Training Your Dog - Part Two

By Carl Palazzolo

House training

House training puppies can begin as early as five weeks of age and, depending upon the individual puppy and your ability to consistently work the program, will take several weeks to several months to accomplish. Your puppy gradually develops both the physiological (muscle) control and the behavior habits that lead to a fully house trained dog.

Important Note:

There is a behavior called "submissive urination" that is often confused with a puppy's inability to be house trained. Submissive urination, especially common in females, is when a puppy becomes overly excited or stressed when greeting what she/he considers higher-ranking people or dogs. The puppy will leak urine and may roll over as well. It is important not to scold the puppy for this or the problem will get worse. Instead, simply ignore the puppy, make your greetings less effusive, and don't hover or bend over the puppy. She/he will grow out of it.

Outdoor or Paper-Training?

There are two basic approaches to house training: 1) training the puppy to always go outside to eliminate; or 2) "paper training," which means the puppy learns to go on newspapers or pads sold at most pet stores.

These two approaches are very different. In fact, if you start out paper training and then decide to switch your dog to an outdoor potty area, you may run into more difficulty than if you started out training for the outdoors from the beginning.

It is very important to establish a specific location where your house training pads will go. Pick a location in an area of the house that is least used (laundry room, for example), but one that is still easy for your puppy to get to.

In the early days of paper-training it is helpful to leave a little of a soiled pad or paper to remind the puppy that this is the location where she/he last went.

If outdoor elimination is your goal, it is highly recommended that you start training this from the beginning.

By restricting access to only a small area of your yard (e.g., temporary fencing, leashing your puppy and supervising elimination) and by ensuring that this area is cleaned up every day, your puppy will choose to go back to that specific area.

If you have trouble house training your puppy, and you feel you have been adhering to a good house training program, consult your veterinarian. There could be a medical condition interfering with your puppy's ability to control its elimination.

Step-by-step Tips

Many people who live in apartments or condos etc chose to teach their dogs to eliminate on papers or pads indoors. Although this works for many small dogs, this may not be practical with larger dogs because of the volume of waste.

Before you decide to paper-train your puppy you should be sure that this is the way you want your adult dog to eliminate throughout its life. Some dogs have a difficult time being retrained to go outdoors once they've learned that going indoors is acceptable.

The following are some key components of a successful program:

Maintaining a Structured Schedule

House training a puppy starts with being able to predict when your puppy needs to eliminate; every puppy is different. Predicting when your puppy needs to eliminate will be very difficult to do if you "free feed" (leaving food out all day) or if you do not put your puppy on a strict schedule of food and water. When you place your puppy on a structured schedule, you will be able to predict much more successfully exactly when and how often your puppy needs to go to the potty area. As your puppy gets older and more experienced, you can relax and vary the schedule. But, until your puppy demonstrates for at least two weeks that she/he understands the program, do not be tempted to relax your diligence and supervision.

Limited access

Until your puppy is house trained be sure to set him/her up for success. In addition to maintaining a structured schedule, it is very important to limit the puppy's unrestricted access in the house unless the puppy has your undivided attention.

There are two easy ways to help puppies see the distinction between their living quarters and potty areas. The first is helping them not make mistakes by supervising them when they are loose in the house, and the other is by "crate training."

"Crate training" simply means creating a physical space that is large enough for the puppy to stand up, stretch out, and turn around, but not large enough to eliminate without having to step or sleep in his/her own excrement. By confining the puppy to this restricted area for short periods of time, and then longer and longer ones, they learn to develop the physical control to "hold it" until they are escorted to the potty area you have chosen for them.

Rewarding Success

When you escort your puppy to its designated potty area, say "Do your job," then stand by quietly so that you do not distract your puppy from the task at hand. After the puppy has eliminated, praise and give him/her two to three small, but yummy treats. You may find that your puppy quickly learns that going outside to the potty area is a lot of fun. Always praise and treat to "punctuate" what a remarkable event just occurred!

Don't come right back in after the puppy has eliminated. Play or let the pup explore for several minutes. This will help you avoid inadvertently teaching the pup to delay eliminating because she/he wants to stay outside longer!

As soon as you notice your pup starting to signal that she/he has to go to the potty area, reward him/her. Such signals include running to the door, whining or scratching at the door, seeking you out and whining, etc. Reward (praise, treats) your pup for these signals, and you will find that s/he catches on very quickly that those signals are "bankable."

Don't Punish Mistakes

While your dog is learning there may be mistakes. Rather than punish the puppy, simply clap your hands once or twice if you catch him/her in the act. This should only startle the puppy long enough to interrupt the flow and whisk him/her to the potty area.

If you find evidence of an accident after the act has occurred, do not punish the puppy. Dogs live in the present. They won't have any idea what you are yelling or spanking about.

Long Beach Animal Hospital has been in business for over 45 years, and provides quality care for pets of all kinds. See our website for photos, articles, resources and news. http://www.lbah.com