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Housetraining
Your Puppy
Housetraining
a puppy requires time, vigilance, patience and commitment. By following
the procedures outlined below, you can minimize housesoiling incidents,
but virtually every puppy will have an accident in the house (more likely
several). This is part of raising a puppy and should be expected. The
more consistent you are in following the basic housetraining procedures,
the faster your puppy will learn acceptable behavior. It may take several
weeks to housetrain your puppy and with some smaller breeds it might
take longer. A puppy can usually be considered reliably housetrained
when it has not had any accidents for two or three months.
Establish
a Routine
- Your
puppy will do best if he is taken outside on a consistent and frequent
schedule. He should have the opportunity to eliminate after waking
up from a nap, after playing and after eating.
- Choose
a location not too far from the door to be the bathroom spot. Always
take your puppy, on a leash, directly to the bathroom spot. Taking
him for a walk or playing with him directly after he has eliminated
will help him to associate good things with elimination. If you clean
up an accident in the house, take the soiled rages or paper towels
and leave them in the bathroom spot. The smell will help your puppy
recognize the area as the place he is supposed to eliminate. While
your puppy is eliminating, use a word or phrase, like "go potty,"
that you can eventually use before he eliminates to remind him of
what he's supposed to do.
- Praise
your puppy lavishly every time he eliminates outdoors. You can even
give him a treat. You must praise him or treat him immediately after
he's finished eliminating, not after he comes back in the house. This
step is vital because rewarding your dog for eliminating outdoors
is the only way he'll know that this is an appropriate behavior.
- If possible,
put your puppy on a regular feeding schedule. Depending on their age,
puppies usually need to be fed three or four times a day. Feeding
your puppy at the same times each day will make it more likely he'll
eliminate at consistent times as well. This makes housetraining easier
for both of you.
Supervise,
Supervise, Supervise
Don't give your puppy an opportunity to soil in the house. He should
be watched at all times when he is indoors. You can tether him to you
with a leash or uses baby gates to keep him in your view. Watch for
signs that he needs to eliminate, like sniffing around or circling.
When you see these signs, immediately take him outside, on a leash,
to his bathroom spot. If he eliminates, praise him lavishly and reward
him with a treat.
Confinement
When you're unable to watch your puppy closely, he should be confined
to an area small enough that he won't want to eliminate there. It should
be just big enough for him to comfortably stand, lie down and turn around.
This area could be a portion of a bathroom or laundry room, blocked
off with boxes or baby gates. Or you may want to crate train your puppy
and use the crate to confine him. If your puppy has spent several hours
in confinement, make sure to take him directly to his bathroom spot
before doing anything else.
Oops!
Expect your puppy to have an accident in the house - it's a normal part
of housetraining.
- When
you catch him in the act of eliminating in the house, do something
to interrupt him, like make a startling noise (be careful not to scare
him). Immediately take him to his bathroom spot, praise him and give
him a treat if he finishes eliminating there.
- Don't
punish your puppy for eliminating in the house. If you find a soiled
area, it's too late to administer a correction. Do nothing but clean
it up. Rubbing your puppy's nose in it, taking him to the spot and
scolding him (or any other punishment or discipline) will only make
him afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. Animals
don't understand punishment after the fact, even if it's only seconds
later. Punishment will do more harm than good.
- Cleaning
the soiled area is very important because puppies are highly motivated
to continue soiling in areas that smell like urine or feces.
It's extremely
important that you use the supervision and confinement procedures outline
above to minimize the number of accidents. If you allow your puppy to
eliminate frequently in the house, he'll get confused about where he's
supposed to eliminate, which will prolong the housetraining process.
Paper
Training
A puppy under 6 months of age cannot be expected to control his bladder
for more than a few hours at a time. If you have to be away from home
for more than four or five hours a day, this may not be the best time
to get a puppy. If you're already committed to having a puppy and have
to be away from home for long periods of time, you'll need to train
your puppy to eliminate in a specific place indoors. Be aware, however,
that doing so can prolong the process of teaching him to eliminate outdoors.
Teaching your puppy to eliminate on newspaper may create a life-long
surface preference, meaning that he may, even in adulthood, eliminate
on any newspaper he finds lying around the house.
When your
puppy must be left alone for long periods of time, confine him to an
area with enough room for a sleeping space, a playing space and a separate
place to eliminate. In the area designated as the elimination place,
you can either use newspapers, a sod box, or litter. To make a sod box,
place sod in a container like a child's small, plastic swimming pool.
You can also find dog litter products at pet supply stores. If you clean
up an accident in the house, take the soiled rags or paper towels, and
place them in the designated elimination place. The smell will help
your puppy recognize the area as the place where he is supposed to eliminate.
Other
Types of Housesoiling Problems
If you've consistently followed the housetraining procedures and your
puppy continues to eliminate in the house, there may be another reason
for his behavior.
- Medical
Problems: House soiling can often be caused by physical problems,
such as a urinary tract infection of a parasite infection. Check with
your veterinarian to rule out any possibility of disease or illness.
- Submissive/Excitement
Urination: Some dogs, especially young ones, temporarily lose control
of their bladders when they become excited or feel threatened. This
usually occurs during greetings, intense play or when they're about
to be punished.
- Territorial
Urine-Marking: Dongs sometimes deposit urine or feces, usually in
small amounts, to scent-mark their territory. Both male and female
dogs do this, and it most often occurs when they believe their territory
has been invaded.
- Separation
Anxiety: Dogs that become anxious when they're left alone may house
soil as a result. Usually, there are other symptoms, such as destructive
behavior or vocalization.
- Fears
or Phobias: When animals become frightened, they may lose control
of their bladder and/or bowels. If your puppy is afraid of loud noises,
such as thunderstorms or fireworks, he may house soil when he's exposed
to these sounds.
©
2003 Dumb Friends League. All Rights Reserved. HYPO_R1103
