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Many Thanks to the dedicated people at the Denver
Dumb Friends League for kindly allowing us to make this information
available.
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 of the smaller breeds it might take longer. A puppy can usually be
considered reliably housetrained when it has not had any accidents for
two to 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 rags 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 be doing.
• 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
inside 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
that 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 use 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 (see our handout: “Crate Training Your
Dog”). 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
(see our handout: “Successful Cleaning to Remove Pet Odors and Stains”).
It’s extremely important that you use the supervision and confinement
procedures outlined 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 for you 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 put 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 or 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 (see our handout: “Submissive and
Excitement Urination”).
• Territorial Urine-Marking: Dogs sometimes deposit urine or feces,
usually in small amounts, to scentmark their territory. Both male and
female dogs do this, and it most often occurs when they believe their
territory has been invaded (see our handout: “Territorial Marking
Behavior in Dogs and Cats”).
• 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 (see our handout:
“Separation Anxiety”).
• 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 (see our handout: “Helping Your Dog Overcome the
Fear of Thunder and Other Startling Noises”).
©2003
Dumb Friends League. All Rights Reserved.
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