House Training Your Dog

Housetraining The Very Young Puppy

(Under 12 weeks of age)

It takes A Human To Make A Dog Soil Its Bed Successful housetraining depends mostly on the humans involved in the process. By using prevention instead of punishment, with vigilance, reasonable expectations, and by using a puppy's natural instincts, housetraining can be accomplished painlessly and in a reasonably short time. Breed and/or sex have no impact on the ease or difficulty of teaching your puppy to eliminate in a specific area (be it outdoors, on newspapers, or in a kitty litter box.)

Puppies are instinctively clean. From birth, they leave the pile of sleeping littermates and go as far away as possible to eliminate. Unless forced to do so, puppies will not soil their bed and this instinct is your greatest training aid.

Scolding or Punishing A Very Young Puppy Is Ineffective and Counterproductive.
The younger the pup, the less time between impulse and action. He needs to eliminate, so he does. Punishing or even scolding a very young puppy has no more effect than it would have on an infant in diapers. Fortunately, a puppy will train a whole lot faster than a baby!

Confinement: the Basic Rule of Housetraining

Before we go any further, let me assure you that confining your dog is not cruel! In the wild, canines instinctively seek out small enclosed spaces in which to make their dens. If you have obtained your puppy from a reliable and knowledgeable breeder, your puppy will be accustomed to being confined and will accept this in your home, provided you do not allow him the run of the house.

It is far more cruel to give a dog that is untrained too much freedom, too fast, which guarantees puddles and messes all over your house. The puppy becomes subject to constant reprimands, which will probably be after the fact, so he has no idea why you are upset; you are frustrated by the unpleasant task of cleaning up after him, and having your good carpet soiled; and things might get so bad that you either put the dog in exile in an outdoor kennel, or you recycle him.... or even have him destroyed.

Which is worse? Being euthanized, spending your life alone in a backyard, or spending part of every day in a comfortable and safe area?

Before you bring your puppy home, decide where and in what, he is going to sleep. Strongly recommended is the crate, a wire or fiberglass and wire enclosure, big enough for the puppy to stretch out in comfortably, but not big enough for him to have a sleeping and "bathroom" areas. If you have a puppy of the large or giant breeds, and expense is a consideration, you may want to purchase the size crate your dog will need as an adult and partition it off, giving him more room as he grows.

Another option is a discarded baby playpen, with wiring fastened around the outside of the slats to insure that the pup can't get caught between them or wriggle out. Collapsible fencing or commercial exercise pens, attached to a wall or walls can be used to enclose an area. Baby gates or commercial dog gates can be used to enclose a small area.

The crate has a decided advantage over these other options in that it is portable. Puppies and dogs need companionship, and the crate can be moved from room to room (although you may find yourself, like many doggie folk, with crates in many rooms. They make handy end and coffee tables!). It is also a benefit if your dog is crate trained, should he have to stay confined because of illness or surgery. In case of automobile accident, it is safer for your dog if he is travelling in a crate, rather than loose in the car. There may be times when you want to protect your dog from untrained children, or you may have company who is afraid of dogs. Many hotels and motels will only accept dogs if they are crated.

The crate is the dog's bed, his haven, and as he earns his freedom in the house, you will find that you can leave your crate open, and he will go in and out at will. It is his place, his den, and he feels safe and comfortable there.

What Should I Put In The Crate For My Puppy To Sleep On?
Nothing.

Did you ever wonder why, if there was one tiny throw rug in the midst of a sea of linoleum, your dog or puppy always messed on the rug? It's because of Rule Number 2: dogs always seek the most absorbent place to do their business. Since we don't want the puppy to get the idea that we want him to soil his crate, don't put a blanket or towel, or even a canvas covered crate pillow inside, yet. Later, after the puppy has demonstrated cleanliness in the crate, you may do so.

Introducing Your Puppy To His Place of Confinement
Ideally, your puppy will come to you already crate-trained. However, not all puppies have ideal beginnings, so you may have to introduce your puppy to the crate.

