Q: I need help in training our 2-year old dog. We cannot get him to go outside. We would prefer not to use a cage, as we feel he is too old. We also cannot afford it. I would appreciate any tips you have in training a dog to go outside.
A: Confinement of some sort is necessary to keep the dog from making mistakes that will form the wrong habits on housebreaking. A crate is the size of a dog's bed, and dogs have a natural instinct to keep the bed clean. The crate is only to be used when no one can watch the dog.
Since dogs sleep 14 hours a day, a crate is a humane and reasonable way for many people to housebreak a dog, with the dog merely sleeping most of the time he is in the crate. But perhaps you can arrange to confine him in some small area of your home when you can't watch him, instead. Be careful about putting him behind a closed door for this purpose, because that tends to get a dog started in the habit of scratching up doors--or digging at the carpet trying to go under the door. Baby gates can be effective, but are not as secure as crates.
It's really a great service to a dog to teach him to rest calmly in a crate, even if you only use it for training and then put it away in the closet to save for emergencies. Dogs have to rest in crates when they are in for veterinary care, and other situations. If at some future time in his life the dog develops separation anxiety (where dogs may tear up the house due to feeling stressed), the ability to rest in a crate could save him in his home. And in case of travel and disasters, sometimes the only dogs who are able to stay with their owners are the dogs who can handle being in a crate. For an older dog, it's generally best to teach the crate a little at a time.
If he is not yet neutered, doing that now may help with housebreaking, since he is a male. Also, be sure to go outside with him and praise him for relieving himself out there. Offer him plenty of opportunities--until a dog is fully housebroken, I aim for about one outing an hour, whenever I am home and awake. Putting him outside alone is not nearly as effective as going out with him.
Make sure all spots in the house where he has relieved himself have been cleaned in the right manner to tell his keen sense of smell and doggy instincts that the house is not a bathroom. If you don't do this, the scent he can smell--even though you can't smell it--will draw him back to use the spot again. White vinegar will work only on a fresh spot that is still wet, and then the vinegar must be really saturated down through carpet and pad--it will smell strongly of vinegar for a day or so. Bacterial enzyme odor eliminator products (such as Nature's Miracle or Outright Pet Odor Eliminator) will work either on a fresh spot or on a spot that was not treated promptly. Deodorants and disinfectants normally used for cleaning don't remove this special scent that lures dogs to use the spot again. And perhaps the worst thing to use is ammonia, which actually signals the dog's nose that this is the spot!
Never punish your dog for a housebreaking mistake. He won't understand, and the punishment can create new problems. Instead, keep him in the room with you at all times when he is not in his special confinement area. If you see him start to have an accident, just say "No, Outside" as you rush out the door with him. Your goal is to get him to finish outside so you can praise him. Teach him the word "Outside" for going out there, and "Better Go Now" or some other phrase for actually relieving himself--these words are taught just by saying them at the right times, until he catches on to what they mean. This helps communication, and thus of course also helps training.
If the dog makes a mistake when you weren't watching him, oops, that was your mistake, not his. He is just a dog, and has no idea why we are upset when he relieves himself in the house. But most dogs can learn, if you are consistent, and help him avoid mistakes by being there for him.