Perfect Pet: Dog Training In Hemet, Ca.

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