Dogs & Puppies Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Dog Housetraining’

When the thought or the discussion of getting a new puppy or dog arises another thought comes to mind and that is how to house train it. House training is not all that hard but you will need to have a lot of time and much patience.

It is best to house train your dog at a young age since this makes it easier. It is possible to teach an old dog new tricks. However it is a bit harder. You need to cater to your dog. You need to teach your dog how to go outside to use the bathroom the very first thing. It is best to stay on teaching your new dog house training before you teach it anything else.

Remember that you will not have results overnight. It may take several days and in many case many weeks to house train your dog. There are many dogs that are stubborn and try to be in control but you need to break your dog of this and be the master.

Everyone that is around the dog everyday needs to be aware of what you are expecting of the dog. If you are trying to break the dog of a certain habit and another person in the house is allowing it, then it can make the dog a confused creature.

Remember that when you are starting to house train your dog that you will not see results right away. You must be consistent and persistent. All of your efforts will eventually pay off and you will have a dog that knows where to use the bathroom and know who the master is.

Some dogs just absolutely refuse to become house trained. No matter how long and hard you have tried to implement techniques to get your dog to use the bathroom in the proper areas, he still chooses to be “vengeful” towards you by not following your instructions, right?

Wrong! The common misconception that your dog is trying to be vindictive and undermine your housetraining efforts by refusing to follow the rules is a complete myth.

Dogs only have the capability for simple, direct emotions, such as being happy, sad, or scared. Their minds are not capable of plotting ways to seek revenge for that swat on his rear, or how you scolded him an hour ago.

Dogs do, however, remember and draw upon past experiences that they associate with the current situations. But it is important to understand that these associations only create an emotion in which they will feel when going through a similar experience.

In other words, lets say that you penalize your dog for urinating on the front porch. If you go to scold him for this behavior, then eventually your dog will become fearful of using the bathroom outside. All he knows is that he is “outside”, not on the front porch. Your discipline has sabotaged your housetraining goals.

For this reason alone, it is important never to punish or yell at your dog when he uses the bathroom inside the house. Most housetraining problems actually stem from owners who completely instill fear in their pets when they go potty on the floor. This creates adequate” trauma to completely halt all of your housetraining efforts.

The key is trying not to react. Instead, remove your dog from the room and take him outside in a very calm and relaxed manner. Be sure that he does not see you cleaning up his mess. Quietly clean the area and be sure to use an enzyme-containing house cleaner. Vinegar or liquid soap will do just fine as well. By completely removing all of the odor, this helps reduce your dog’s need to urinate and mark the same spot over and over.

Tip: Avoid using ammonia because the smell is very similar to that of a dog’s urine and can stimulate him to pee in the same area.

When all else fails, schedule a visit with your veterinarian so that the doctor can do a complete health medical checkup of your dog to make sure that there is not a health-related reason for his inability to become house trained.

Some dogs can be harboring illnesses that may prove to be the cause of not having the ability to control their bowel movements. Such illnesses could be caused by ticks, such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, or the most common reason: a urinary tract infection.

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Are you ready to wrap up our simple and easy to follow 7-step dog housetraining guide? These last few steps are crucial, so pay careful attention.

Step Five: Look For Cues, Give One Back

Now that you know how to teach your pup when and where to potty, you need to know what to do when it actually eliminates. Once your at the potty spot, you’ll see your small bow-wow sniff the ground intently, perhaps pace or circle, or maybe come to a sudden halt. All of these behaviors are cues that in just a few seconds, your puppy will either generate a puddle or make a deposit .

No matter what your puppy’s pre-potty signal is, you need to give it a cue in return as soon as it starts to eliminate. This cue, or potty prompt, should be something like “do your business” or “go potty now.” Use the same phrase each time your pup goes, and keep the following point in mind: Make sure you can say the phrase in public.

(Sure, it might be amusing to teach your puppy to pee when you say “take a leak” or “take a whiz”, but do you really want to say that out loud in front of strangers? You be the judge.)

It’s important to limit your use of the potty cue only to the times you want your puppy to do its business. Some people use a more general phrase, such as “Get Busy”, but such a choice can backfire. If, for example, your dog hears you tell your child to “hurry up” and get out the door to school, your dog may present you with a most unwelcome gift.

Eventually, your puppy may associate the phrase with the deed, and potty exactly when you tell it to. Such skills come in handy on cold or showery nights when you have to take your puppy out for a potty break, but you don’t want to have to wait too long for it to unload.

In any case, once your puppy finishes its business, praise the pup lavishly and give it a minor treat. Then, bring it back inside. Potty time shouldn’t turn into play time.

Step Six: Be Vigilant

While your puppy is still learning the dog housebreaking basics, your job is to make sure that it doesn’t have the opportunity to make mistakes (or at least as few as possible). For this reason, when your pup is not in its crate, you must watch it carefully. In fact, don’t take your eyes off it.

If your pup shows any signs that it needs to potty, scoop it up into your arms and get it outside. Then, when your puppy eliminates, praise it sky-high. If you’re too late, and your puppy graces your rug with a puddle or deposit, put your puppy in its crate and clean up the mess without comment.

Use an enzymatic cleaner designed specifically for pet stains to eliminate the odors that might boost your dog to potty at that spot again. Then, promise yourself and your puppy that you’ll keep a closer eye on it in the future to prevent such an chance event from occurrence again.

Step Seven: Be Patient

And finally, have patience. Don’t expect your puppy to learn its bathroom manners overnight. Puppy Housetraining takes time, patience and understanding. Your puppy needs time not only to figure out what you want it to do, but also to develop the physical power to control its urges to poop or pee until it gets to the potty place.

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