How To Housebreak Your Dog...Even If It's Still A
Puppy.
Jake Berlin
The one unpleasant aspect of owning any puppy is the job of
housebreaking. As cute as puppies are, each must be trained. But
remember that every puppy will conquer housebreaking although at
a different rate. While some dog breeds can be housebroken in a
very short amount of time, other breeds can be quite challenging.
Paper Training
Paper training or using commercially made training pads should be
avoided. While this method of training has long been promoted as
being easy and successful, the truth is that it teaches the puppy
that going potty indoors is acceptable. Instead of encouraging
the puppy to go outside, it actually causes confusion. Therefore,
you should consider paper training as a last resort.
Crate Training
Using a crate to potty train your new puppy is an excellent and
very effective method. With crate training, your puppy will, in
time learn to wait to do its business outdoors. It is important
to remember that puppies, just like babies, have very small
bladders. For this reason, getting your puppy to wait through the
night without needing to go outside will take a few months. This
is normal and requires patience, love, and support on your part.
With crate training, the right type of behavior is encouraged in
your new puppy.
Schedule
Regardless of the breed, with dedication and a lot of patience,
your puppy will learn the rules. Keep in mind that age does play
a role in how easy your dog will complete the process. Since a
small puppy eats more meals than an adult dog does, you can
expect more trips outside. For this reason, you will need to set
up a schedule that coordinates with the puppy’s age.
Typically, a small puppy will need to go outside about every two
to three hours. Although you will need to establish your own
schedule, the following is what you might expect during the potty
training period.
7:00 a.m. – Take the puppy outside immediately after waking up
7:15 a.m. – Feed and water the puppy inside a crate large enough
for the puppy to move around
7:45 a.m. – Take the puppy outside to go potty
11:45 a.m. – Take the puppy outside to go potty
12:00 p.m. – Feed and water the puppy inside its crate
12:45 p.m. – Take the puppy outside to go potty
Around this time, your puppy will be tired and in need of a nap.
Gently place your puppy inside the crate. To make it feel more
comfortable and secure, add in an old sweatshirt of cozy blanket,
a couple of soft toys, and then allow the puppy to rest for about
an hour. Chances are that you will not need to coax it much since
puppies sleep often. Remember, this schedule is to encourage a
pattern, making potty training easier.
2:30 p.m. – Take the puppy outside to go potty
4:30 p.m. – Take the puppy outside to go potty
5:00 p.m. – Feed and water the puppy inside the crate
5:30 p.m. – Take the puppy outside to go potty
About an hour after your puppy has had dinner, take it for a
short walk and then spend quality time playing and enjoying it.
This quality time will help build the bond and a relationship of
trust, which only helps to strengthen the desire of the puppy to
please its master. In addition, playtime is excellent for
socializing the puppy while helping it sleep longer during the
night.
7:30 p.m. – Remove the puppy’s water and any food for the night
8:30 p.m. – Take the puppy outside to go potty
9:30 p.m. – Put the puppy in the crate to sleep
More than likely, your new puppy will not be able to go all night
without taking care of business. Listen for any restlessness or
whining, a sure sign that the puppy needs to go outside. While
the process can be inconvenient and tiresome since you never know
what time the puppy will awaken, with consistency, your puppy
will learn much quicker.
Remember, if the puppy should have an accident in its crate,
never administer punishment – it was just an accident. Most
puppies that mess in their cage feel embarrassed and ashamed. If
your puppy has an accident, take it outside anyway so the
association is reinforced. Then, clean the crate, add fresh
bedding, and again, tuck the little one in for the night.
Word Association
During the potty training process, your puppy will begin to give
you some kind of signal that it needs to go outside to potty.
Your job is to learn those signals and the sooner the better. You
may notice your puppy walking in circles, walking toward the
door, sitting and staring at you, pawing at you, sniffing the
ground, and so on.
When you see your puppy giving the signal that it is about to go
potty indoors you need to say to it with a firm voice “NO!” In
addition, you will need to establish one word or phrase that will
be used to make the outside association. For instance, when you
notice your puppy giving the signal, say “no”. Then, use your
command, which could be something like “Let’s go potty” or “Potty
time”.
With that, pick the puppy up and take it outdoors. Soon, your
puppy will begin to respond to that command and know what it
means. Sometimes a puppy gets outdoors and forgets about going
potty. After all, there are squirrels to chase, leaves to sniff,
and flowers to investigate. To help your puppy concentrate on the
reason for being outside at that moment, you will need another
command.
In this case, you could use words like, “Go potty” or “Do your
business.” For quick and complete success, make sure that every
time your puppy goes outside, the same command is used. This
consistency is establishing the appropriate behavior. While it
will take you hundreds of times before your puppy gets it, with
persistence and patience, you puppy will catch on. After your
puppy finishes going potty, provide lots of praise.
Supervision
Another key to successful housebreaking a puppy is making sure
you supervise it at all times. While this can be challenging, at
first when your puppy is very small, keep it in sight. This way,
your puppy will not have the opportunity to sneak off to potty in
other rooms of the house. If necessary, you can set up a baby or
doggie playpen if you are busy. For example, while cooking
dinner, you can use baby gates to keep the puppy in the same room
with you or while taking a bath, place the puppy in the crate or
playpen. Remember, this is only temporary.
Indoor Accidents
Your puppy will have accidents indoors so expect it. The key is
to catch the puppy in the act. As an example, if you have stepped
out of the room only to come back a few minutes later to find a
wet spot on the floor, correcting at that time is useless.
Whatever you do, NEVER rub your dog’s nose in its potty. Not only
is this unhealthy, it is demeaning and guaranteed not to
accomplish a thing.
Since puppies often forget quickly, punishing five minutes after
the fact only confuses the puppy, which can create an entire new
array of problems. Remember, you want your puppy to trust you so
it has to understand the punishment. If you do find a wet spot,
use hot soapy water or carpet cleaner specialized for puppy
accidents, cleaning the area thoroughly. Then, sprinkle or spray
on a neutralizing deodorant. Although you can buy a number of
products on the market, a mixture of 50/50 vinegar and water
works quite well.
Physical Problems
On rare occasion, puppies can have some type of physical problem
that inhibits them from being potty trained. Problems such as
bladder infection or behavioral issues caused by stress are
common causes for a puppy being slow in the potty training
department. Therefore, if it seems that your puppy is having
trouble going potty outdoors, keep an eye on the situation. If
the problem continues, have it checked by your veterinarian.
One other consideration is that dogs that have not yet been
spayed or neutered have a higher probability of going inside.
With potty training, it is not an overnight fix. Puppies take
tremendous time and responsibility to train. The good news is
that once the training is complete, you have an amazing friend
for many years to come.
Jake Berlin is the webmaster of
www.Easy-Dog-Training.com , where
you can learn how to put an end to the stress and annoyance of
your dog's behavior problems...And slash your dog obedience
training time in half by using techniques that give you immediate
results!!
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