One way to introduce the crate is by removing the door and surrounding it with an exercise pen, where the exercise pen area can be covered with newspapers if the puppy must be unsupervised, or if you must leave the puppy alone for more hours a day than he is capable of regulating his eliminations. This arrangement allows the puppy to keep his bed (the crate) clean. Feed the puppy in his crate, and if he is reluctant to go in to eat, put the bowls just in the doorway, so he can stand outside and eat with only his head inside. At each meal, put the bowls an inch or two further back, until he willingly goes in to eat. Also keep a few toys in the crate.

When he is comfortable eating in the crate it is time to teach him to stay quietly inside while confined. Put the door back on the crate. This time, when you feed him, close the door. As soon as he is done eating, let him out and take him to his potty area.

How Often Should I Take My Puppy Outside?
Generally, a puppy should only be confined as many daytime hours as he is months old before being taken out to relieve himself. An 8 week old puppy will need to go out every two hours during the day. Doubling that for the night would mean that an 8 week old puppy should be taken out every four hours during the night. A 12 week old pup would go 3 hours during the day and 6 at night; a 16 week old would go 4 hours and give you an 8 hour night. These are only guidelines. You may get lucky, and have one that will sleep the night from day one.

All animals need to go out first thing in the morning, immediately after eating and/or drinking, after playtimes, immediately upon waking, and immediately before you retire for the night. Then, if there is any time left, take him out according to the schedule outlined in the previous paragraph.

Your personal schedule may not allow you to follow the schedule rigidly. If there is any way for you to adjust your schedule for a few weeks to allow you to accommodate the puppy's needs, you will be repaid in a short time with a dog that is reliably housebroken. If you cannot adjust your schedule, then please adjust your mindset to accepting the fact that it will take a little longer for your puppy to get the message. If you know you are going to be gone for more hours than your puppy can reasonably be expected to control himself, then make it easy on both of you. Suspend your attempts to housetrain during that time, put him in an area where he can leave his bed (crate) to eliminate. The crate surrounded by an exercise pen described previously works fine. Just put down plenty of newspaper for the pup to use while you're gone, clean it up when you get home, and go on with your training. Quite often, once the pup develops the muscular control, he will try and wait for your return, in spite of having those papers available.

If you are using newspapers, take note of where your pup makes his deposits. Gradually start removing the papers around this area, until you only have to leave a small section covered for him.

It is generally best to carry the puppy outside because the pup's bowel and sphincter are stimulated by walking. Set him down where you want him to go and then you just stand in one place until he goes. Always go with your puppy, even if you have a fenced yard. Your being there t is the only way to know if he has relieved himself and you cannot give timely praise if you can't see what he is doing.

You can teach you pup to relieve herself on command by telling her to "Go potty" or "get busy" (or whatever words you want to use) just as she starts to relieve himself. Praise quietly while she is going (don't distract her!) and then give enthusiastic praise and a treat (if you use them) when she is done.

If the Very Young Puppy Has An Accident In The House
It is your fault for failing to prevent it. Do not punish the puppy. If you catch him in the act, don't let him finish. Pick him up (you can give one low,growling "anghhh!" of disapproval) and take him outside. Wait with him until he finishes, then praise. When you bring him back in, put him in his crate while you clean up. Make sure you use one of those scent removing solutions, such as Simple Solution, to remove all traces of odor. If the odor is not completely neutralized the dog will be attracted back to the same place. In a pinch, seltzer works pretty well.

Asking to Go Out
Once the pup has the idea of housetraining, you can teach him to signal you when he needs to go. If your dog hasn't already developed a signal by himself, decide what you want him to do. Some options are barking, going to the door and scratching, or even ringing a bell.

Teach him the signal as a separate exercise. I strongly recommend using clicker training to teach the new behavior.

When you recognize his need to eliminate, ask him, with some enthusiam, "Do you want to go out?" Put on his lead, and take him to the door. At the door, have him perform his signal behavior. Click/treat and take him out. (Or if he really needs to go, click and treat after he potties.) If you opt not to clicker train, use praise and/or treats instead, but otherwise, follow the same procedure. Before long, your pup will automatically give you the signal in response to your "Do you want to go out" question, and shortly thereafter, he will initiate the signalling behaviour when he needs to eliminate.

