House Training Your Dog–Top Tips to Stop Doggie No Nos
by admin
Filed under Dog Talk Tips, Dog Training
House training dog tips . . .
that will get you through the messy “housebreaking a puppy” period with ease. That’s what you need and want, and that’s what’s best for both you and your puppy. I want to start out by reminding you of a sort of universal house training dog tip, an sort of standard “mantra” with regard to house training your dog. Always apply patience, persistence, and gentle firmness. That should be the foundation underlying all other puppy behavior and training techniques. So, let’s get started (this won’t hurt).
When housbreaking your puppy or house training any dog, remember that dogs have an instinctual urge to move away from their “nest” when making their toilet. In dogs, this instinct becomes active at about the age of 3 weeks, so they will try to leave their sleeping area to urinate or defacate. In housebreaking, we want the puppy to learn that it is supposed to move outside the house to relieve itself. (In the case of an apartment, the dog must learn to move to a designated toilet spot.)
How to housebreak a puppy? Always take your dog outside at the following times:
*shortly after each feeding
*after playing and exercise
*after any notable excitement
*immediately upon waking
*first thing in the morning
*last thing at night
*once every hour
Be sure stay with your puppy while it is outside. Do not just put the puppy outside and then go back inside. Stay with your puppy. It is normal, as well, for puppies to sniff around search for just the “right spot” to pee. So, again, it is necessary to be patient. When you see your dog begin to settle, you can give it a command, such as, “go pee,” or some other command of your choice. If you follow this routine, then you gradually accustom your puppy to pee on command. This requires patience and the willingness to reinforce over and over again with gentle firmness, but is a key “secret” to house training your dog.
So, what should you do when you catch your puppy going in the house? Do not be angry. We suggest making a sharp sound, such as a shout (not an angry shout) to get its attention. You want to stop the puppy in mid-pee, but you do not want to scare the puppy into running away. Either pick the dog up and move it outside or get it follow you outside. It is better to get it to follow you outside so that it learns to move on its own volition. When you catch the dog just after it has gone, move it outside. When you return inside, put the dog in another room, and then clean up the mess.
When you see the dog beginning to scratch or sniff or act as if it is following a trail, get its attention and have it follow you outside to pee or defecate.
As always, do not get angry or scold or shout at your dog. There is no need to swat the dog on the nose with newspaper. If you follow the routine described above, your dog will quickly learn that it has to make its toilet outside. Once that becomes natural for your dog, it won’t want to “go” anywhere else.
And one more thing, don’t just stop training with housebreaking. Find out as much as you can about dog behavior and the best methods for training your puppy.
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