Housetraining
Housetraining (formerly called “housebreaking”) is a judicious mixture of dog knowledge, observation, and common sense. Given the right opportunities, puppies have no desire to foul their living or sleeping quarters. If owners use this knowledge, they can soon teach their pet the appropriate places to use.
Female dogs keep their puppies and the whelping nest scrupulously clean. Puppies instinctively move out of the nesting area to eliminate as soon as they are mobile enough to do so. But this early training by the mother is often nullified by human error, when puppies are left for too long a period without the opportunity to get to a suitable spot and are forced to use what seems to them to be the most appropriate place at a time of urgent need. Perseverance, patience, and perhaps being tolerant of a little inconvenience during this tricky time can pay dividends later on.
Whatever you do, try not to overact if your puppy soils indoors. An extreme response to ‘accidents’ at this time can often cause irreparable harm to the owner/pet relationship before it has even become properly established. Punishing a dog for house soiling is pointless. After all, the puppy is doing something natural and necessary, just not in the appropriate place. Any correction given more than three seconds after the act will not be associated with the incident and will confuse the puppy.
In fact, any exaggerated reaction to accidental soiling can lead to problem behavior. Rather than understanding that you are only opposed to soiling in the house, your puppy might think you are against urinating and defecating anywhere, and may become reluctant to “go” when you are around. A confused an anxious puppy is more likely to eliminate in the wrong place or he may only try to “go” when you are away, or to find a “secret” place that he can use, so the house-soiling problem will only become exacerbated.
If you catch the puppy in the act, simply pick him up, hustle him outside while saying “outside, outside…,” and then praise him if he continues to go in the yard. At all other times bite your teeth, ignore the accident, and be nice to your puppy as he rushes up to greet you.
Communicate with your pup
Puppies learn much more quickly when they are rewarded for doing the right thing than if they are punished for making a mistake. Sometimes you fail to communicate to the puppy the one very factor that will make all the difference: “Don’t do it here, do it out there!” Owners who have first used newspaper to train their puppy often have this problem when they try to persuade the puppy to abandon the paper and use the yard instead: The puppy does not understand the significance of newspaper, but he will think you are encouraging him to use that area of the floor.
Once the puppy gets used to using that area he will become confused when you want him to start going outside. At first you were praising your puppy for relieving himself on the paper in the kitchen, now you are punishing the puppy for doing the same thing when you have removed the paper, “First I was praised for going indoors, now it is wrong to go indoors. Why can’t they make up their minds?” It can take time for the puppy to understand exactly what is required of him and reward-based training is the only way to success.
The science of animal behavior also reveals that urinating and defecating are scent-related activities, and that dogs will be drawn back to the same spot that they used previously, if even a vestige of smell remains. The dog’s nose being far superior to ours means that even when we clean the area to our satisfaction, he may still be able to deter a faint remaining odor. It is advisable to use odor-eliminating products available from your vet or pet store and to follow instructions carefully.
Bathroom breaks
Common sense tells us that it is likely that your puppy will need to relieve himself at certain times. At first he needs to be taken outside every hour to one-and-a-half hours. Later on, the most likely times are when he has just woken up, after vigorous activity and after feeding. It makes sense to watch for these occasions and to make certain that you take the puppy outside to the spot that you want him to use for this purpose. Use a word of encouragement that the puppy can associate with the activity, and then praise him when he performs in the correct place.
Watch for signs that your puppy needs to relieve himself, and then take him outside to the place that you want him to use as his “bathroom.”
Other signs that will tell you that your puppy needs to “go” include urgent sniffing of the floor, looking for a suitable place to relieve himself, and running to the door (a good sign that indicates that your puppy is getting the message). Be particularly suspicious if your puppy is sniffing an area that he has soiled previously, and get him outside immediately.
The quickest way to help a puppy to become clean overnight is to use a puppy pen or crate (see What to Buy). This restricts the pup to an area close to his sleeping place and encourages him to hold on until you can let him out. It is essential that the puppy goes straight from the crate to the yard in these circumstances. It is also an advantage to have the crate in a place where you can hear if the puppy becomes restless during the night so that you can get up and let him out then. The fewer mistakes the puppy makes, the sooner you will be successful. A few disturbed nights are a small price to pay for this.
Keep the nights as short as possible. Take your puppy outside as late in the evening as you can and again first thing the next morning. If the puppy has to be left alone for any time during the day, try to arrange for a neighbor or friend to call and let the puppy out so that he can stick to the routine he is developing.
Reward your puppy with treats and praise once he performs successfully outside. This tells him that he has done the right thing.
That “guilty” look
Do not be deceived into thinking that because your puppy “looks guilty” he knows what he has done wrong. Your puppy is simply reacting to your facial expression, body posture, and tone of voice. He will certainly know that you are angry, but he will not associate your anger with having soiled the carpet half an hour ago. If he does make a connection, it will be the presence of the feces and his owner in the same room that causes the puppy’s unhappiness—not the act of soiling. Always reward the puppy for getting it right. Don’t punish him for getting it wrong.
Try to learn the signs that indicate that your puppy has an urgent need to urinate or defecate and get him outside as soon as possible.
Don’t scold your puppy for any “accidents” he has indoors, but clean the area with a strong non-ammonia-based disinfectant or an odor eliminating product so he is not encouraged by the smell to use that area again.
Once your puppy has performed successfully outside, make a big fuss over him and give him treats so he understands that you are very pleased with him.
Back to "Basic Training"DIET AND HOUSETRAINING
Your puppy’s diet could influence housetraining. Dogs differ as to what foods suit them—some are allergic to certain foods, such as wheat. If you feed cheap brands of kibble, your puppy may eat more to obtain all the nutrients he needs, resulting in large volumes of loose stool. Other problems affect housetraining, too. For example, being unable to “hold it” overnight could be because your dog’s feeding time makes it necessary for him to relieve himself just before you usually get up. You might try out different feeding times, but remember that your pup might not have complete control over his bodily functions until he is at least six months old, so don’t be harsh with him.