House-training a new dog is the same job as the first weeks at home: one routine, close watching, and a reward for the right place. Adult dogs hold it longer than puppies. A rescue still needs the schedule, because it does not yet know your house or how to tell you it needs out.

Feed on a schedule, and elimination follows it. Keep the diet simple — a good food, and few treats — so the results stay predictable. Pick one spot, the backyard, the side yard, or an indoor surface, and use only that spot. Take the dog there on a leash, use the same cue each time, such as “do your business,” and wait. Go out when it wakes, after it eats or drinks, after play, and at least every two hours. A puppy goes out about every 45 minutes until you know its pattern.

Give it five minutes. If it goes, reward it right there with a treat, praise, or a short game. If it does not, bring it in and try again in 15 minutes. Reward every success. Indoors, keep the dog in its one room and in sight. Sniffing the floor or starting to squat is the signal. Interrupt with a calm “ah-ah,” take it to the spot, and praise when it finishes.

An accident while you were not watching is yours, not the dog’s. Do not scold, and never push its face into the mess. Clean with an odor neutralizer, such as Nature’s Miracle, and go back to the schedule. Dogs learn the right place by repetition and by being paid for getting it right. They do not learn it from fear.