Housebreaking is the process of training a domesticated animal that lives with its human owners in a house to excrete (urinate and defecate) outdoors, or in a designated indoor area, rather than inside the house. The pet owner's desire is to break the habit of eliminating in the house, hence the term. House-training (a term more commonly used in British English) or sometimes even potty training are common synonyms for housebreaking.