House Training 101
Whether you have a new puppy, a senior or a rescued adult dog, the principles of proper house training are an important aspect of dog ownership. If a dog has continual accidents in the house, it can cause you stress and may lead to the surrender of the dog. I even had a client whose marriage was in jeopardy because the dogs were soiling in the house. The wife threatened to give the dogs away if the husband didn’t get the dogs trained. And if he didn’t, she was going to leave him. I’m happy to say that I was able to work with them and now the dogs are trained and the marriage was saved!
House training a dog is definitely a challenge but if you are diligent and consistent, you should get through it quickly and effectively. Although it seems like a lot, here are the tips for successful house training:
1. Maintain a regular, frequent schedule of potty breaks – usually every 2 hours for young pups.
2. Keep your dog either with you at all times or confined when you cannot watch him. If you are watching him, then you are able to learn his signals, interrupt the behavior and take him outside. Most dogs give some kind of sign that they need to eliminate – panting, circling around or generally disquieted
3. Always take your dog out the same door. That way, the dog will learn to stand at that door when he needs to go out.
4. Take your dog outside on a leash to the same spot every time. Stand there with your dog until he has eliminated. If he get distracted and tries to play, continue to stand there and give him no attention. This truly is the tough part, especially in bad weather. Give him lots and lots of praise and a treat immediately when he finally eliminates.
5. Once your dog has eliminated, then allow him to play in the yard. It must be business before pleasure!
What not to do:
1. Never scold or punish your dog for eliminating in the house. It will cause him to sneak off to other areas of the house and eliminate when you aren’t looking. In extreme cases, some dogs will not want to eliminate in front of someone who has scolded him, even out on walks. I worked with someone several years ago who had hit the dog when he eliminated in the house. The dog became so frightened of the man that he refused to eliminate whenever the man was near.
2. Don’t allow your dog to run free in your yard to eliminate. Most pups would rather play first and may ‘forget’ to eliminate.
3. Don’t wait until your dog comes in the house to give him a treat for eliminating outside. When the treat is given inside the house, it rewards your dog for coming in. All this teaches the dog is that he gets a treat every time he comes in the house. Smart dogs will go out and come right back in so that they get treats!
For puppies, they generally need to eliminate every 2 hours during the daytime: when they wake up, about 30-60 minutes after they eat, and immediately after playtime. Also try as best as you can to keep the same schedule every day. So, if you get up at 6:00am on work days and take your pup outside, do this on the weekends too. Keep feeding schedules the same too because this will help to regulate the pup’s bowels. If you have adopted an adult dog and the dog is having accidents in the house, put the dog on a regular schedule as well for potty breaks and feeding. Consistency is so very important for dogs.
Dogs need to be shown what you expect of them. They learn quickly through association. When their actions bring about positive results, i.e. when they potty outside and get rewarded for it, dogs are more likely to repeat that behavior.
It may take some pups up to 6 months to become totally trained, so don’t give up!
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