Perfect Pet: How to house train your puppy
Doing what comes natural
You know, we expect a lot from our dogs! We take him out of his natural environment and expect him to live by our rules. Chewing, digging, howling, jumping, begging, fighting, stealing food and mounting, are all natural dog behaviors. However, those behaviors are not acceptable in our world so they have to learn how to behave in a way that is acceptable to us. Dogs think "House training?" You just find a place you want to mark then go.... right?"
Sometimes we think of our dogs as little furry people. They are not, they are a whole other species! There are some basic natural behaviors that are helpful in getting those cute critters to do what we want.
* First, and probably most important is that they are pack animals and
will follow a pack leader. Because of this natural instinct it is critical
that you establish yourself as pack leader as soon as you get your
puppy home. See my article on how to become pack leader if you have
questions on how to proceed. It is important to always maintain a firm
but loving attitude and once you assume the pack leader role you
must always keep that position. In the wild there is always a pack
leader and for your dogs mental well being he needs that replicated in
his new home. This is helpful in training because if we become the
pack leader they need they will naturally want to please us and do
what we want them to do. That of course, is once we teach them what
we expect from them.
* They also thrive on routine, they like their world to be very
predictable.
That is one reason a firm schedule is helpful when we are trying to
accomplish our training goals.
* There is another natural behavior that is especially helpful to us for
house training your dog and that is dogs do not like to soil where they
sleep and eat. This is why it is important to get your dog used to a
crate. If you need help with crate training see my article on How To
Train Your Puppy To Love His Crate.
* It is also helpful that in their natural state they live in an area we refer
to as a den. This is why once you get your dog to like his crate it will
become his den and they will be very comfortable when there.
Dogs unfortunately do not see the whole house as his den until at
least one year of age which just increases the importance
of the crate. So you see, even though they are another species there are
many natural behaviors that give us a little head start with training if
we learn to work with those natural traits.
Your dogs den
* We can imitate the den with a crate. Putting him in a crate is not cruel!
He will learn to look at it as a safe secure place that he can call his
own. You might think of it as his bedroom where he goes to get away
from scary uncomfortable things, other members of the family or other
pets. The crate is extremely helpful when it comes to housebreaking
your puppy. When your puppy first gets to your home it is best not to
let him have free access to the whole house. It is actually much kinder
to put your dog in a crate which he will soon look at as his den. It might
take a little work on your part but when he gets used to it he will love it
and be very happy there. Getting him used to a crate can be a bit of a
challenge. See my article on How to get your puppy used to his crate.
Follow the instructions and he will soon stay in there happily. When
he gets used to it he will love it.
For dogs elimination has several objectives.
You might be amazed at the amount of things going potty means to a dog. It means many things and has many uses. Lets look at some of those.
They are.....
• For males and some females dogs it is a way of marking the
boundary's of their territory.
• They declare sexual availability.
• Dogs announce dominance over other dogs in the area
• They also use it to challenge another dogs dominance
• A dogs scent allows him to identify where he and other dogs have
been.
• His scent allow him to claim territory
• The dog uses it to find partners for mating,
• It is used to claim his rank in the social order.
• It also is a way dogs express emotions such as satisfaction, or anxiety
The dogs natural excretory instincts are
• It is important to keep these in mind when house training and use
this information when making his schedule
• Dogs need to go when they first wake up
• They will also need to go approximately 20 to 30 minutes after eating.
The most important factors in House training
• Be consistent...... ALWAYS!
• Supervise him at all times
• Watch for the signs that he needs to go.
• Keep a log of success and failures.
• Do NOT change his food it often gives dogs diarrhea
• Establish regular times for eating and drinking water
• Establish a regular routine
• DO NOT punish for mistakes!
Things that will influence how easily your dog will adapt to housebreaking
Gender: Male dogs can be harder to train than female dogs. That is because of the tendency of male dogs to mark their territory. Neutering can help alleviate this if he is neutered at a young age.
Breed: It is harder to train toy breeds than larger breeds. This could be, in part, because people have different expectations of small breeds. If a Chihuahua growls at someone it seems funny. If a Rottweiler growls at someone, not so funny. For example, if a toy breed has an accident on the carpet it is an annoyance just clean it up and move on but when a Great Dane or Mastiff has an accident on the carpet it is a major big deal!
Age : Before 16 weeks dogs simply can not hold their bladder or bowls for long periods of time. The interval between the urge and the act is very short. An adult dog after training can hold it for much longer.
Feeding schedule : Keep your dog on a strict feeding schedule. If you regulate how much he eats and drinks you can better regulate when he needs to eliminate. He will be much more predictable if you feed him on a regular schedule. A dog at 7 to 12 weeks will need to eat about 3 times a day. Twice if he is older. He will need water at regular intervals too. Give water about 5 times a day. Do not give him water after two hours before bedtime then none for the rest of the night. After he is trained it is very important to have water down for him at ALL times! When you feed your dog leave his food down for 15 to 20 minutes a day then pick it up. Don't worry if he does not eat it all. He will soon learn to eat it right away or it will disappear! A dog that has free access to food or is given a lot of treats will have to go often and be much harder to house train. It is very
important not to change his food. Keep it consistent. A change in his
diet many times will cause diarrhea. If it is necessary to change his food
do it very slow and gradually add the new food to the old. Decreasing the
old and increasing the new little at a time. Dogs do not need a variety of
different foods. Remember dogs like consistency. They like the same food, in the same bowl, at the same time..... every day!
A recommended feeding schedule might be.
