Recent studies have shown that punishment for an unwanted behaviour must be given within 2 seconds. If punished after this time, dogs and cats are not able to work out why they are being punished.
I do not recommend punishment of any kind as a tool to train your dog or cat. Telling them off for doing something wrong does not teach them the behaviour that you would want them to do.
The practice of rubbing a pet’s nose in urine or faeces is (was) often done when the owner comes home and finds the ‘mistake’ inside the house minutes to hours after the pet has done the “deed”. Your pet is not able to make the association of you punishing them and going to the toilet inside the house. Punishing them in this was teaches them to avoid that part of the house, to hide their ‘accidents’ from the owner or they may learn to avoid the owner altogether.
You may have seen your parents do this to your childhood cat or dog and have seen it work. I know that is what my parents did - which is why this is a common myth that I hear from people.
Change in management - such as the dog is not spending as much time alone inside the house.
If your dog toilets inside (is out of character for them) and they have not been locked inside for an extended period it may be best to see a vet. Urinary tract infections for example can cause your dog to feel the need to pee more often than normal.
Most of the time puppies and kittens will toilet in undesirable places when they are learning. It is a normal part of learning to "get it wrong" every now and then. If your puppy is young enough attend puppy preschool classes. These provide an abundance of information on puppy training and how to help if your pup is taking a little longer to be toilet trained. If your puppy is too old for puppy school (general age intake is 8-14 weeks) enquire into intermediate classes or invest in a personal dog trainer just for the short term.
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