When you bring a new dog or puppy home, you should move to establish a routine as soon as possible. The faster you get things on track, the fewer mistakes you’ll have to clean up. Although there are different strategies and ways of housetraining a puppy or dog, the following instructions are a good way to teach your pet to eliminate outdoors.
Housetraining
can take different amounts of time for different dogs. But by applying
schedules, setting boundaries for where elimination is acceptable, a verbal
command, praise and crate training, you should see progress over time.
If you do not see progress, consult your veterinarian or a behaviorist.
• Establish an elimination spot outside. That takes the guesswork
out of the trip
• Ideally, housetraining should be done in conjunction with crate
training.
• When you think your dog is due to go to the bathroom, or if your
dog exhibits signs like sniffing an area or (once better trained) whining
or going to the door, clip a leash to his collar and take him to the spot.
• Pick a phrase like “go potty” or “hurry up,”
then say it calmly whenever your pup is going. Praise your puppy after
he is finished. Over time, he will come to link those words with those
actions and you’ll have a dog that goes on command.
• Go inside for food and water. About 15 to 30 minutes later, go
back out again.
• During the housetraining period, keep your dog in sight. If he
should start to do something in front of you, interrupt him and take him
outdoors quickly. Praise him for completing the job outside.
• Through repetition, your dog will learn that there is one place
where elimination is appropriate, and when he needs to go he will alert
you.
• Maintain a regular feeding, drinking and elimination schedule.
Every
dog and puppy will make mistakes when first being housetrained. Watch
these mistakes and see if you can spot a cause. Mistakes are a sign that
your puppy or dog does not know what is acceptable and so you, as teacher,
must find the source of confusion and fix it.
• Too much freedom too quickly is the most common error. If your
dog has an accident or two, back up and slow down the training.
• Providing a crate that is too big for your dog encourages him
to eliminate in once end and sleep in the other. Also, if you place food
and water in the crate, he’ll fill up on both and be forced to relieve
himself.
• It does not good to drag him off to the site of a mishap and punish
him. A dog is unable to connect punishment with a past mistake and will
believe you are angry for no reason, possibly leading to fear and confusion
on your dog’s part.
• Changing your dog’s diet can cause digestive problems that
might result in an accident. Late night snacks and not enough exercise
can also lead to accidents.
• Even well-trained dogs may have accidents. Clean the area with
a pet odor neutralizer so your pet won’t be tempted to repeat the
mistake.
• Watch for territorial marking – spraying urine on objects.
That’s not a housetraining mistake. Your dog is vying to be leader
of the pack – which is your family. When you see this behavior,
step up obedience training.
• Don’t rule out a bladder infection. Spaying and neutering
can help reduce the risk. Talk to your veterinarian.