• At 3 months give 4 feedings a day
• At 3 to 6 months 3 feedings a day
• At 6 to 12 months 2 feedings a day
• At 1 year and over 1 feeding a day.
• If you have a giant breed dog over one year they will need 2 feedings a
day.
Give the last feeding at least 1 hour before bed time which will give his food time to digest and then take him out to potty before bed.
Previous history : If you got your dog from a good breeder some of the work has probably already been done for you. Many good breeders will
start the training and also get the puppies used to being in a crate before
you even take him home. The puppy's mother has also taught the puppy
not to eliminate in his sleeping and eating quarters. If you have gotten
the puppy at a pet store he could have very well came from a puppy mill
or has been transported for some distance away. In this situation this
situation he may have been left in his crate with no way to leave to go
potty away from his sleeping and eating area. He has learned that this is
okay and it will take more time to retrain him.
How long can my puppy wait?
• A puppy at 8 weeks can usually hold it for 2 hours
• ages 16 weeks they can usually wait about 4 hours.
• at 24 weeks can usually wait 6 to 7 hours
• 24 weeks to 1 year can wait 7 to 8 hours.
A lack of training is the reason most dogs end up in shelters. The top
training problem is house training. It is a very easy problem to fix.
House training a dog is not difficult. With a little time and effort
and having some patience your dog can be thoroughly trained in a very
short time! One of the most important factors is consistency. It is
important to decide where you want him to go and take him to that spot
each time. Do you want him to go outside or on newspaper inside. Once
the decision is made don't change it. If you are constantly changing
where you want your dog to go, your dog will find it very confusing and it
will be hard for him to learn.
Step one of the house training process
You must have a consistent schedule for house training. Here is a sample
schedule for a dog 4 to 5 months old whose owner stays home during the
day. Follow whatever schedule you make consistently. If you work
outside the home do not, for example take him out at 7:00am on week
days and 9:30am on weekends!
• 7:00am.........Wake up and take the dog outside immediately. Do
nothing else first!
• 7:30am.........Give him food and water.
• 8:00am.........Take him out.
• 8:25am.........Free period
• 8:45am.........Confine him to his crate
• 12:00pm........Food and water
• 12:30pm........Take him out
• 12:45pm........Free period
• 1:25pm.........Confine him to his crate
• 5:00pm..........Food and water
• 5:30pm..........Take him out
• 5:45pm..........Fee period
• 6:25pm..........Confine him to his crate
• 8:00pm..........Water
• 8:25pm..........Take him out
• 8:30pm..........Free period
• 9:00pm..........Confine him to his crate
• 11:00pm.........Take him out
* Keep the crate near where the family congregates. Do not leave the
puppy by himself where there are no other people. Dogs are pack
animals and they need to be with their pack.
* When he is not in his crate he must be constantly supervised. You
need to manage his environment until he is trained completely.
* If you want to let him out of his crate for a while you can accomplish
this easily by attaching leash to your belt buckle on a very short leash
so you won't trip on it and put him on it. Then go about your normal
activities. This allows you to give him some freedom and also allows
you to have his company but you are able to keep your eye on him.
Then If he acts like he needs to go out or if he starts to go you can
easily catch him in the act and correct him.
*If you have just taken him out he might not have a problem. However,
it is not uncommon for a puppy to go outside then go again
immediately after coming back in the house. You do not want to take
a chance on accidents.
How to take him outside to do his business. Yes, there is a correct way to do this. He will learn faster if you follow some simple guidelines.
- * Attach a leash. Always take him out on a leash even if you have a
- distracted. You want him to realize why he is out there and to get
- his
- business done quickly. Give him a treat when he obeys his
- command
- and goes potty.
* Take him outside. Walk him there except first time in the morning
- then you will need to carry him.
* Watch for signs. You will quickly figure out what they are by
- watching him. It could be turning around in circles, sniffing the
- ground or running.
- * As soon as he starts to go give him your cue. " Go Potty," "Tinkle",
- "Do It." What ever you have chosen. It is important to be consistent
- and use the same cue every time. If someone else will be taking him
- on occasion be sure they know what the word is so they can use the
- same word. This will teach him to go on command which is
- wonderful when you want him to go in a hurry. Then praise him
- exuberantly, and give him a treat, then take him back inside.
- * Sometimes puppies will have to go twice so give him plenty of time.
- Then let him have his free time.
- * If you want him to go potty within 5 min. and he hasn't gone when 5
- min is over take him back inside, put him in his crate for 15 min
then take him back outside.
* Try to take him to as close to the same place each time as possible
but let him go on a different surface sometimes. If you always take
him to grass to go he will learn to go only on grass. Not good if you
go somewhere where there is no grass.
* Be consistent. Dogs will do what works.
General Tips
* It is best to avoid raw hide while training. It will make him thirsty
at a time when water is being restricted.
*Do not punish him for mistakes. He will learn to mistrust and fear
you.
* Use the same training method whether you are training him to go
potty outside or on newspaper or in a litter box. Paper training is
NOT a first step to outside training. If you want him to go outside
teach him from the start to go outside.
* When you take him out first time in the morning carry him outside.
He may not be able to wait and will go on his way there.
* Keep a chart. This will help you keep track of when your puppy has
accidents. You will know if you need to take him out more often and
if you are making progress.
Do you work during the day and have trouble following this type
of schedule. If you can't get home at lunch call us for help.
Contact us
714-916-1904
714-312-6659
perfectpetanimalservices@gmail.com
www.perfect-dog-training.yolasite.com
Serving Hemet, Ca