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Unleash the genius in your dog
Unleash the genius in your dog
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Happy Housebreaking!
| Posted on 8 September, 2018 at 15:02 |
When you bring your new puppy home,
right off the bat you get started in housebreaking! Housebreaking a
puppy seems so mysterious to so many, but it’s really not. It’s really
just establishing a habit of going to the bathroom outside, and not
going to the bathroom inside. I’ve housebroken many puppies and they’ve
all been very reliable and you can do it too! Here are some hints:
1) Don’t
give your puppy free reign of the house right away. Free reign of the
house is for dogs who are housebroken. The more area your puppy has to
explore, the more area he has to potty inappropriately (as well as do
other inappropriate things, like chewing. In fact in many ways chew
training and housebreaking go hand in hand.) 2) Take your puppy outside. Frequently. Often. A lot
of times. Maybe as often as once per hour. Maybe as often as once every
fifteen minutes, if you are pretty sure your puppy has to go. It
doesn’t count if you send your puppy outside, and you stay inside.
(Opening the door and standing inside the warm house while the dog
potties is for older dogs who are already housebroken.) You really need
to know if he potties out there, and it’s also good to praise him for
going in the correct spot. 3) While you are spending all this time outside,
make sure your puppy concentrates on the business at hand. This is not
the time for play or petting. It’s usually best to keep him on a leash,
so that he can’t range too far. If he starts chewing the leash or
leaves, grass etc, calmly redirect him to the business at hand. He
doesn’t get indefinite time to stand there, though. Two or three
minutes; definitely no more than five – and if he doesn’t perform within
that time period, back inside to your watchful eye. 4) Get to know any quirks that your puppy might
have. Does he tend to get too distracted by the cat next door, and
“forget” to pee until he’s back inside? (Try moving him around to the
other side of the house, to reduce distraction.) Does he always poop
twice in the morning? Does he have to pee right away after drinking
water, or does it take a while? Every puppy will have specifics, so get
familiar with them. 5) Keep an eagle-eye on your puppy while he’s in the
house. If you’ve just witnessed him doing his business outside then
maybe you have a 15 or 30-minute grace period where he can have a bit of
freedom, but overall you want to keep a very close watch. This is to
ensure that he’s not either pottying inside, or about to potty inside.
You need to be close enough to interrupt him if he tries, and then rush
him outside. (It’s a good idea to spend a few weeks wearing shoes inside
the house, so there’s no delay if you need to pop outdoors.) And when
you find yourself rushing outside at the last minute, it’s a good idea
to pick up the puppy and carry him, so he doesn’t squat and start going
while on the way out! 6) Crates can be your good friend. Crates work
because most puppies will at least attempt to avoid soiling their
personal bed area. This gives them the concept of “holding it” and not
just pooping/peeing willy-nilly. If you’re not available to supervise
your puppy, feel free to crate him, maybe with a good chewie. Now he
can’t get into any mischief. Be careful not to overcrate, though – a few
hours per day (plus overnight) is all that most puppies should ideally
be crated for. A guideline for maximum length of crating is the puppies
age, plus one, equals how many hours the pup can be crated. 7) Don’t rely too much on your young kids for help.
If your human child is under 12 or so, they can definitely be part of
the process, but usually young kids lack the focus and supervision
skills to successfully housebreak a puppy. If you put the puppy in a
room with two kids and almost any distraction (homework, video games
etc) the likelihood is high that the puppy will go unsupervised and have
an accident. 8) Don’t be too quick to assume that your puppy is
housebroken and training is complete. If a couple of weeks go by and your young puppy
successfully goes every time he’s outside, and doesn’t go any time he’s
inside, it’s tempting to declare the puppy is successfully housebroken.
Don’t do this! Housebreaking is a habit, and strong habits take time to
form, even if the puppy is doing it right. Many puppies seem to
“regress” in housebreaking at about age 4-5 months old, but usually this
is not a true regression. Usually it’s just that they weren’t actually
fully housebroken to begin with, and then the regimen ended too early. |
Categories: Training Tips
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