Crate training. There is no other training exercise which is so easy to fail, so hard to stick with, so annoying, so hard on the nerves. Sometimes it comes without a snag, other times it seems to take forever. No other exercise is more important for your dog. It is the best thing you could ever persevere with.
Very old pets are safer and happier in secure surroundings, out of the way. Movable exercise pens and crates can be set up in the house where convenient. Not fashionable but sane.
Mr. Jones and Bee prefer the security of the crate to an open bed.(unless a king sized memory foam bed at the Seattle Fairmount Olympic is available)They will stay quietly in the crate even if the gate is not on. It is their day bed in the kitchen.So, when
- you have been outside with your dog to see that it has relieved itself
- you have completely removed collars and accessories from the dog
- you know the dog is not hungry or thirsty
- the crate is clean and comfortable
Have all your equipment close at hand (set it where you will be watching TV or a movie, or doing dishes, or cleaning or something easy, not taxes or hard stuff.
Equipment: Dog crate and bedding, old magazine, baseball hat, leash and collar.
You will be there to tell the dog to be quiet when it starts complaining about being locked up. Tell him in no uncertain terms to be quiet, slap the front of the crate with the hat, the magazine, your voice, and make the dog be quiet. If you cannot, then take him out on leash and collar, to the door, directly outside to do business, note yes or no, and go back to the crate. Pass the water dish on the way back to the crate. And.. start over. If you cannot make a dog be quiet in a crate, you might have mambypambyitis. Cowboy up.
Housebreaking a new pup is very easy with crate training. Saves time, saves money, furniture, flooring, shoes, walls, doors, and on and on and on.
The crate is a safe, secure place for your dog to be when you cannot or do not want to supervise him. In order to keep it a safe place, you must inspect it regularly for damage, cleanliness, change bedding, make certain bedding is not being chewed, and do not leave collars,coats, sweaters, harnesses etc. on the dog when in the crate (or in the house for that matter).
The crate at home is used for training, for a place for the dog to sleep, for a place to contain a sick dog, as a place to put the dog so company cannot pester it or so that it cannot pester company or you. Before confining a dog in a crate make sure he has had the opportunity to pee, poo, eat, drink, is not too hot or too cold. Go outside with your dog to ensure business has been done before confining him in a crate. If you have had no joy in that regard, put him in the crate and let him outside again in about 25 or 30 minutes and so on. A comfortable, trained adult dog can rest in a crate for over four hours in the day and for seven or eight hours at night. 