In all fairness, though, do not tease him with the "out" question by not following through. If you do, the question will lose it's meaning and confuse the dog.Many dogs are given away every year or left at shelters and dog pounds because the owner became too frustrated over failing to house train their puppy or dog. When a dog does not house train it is NOT the fault of the dog. It is always the human that is at fault, many times through misunderstanding the dog. When someone gives away a dog usually between the ages of four months and a year, do not be surprised when that young dog goes to it's new home with house training issues. More often than not, the person getting the dog is not informed of the dogs house training problems and finds out after they have become attached to the new canine member of their family. In order for a puppy or dog to be consistent in house training, the puppy or dog must understand what is expected of it. All house training problems stem from the canine NOT understanding the owner's desires. I hope the following information helps clear up house training confusion for both canine and human! Here is a condensed list of directions for training your dog to potty in the yard.

-Walk your dog on a six to ten foot leash to the same spot in the yard every time. Use a leash always so your puppy learns pottying is a job not just for fun. If your puppy tries to play with you or tug on the leash, stand on the end of the leash and look away from the puppy. He or she will get bored after a bit and stop.

- Take a smelly soft treat with you for a reward.

- Tell your dog to "Go Potty" or something close to that ! (do not say "outside) Save that for when you take your puppy or dog out to play.

- Praise your dog as he or she goes to the potty. Follow up immediately with the tasty treat. Then turn and take your dog inside.

- Keep your dog supervised at all time inside your home with limited freedom.

- If your dog does not relieve himself outside in 5 to 10 minutes and you are sure he must go (after eating dinner or a long period of time between potty breaks), bring him inside and crate him for 20 minutes. Repeat the trip outside with treats on a leash again. Do this until the dog does go outside.

The information listed below will help you understand fact from fiction or just poor advice that may have been given to you before now which can contribute to house training problems. Please take the time to read it thoroughly.

1. Dogs are not People and are incapable of behaviors like "getting even" or "spite". They are though far above people when it comes to noticing body language, voice tones and body postures of angry owners. Owners even have an ANGRY WALK the dog can hear coming from around the corner. This is why many people mistake behaviors and canine body language. Dogs do not show "guilt". They do remember an owners behavior the last time the owner saw urine on the rug and for some unknown reason to the dog punished the dog because the urine was on the rug. The next time the dog urinates on the same rug when the owner is not around the dog will run and hide if he does hear the owner coming. The dog does not understand why, but remembers if urine is on the rug the owner punishes the dog. When the owner comes upon the rug newly soiled and finds the dog hiding under the bed, wrongly, the owner decides the dog urinated on the rug in spite of knowing he was not allowed to do so. Now if the owner caught the dog just BEFORE he urinated on the rug and stopped the dog or even as the dog was urinating on the rug then led the dog outside to finish (where the dog received a reward for urinating outside) then the dog will understand the owner is very happy when the dog does his duty outside and even rewards the dog on the spot with a tasty treat!

2. If your dog soils in the house at all , (once or twice a week or every few weeks) he is NOT house trained. In cases like this the once or twice ever few weeks turns into once or twice a week then once or twice a day. Stop and begin from the beginning with housetraining your dog. This time do not drop the ball with housetraining and give the dog too much freedom too soon.

3. Dogs that are not housetrained correctly from a young age can be more difficult to successfully house train. Poor potty manners can become a learned behavior and take longer to totally correct. But, potty training CAN be done with a committed and consistent owner.

