Housebreaking an older dog can take more time then a young puppy, but remember that the principles are the same. Since you are likely do not have a complete history on your dog, you may not know how well or poorly the dog was initially trained.

The more bad habits a dog has picked up from previous owners, the harder it will be for you to retrain your dog. But it is doable, just like a person who has smoked for years, can stop smoking, but it will be hard.

It is important that when you first get your older dog that everyone in the family agrees on what the house rules are for the dog. This is vital, because if everyone treats the dog the same housebreaking will go much faster.

This is because your dog will not be confused when one family member allows them to beg for food and another one does not. Clearly defined rules is the best way to go when training.

Also it is important to not let the new dog have the run of the house right away. You should only allow your dog to be in areas where he can be supervised. This will go along ways in preventing any behavior problems to show up since someone is their right away to correct your dog.

So if you are thinking about adopting an older dog, please keep these principles in mind and the whole process of retraining your dog will go much smoother.