating due to severe distress.

  • You may also need to remove absorbent bedding, as some dogs will consider their area “clean enough” if a fluffy blanket wicks the urine away.

  • If you are unable to give your dog frequent enough trips outside while he’s home alone, you should make a designated potty area for him.

    • Instead of keeping your dog in a small crate/pen/room, make it large enough that he has plenty of space to sleep, play, and drink water on one end, and potty at the other.

    • Make the designated potty area absorbent or with good drainage, so that it doesn’t become too off-putting for your dog.

• My dog will potty in our yard, but refuses to go when we’re at the park or traveling, even if it’s been a long time.

  • Some dogs develop such a strong association with eliminating in their backyard, that pottying anywhere else is uncomfortable. They will hold it as long as they possibly can, in hopes of getting back home in time.

    • Think of it the same way as when you are traveling, and the only toilet available is a porta-potty that looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in weeks. You would also have a hard time relaxing and making it happen, unless you really had to.

  • It can help if you have already taught a “go potty” cue, so you can tell your dog what you would like him to do - however that may not be enough to overcome his insistence that this is not the place he should pee.

    • Don’t keep repeating the cue - that will simply teach him to ignore it.

  • The only solution is to wait your dog out, until he can’t hold it anymore - just like you and the gross porta-potty.

  • Schedule some half-day, or even all-day, outings to a park or a friend’s backyard with your dog.

    • It helps if you do this first thing in the morning, when your dog wakes up with a full bladder.

    • You can even give him some snacks with high water content (like watermelon or bone broth) before your trip.

    • Alternate between walking around with your dog and just hanging out with a book or knitting project.

    • Eventually, nature will call, and your dog will have to answer.

      • Praise quietly as your dog eliminates.

      • Throw him a party afterwards! Give him several extra-special, high value treats, and enthusiastic praise.

    • Repeat these trips until your dog no longer hesitates to potty in new places.

    • You may find that your dog is fine with pottying on grass but not gravel or concrete, or has other substrate preferences. Use the same process for getting him used to eliminating on a variety of surfaces.

• My dog is perfectly potty trained at home, but has accidents when we visit someone or stay in a hotel.

  • Sometimes we think that we are teaching the dog “don’t potty indoors,” but the dog actually learns “don’t potty in here.” The lesson doesn’t necessarily transfer to a new location.

  • Simply follow the normal potty training plan outlined in this article in each new location.

  • You may want to also have your dog wear a belly band (males) or diaper (females), to reduce embarrassment and cleaning if there is an accident.

• My dog urine-marks indoors.

  • First check with your vet about ruling out a bladder infection or kidney problems, which can look like marking (frequently depositing small amounts of urine).

  • You will need to restrict/supervise even more carefully. You may want to have your dog wear a belly band (males) or diaper (females), so that if he does mark, it won't actually land on your walls or furniture. This helps with the potential problem of not seeing that your dog has marked and not knowing where to clean.

  • Learn to watch for the body language of a male getting ready to mark. They usually sniff something vertical, then line themselves up sideways. Interrupt immediately when you see this.

  • Some people have found it helpful to have a separate cue for urine-marking versus urinating to relieve the bladder, to help their dog learn that there is a “time and place” for it.

    • Just like when you are teaching a cue for normal peeing, you will say the cue for marking right before your dog does it - as he’s sniffing and lining up.

    • Reward your dog when he marks on cue.

  • If your male is intact, neutering him often reduces urine marking, though it is not a guarantee. If this is a well-established habit, it might persist despite neutering.

• My puppy just wants to play when we go outside.

  • Keep him on leash or in a pen when you go out so that he can't run around or play with toys.

  • Stand still and quiet and don't make eye contact while you wait, so that you're not any fun.

  • In addition to giving your pup enthusiastic praise and treats after he potties, you can let him off the leash to run around and play as part of the reward.

• My dog pees when greeting people.

  This is not a potty training issue per se. Some dogs will pee because they're nervous when greeting people. Young dogs may simply lose control over their bladder when excited.

  • Keep greetings as low-key as possible.

    • Speak only in a calm, quiet voice.

    • Sit or squat down so that you are less threatening.

    • Don’t reach over your dog’s head. Keep your hands low and pet him on his chest or scratch under his chin, instead.

  • Some dogs even need you to ignore them when you first arrive home, and only say hello after several minutes.

  • Have guests greet the dog outside, to reduce clean up, and also follow the suggestions above.

  • Teach confidence-building tricks for your dog to perform while greeting people, such as hand targeting or fetching a toy.