4. Dogs live in the moment. If you do not see the dog soiling inside the house DO NOT PUNISH or CORRECT the dog! They would have no idea why you're so upset about the soiled area. Do NOT drag your dog or puppy to a soiled area and rub his nose in it.!! This does not achieve anything more than frightening and confusing your dog. This owner behavior leads to dogs attempting to hide their urine or stool by leaving and going to a room the owner is not in. This also adds to more problems if the dog is given too much freedom before they are house trained. If you walk into a room and find a soiled area, remember not to correct the dog as it is your fault for giving a dog not consistent in house training behavior too much unsupervised freedom. You do not have to keep your dog caged at all times to supervise it. Simply put your dog or puppy on a short leash and keep him or her with you! In this way you should catch any mistakes before the dog has them or while he is having them and stop him. At the same time your puppy or dog can be with you and be able to learn proper behavior for in the house. This includes chewing things they should not chew, or taking items they should not have. If your dog is leashed with you he will learn much more than he would if caged alone in another room. The dog would also be much happier to be with you. If you give your dog a treat when he goes back into the house after pottying outside, it has NOTHING to do with pottying outside. Instead your dog thinks he gets a treat for re-entering your home. To clarify the treat is for pottying in the yard, you must give the treat to the dog in the yard immediately after he potties. Save the tastiest treats for house training to motivate your dog more.

5. Leaving your dog gated in another room (as a kitchen or large laundry room) may contribute to long term house training issues. Some of the time dogs can figure things out when gated off, more often though, dogs left like this tend to feel they can go to the potty in those rooms and sometime all over the owner's home. Every time your dog has an accident and you are not there to stop or correct it in the moment, the chances increase for continued house training difficulty for one reason or another. Litter box training and paper training dogs can be successful if done in the correct way. Unfortunately most owners do not understand how to do this and end up with dogs that soil in the house all of the time. Your dog needs to spend time in the same rooms as you do in order to learn proper behavior in those rooms. A dog left in separate rooms can become anxious and behave incorrectly when finally given some freedom with the owner. This is not an attempt to be "bad" by your dog but a way to act out anxiety instead. Your dog is a pack animal, a social animal and desires to be with you in your home.

6. Do not leave your puppy caged or crated for long periods of time. This can lead to the puppy soiling in that cage. If your dog can hold it for 8 hours it does not translate into a good or healthy thing for that dog or puppy. A cage that is too large for your puppy can lead to your puppy using part of it for a potty area and the other part a sleeping area. Full time workers that are gone from home for 8 hours or more at a time should arrange for a pet service or family member to go to your home and let your puppy out to relieve himself and feed the puppy if need be. If this cannot be done, then you must set up an area for your puppy to relieve itself in if you will be gone for 8 hours. I must stress that I do not feel any puppy should be left alone for 8 hours a day. A puppy needs company and someone or another animal in the least to help comfort it as well as someone to stimulate the puppies mind. The first few months of a puppies life help form the adult you will have for many years.

7. Tying your dog or puppy outside will not teach it to potty outside. A dog must be taught a command for potty just as one would teach a "sit" or "down" command. You must be PRESENT in order to teach your dog what is expected of it. If your dog does potty outside when it is tied there, it still may not understand YOU want it to potty outside and NOT inside. Owners must be with the dog at the time in order to teach this behavior.

8. NEVER hold water back from your puppy or dog. Leave water somewhere in the house your dog has access to (like your kitchen), but preferably not in its cage. A dog caged can drink out of boredom if caged or play in the water. Dogs that have water held back tend to drink much more water too quickly when they are finally offered water. If water is available to your dog at all times it will most likely only drink when it needs to as there is no fear of the water being taken away. Puppies drink more water because they play more! Would you tell your six year old he or she could not have a glass of water after playing hard outside? Do you need hydrated after hard exercise or physical activity? Then, would you find it hard to understand a dog could desire water for the same reason? At the very least when house training your puppy do not take the water away until late in the evening (if your house is air conditioned during the hot summer months). Today, more puppies and dogs are developing bladder or urinary infections. Nature tells a dog to drink more water to cleanse the kidneys when this happens. If your dog seems to be drinking water much more often and for no reason you can think of it may have a bladder infection. This can also contribute to house training problems. If this is the case or you see this symptom, take your dog to the vet to be checked. Do not limit your dogs' water!