House Training your Puppy or Dog
One of the best things about having a pet is the companionship they offer. Many of the idealized dreams of pet owners have been destroyed by the inability to properly house train a new puppy or dog. This is unfortunate because with very few exceptions, teaching a dog to relieve themselves outside is one of the easier things to do.
Understand that dogs are pack animals and in the wild, they choose to be very social and interact with a group. When you take on dog ownership, you are seen as part of the pack. Canines also prefer to sleep in a very clean, dry and warm place. This means that a dog or puppy will not purposely soil what they see as their home and sleeping area.
The key then is to take this natural preference and use it to develop a positive behavior of asking to go outside to relieve themselves. The absolute best way of getting the behavior you want is to use lots of praise and positive reinforcement.
Yelling, raising your voice, threatening and getting aggravated or physical with your puppy or dog will not nearly be as effective as positive reinforcement and consistency on your part. A dog simply has a difficult time associating an action with a consequence. It’s their desire however to make you happy so anything like going outside to the bathroom should be seen as something that makes you happy. This means lots of praise will get your puppy housebroken a lot faster than getting upset.
It also means that if your dog has an accident inside your home and you do not see it while it’s happening, you should not scold or say anything negative to your pup. And even better approach when you have to clean up a pile of poo is to ignore the dog completely. You don’t want to show your displeasure because your puppy will not have the ability to associate your unhappiness with the bathroom accident. The reason for this is that you don’t want to interact with the animal after finding something that you don’t like.
You should also face the fact that your puppy or dog will have an occasional accident during the training. It’s just a fact that there will be times when your puppy will not be able to control their bowels or bladder. If you catch them in the act of relieving themselves in your home however, simply pick them up and say firmly “NO” and take them directly outside to let them finish going to the bathroom.
Stay there with them and pay careful attention to make certain that they go. While outside, if they do indeed go potty, it’s very important that you focus on that positive and offer them lots of praise and physical contact heading for doing a good job. This helps connect bathroom business with outside and pleasing you.
It’s only through patience and understanding that you can successfully potty train your dog. Although it doesn’t take a lot of time, it’s important that you stay consistent with your training and realize that accidents will unfortunately happen.
Abigail Franks
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/house-training-your-puppy-or-dog-120229.html
November 29th, 2009 at 1:51 am
When You are crate training (house training) your puppy, do you keep the puppy in the crate for the majority?
So i am crate training, and we are past the crying all day all night part and now he goes in there no problem but i have him on a schedule of him waking up, taking him outside, then eating, then again taking him outside but does not usaully go # 2 until he gets inside, lol, letting him play with my other dog and my 3 yr old for about 4 hrs then taking him pee, putting him back in the crate for 1-2 hrs then hes up again eats does his buisness outside then plays then at 4 or 5 put him back in for a couple of hours and then do the same thing as b4 then he goes down for the night at around 11pm then back up at 6 to do it all over again. So is this right or should he be in his crat more??? He does have a couple of accedents in the house during the day has never peed or pood in his crate but i have only had him for 3 weeks and he is 13 weeks old but i just need all the info and advice i can get thanks….Jersey girl please no more advice! Thanks again.
November 29th, 2009 at 6:53 am
I don’t think having a puppy in a crate is a bad idea, but don’t keep him in it all the time, maybe if he goes to bed but please don’t keep him locked up, I have a friend that keeps her dog locked up all the time, and the dog is really sad, just keep doing what your doing.taking him to go to the bathroom, he is after all still a puppy. Just like potty training a child. Constant repitions..Good Luck with the potty training…and enjoy your puppy
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November 29th, 2009 at 6:55 am
I recommend leaving them in the crate for 30 mins or so after eating, then when you take them back out they are more ready to do #2. Always allow outdoor playtime (if you have a secure area) after they do their business. This way they will eventually learn to hurry up and poop so they can play (ball, whatever)
Crate when you leave the house, at nap times, after eating and at bedtime of course.
I hooked my dogs’ leash to my belt loop and let them be out with me the rest of the time, this is AKA the umbilical cord method; you are more aware of when they begin to circle and squat.
Sounds like he is doing real well for his age.
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November 29th, 2009 at 6:57 am
sounds like you are doing right. A bit after eating or before going to th crate the puppy goes out for a few. Does not need to spend more time in the crate.
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November 29th, 2009 at 6:59 am
I’m not an expert dog potty trainer so I’m really not the person to ask, but here what I did with my dogs.
What I did with my dog was wake up, take her to potty, feed her and take her to the bathroom every hour or so.
Whenever we left to go somewhere we would put her in the crate. We also did this at night.
We scolded her when she went potty in the house and gave her a trea when she went outside.
Soon she got the message and now all we have to say "wanna go outside go potty?" and if she does she runs to the backdoor and if she doesnt she does nothing.
Hasn’t gone potty in the house since! No lie! She holds it all night. You don’t have to belive me.
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November 29th, 2009 at 7:01 am
We just got a 6 week old puppy about 2 months ago and he is already potty trained. It sounds like you got most of it down packed. We would take our dog out when we woke up and then feed him then let him back outside for about 30 minutes and he would always go. Then if you go away you might want to put him back in the cage… I stay home with my 2 kids so he isn’t in his cage as much. Also if you catch him in the act try putting some vinegar on a paper towel and dab the spot where he went and bring him to the spot and make him smell the vinegar… animals hate the smell. and then from there take him outside and when you bring him in out him in his cage for about 30 minutes to give him some time to himself.If you don’t want him somewhere just put up some baby gates and also make sure to take him out a lot and to watch for the signs. And to make him even behave better it not a bad idea to enroll him in some puppy training classes at about 4 months of age, well I hoped I helped you
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November 29th, 2009 at 7:03 am
It sounds like you are doing perfect! A routine is the best thing you can do for your dog. And crate training works wonderfully! Just remember that he is still a puppy. He is going to have accidents. They will gradually get fewer and farther between. Just keep up the consistency and be patient.
Good Luck.
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November 29th, 2009 at 7:05 am
First of all let me compliment you on your hard work and keeping after the little fella!!! I think this is the best attempt I have heard yet of someone caring for their dog prior to asking for help here. You soound like your doing a good job, and you’re right; in the beginning (that’s at least two to three months worth) you will be doing what you are doing. Dog in crate, out to eat, pee/poo, play and back in crate…over and over again. If you have the dog out for any time at all make sure that there is an "outside session" immediately coming out of the crate and then right before going back in. The accidents in the house comes with the territory, just calmy pick the little guy up and take him outside, and then clean the mess. An enzyme cleaner is best as it "eats away" at the odor so that he can’t smell it and reuse that spot. As you go along, you will be able to leave him out longer and eventually he will be be the little house pet/friend you always wanted. Here’s wishing you and your new addition many happy years!
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November 29th, 2009 at 7:07 am
He shouldn’t be in the crate the majority of the time. I have been told that why crate trining is good, is because dogs usually won’t use the bathroom where they sleep. I myself have never had to do crate trining, because our older dogs usually teach our pups to go out when they need to go potty, of course we still do have puppy accidents, but usually they are pretty good.
I have included a few link to help you
I hope they help
Crystal
References :
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/crate_training.html
http://www.netpets.com/dogs/reference/training/cratetrain.html