Housetraining Tips
We have found over the years that regardless of all the advice you get about housebreaking, there is one big
issue. Do you work away from home or at home? People get puppies all the time and then wonder what to do with
them when they are gone for 9 hours a day. Allstar Canine Solutions©
approaches housebreaking from these two angles.
You are able to stay home or come and go quite often.
Training is much easier on this type of schedule. It comes right down to being a good time manager. Scheduling
meals, rest, play and knowing how to anticipate when your pup needs to eliminate.
Crating is the fastest and has the least amount of cleaning and damage with it.
- They need to go out every 2 hours, after each nap, immediately after a meal, one hour after a meal, and
after any play session.
- Start with treating and tons of praise when they go outside. It MUST be a great treat and when we say
praise we mean throwing your voice way up, clapping your hands, jumping up and down, running around... make
it so that your dog thinks you are really elated over what he just did. Don't worry, it's only during
training. Make the pups tail or whole body wag if you can. Tie that excitement to a word. Good potty or what
ever you want to use. Say it over and over at the time and then later you won't have to when your pup will
potty on command.
- Confinement is very important with young pups. Do NOT let them have run of the entire house. They should
live in a crate or a small room, like the laundry room or kitchen until they are trained.
- Pick up all but one piece of stool when they go outside. The next potty trip, on leash; take them to that
spot. A dog's elimination is stimulated by dog potty.
- A convenient way of controlling your pup is just clipping a leash to your belt and letting him go around
the house with you. The only thing that we strongly caution you about is DO NOT set your dog up for
separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is hard on everyone, humans and dogs. Allow your pup to be totally
by itself for short periods of time and don't give in to the crying.
- Most dogs have a natural desire to not soil their den so keep it clean when they do and they will get
it in time.
- You will not hurt anything by using a low growl type voice saying; no, when he does potty inside. There
is no need to rub a dogs nose in it, they can smell it three feet away. Don't buy into the advice that if
you didn't catch him in the act then it's too late for any correction. We board hundreds of dogs per year
and every dog that comes to us knows exactly where other dogs have marked, months later and even after
extremely good clean up.
Your work takes you away from the home 8 to 10 hours a day.
This is when housebreaking is much harder and usually takes longer and can also create behaviors that are
tough to change. Just think about it. Every time your pup did something while left at home with no guidance
you have just taught it that it is OK to do that. It would be the same as leaving a one year old child in
a room by himself all day. So we come home to Buster and say; "oh, Buster, why did you have to do that."
They do it because that's what dogs do. Allstar does not suggest the use of crates for a 9 hour
period. This is just too much time in a crate.
- Confined to a flat floor, lay newspapers all over the floor. Leave a crate in that room for comfort
and a den. Eventually decrease the papers until the area is down to a 2' X 3' area. Never punish your
dog for pottying during a 9 hour period. Even an adult dog.
- On departure and arrival do not make a bunch of emotional sounds. Just act as if it is nothing for
you to come and go. On arrival, quickly grab a piece of soiled paper and leash up the dog and go outside
dropping the soiled paper on the grass. See if the pup will smell and eliminate. If it does, use the
advise above (#2) for praise.
One question we get asked many times is; Why does my dog choose not to go potty on our walk after work
and then as soon as he is inside he urinates in the house. When your dog has been left alone all day he
thinks he just won the lottery when you get home. His first thoughts are playing and being with you plus
the fact that his body is all shut down from sleeping all day. A little walk may not be enough to get his
system going. He has to run and play. If you get back to your house and he is tearing around the house,
flying up and down the couch or doing what we call the "puppy crazies"... THAT'S when he needs to go out.
So walk him once and after a good play take him out one more time.
If you have any questions or further challenges give Allstar Canine
Solutions© a call.
253-333-5300
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* If you are struggling with housebreaking, the training techniques you are using just may not work for
your particular dog. Call Allstar Canine. We can help.
* Get ahead of any wrong behavior right away because the longer your dog is allowed to do an unwanted
behavior the harder it is to correct.
* It is also possible that your dog might be dealing with some emotional issues. This is where Allstar
can give you an analysis.
Urination is not only a necessity for a dog, it can also be a method of communication. Dogs talk to us by
peeing, biting, pushing, barking, jumping, growling, licking and crying.
* It really isn't wise to free feed. Think of the wild. Mammas bring food to them. Free feeding causes
several negative things but most of all it causes boredom with food.
* Use a radio or TV when pups are left alone.
* Do not use a sweet empathetic voice when you come home like; Oh poor baby, did you have to potty. Your
dog will associate that sweet voice with praise and think he did something right.
* Remember; it is unfair to correct a dog when they don't know what you are asking of them.
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