house training
by Adrienne Olivier
adrienne RUNS Adrienne's dog school AND IS ONE OF OUR RECOMMENDED PUPPY SCHOOLS IN THE pietermaritzburg , hilton, howick CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEM
Acquiring a new puppy is rather like bringing home a new baby! There is wonder and excitement and also responsibility and sacrifice. As with a new baby, a young puppy should be under constant supervision for the first few weeks. This will be a sacrifice well worth making as this is a vital time for a puppy to bond with you and your family and also learn how his new world works.
One of the first things that a new puppy has to be taught is where to relieve itself – the garden being the preferred place in most households. Sometimes housetraining a puppy can seem difficult and be very frustrating. However, most puppies can be housetrained in approximately 2 to 3 weeks as long as you keep to the following guidelines.
What you should know about canine toilet behaviour.
As soon as puppies can walk they will want to leave their bed or den to relieve themselves. We can use this instinct to help with their housetraining. Dogs also learn to associate the surface they are standing on at the time of relieving themselves with the act itself. It is therefore up to you to anticipate the pup’s need and ensure he is in the right place at the right time- every time!
Be prepared Puppies usually need to do their toilet business after a sleep, a meal and times of great excitement like a game or a homecoming. Small puppies will need to go more often than older dogs, as their bladders cannot hold much. If you watch carefully you will see by his body language when he needs to go: he leaves his bed, walks away from a game or even adopts a withdrawn or troubled look. These are all telltale signs and you need to react immediately before an accident happens. Take the pup to the preferred area and stay with him until he does the necessary and then give lots of verbal praise and a treat.
Getting through the night.
For the first few nights the best way to avoid accidents is to put the puppy in a high-sided box or a travel crate right next to your bed. When he wants to relieve himself and finds he cannot get out of his bed he will whimper and wake you. You will need to get him outside as quickly as possible before its too late. This nightly chore will pay dividends in the long run as it will speed up the housetraining learning process. Most pups will start sleeping through the night by 12 weeks of age.
Reward good behaviour The key to successful housetraining is to give your dog as many opportunities to get it right and the more times he is rewarded for going in the right place, the quicker he will learn. Keep lots of little treats handy so that you can reward immediately.
Do not punish Punishment only teaches the puppy not to do it in the presence of people and increases anxiety. Some dogs may even resist relieving themselves outside when people are around. Nose-rubbing and rolled up newspapers will only traumatise the pup and confuse him. It is important that mistakes are ignored and that you learn to be more vigilant in future! By rewarding your dog at the right time and ignoring mistakes your dog will soon get the idea and be accident free in no time.
Whose fault is it when an accident happens?
Not the pup’s! He desperately wants to fit in and please you, but he has to rely on you, a member of a different species communicating in a totally foreign language, to teach him what you require of him. You need to be more vigilant and anticipate the need in future.
What if accidents happen? When an accident happens don’t make a fuss – your dog has not done it on purpose! If he is regularly going in the wrong place it is because you are not watching him carefully enough. If you cant watch the dog, place him in a safe area where you don’t mind accidents. If you find an accident then quietly put the dog away while you clean up the mess. Make sure you clean up removing any smells by using biological soap and water. Do not use anything containing ammonia as this smells like urine to dogs and will encourage them to use the same spot again. Puppies will return to a place it has previously used if there are still smells in that location.
Safe areas This could be the garden, a small penned off outside area for a little pup, or even a courtyard, the crate, or an area penned off in the kitchen. Anytime you cannot watch your dog, place him in the safe area with something to do, like a chew toy for example. It is far kinder to put the pup in his safe area when you cannot watch him than to constantly tell him off if he toilets in the wrong place. Place the bedding away from the toilet area and remember water and shelter if he will be there for any length of time.
The newspaper method.
Another method of housetraining is having a large area covered with newspaper, which is gradually reduced and moved, over a period of time, towards the door until the newspaper is kept outside and eventually dispensed with. The disadvantage of this system is that the puppy does not have the preferred texture (grass or soil) underfoot and may for a long time seek out hard surfaces or even paper to toilet on. Puppies reared in this manner are usually more difficult to reliably housetrain.
Be patient and responsible. You are dealing with a baby animal that is not deliberately soiling your house. He is not used to such a large den! You need to show him, every single time, where the preferred toilet area is to be found. Before you know it, you will have a reliable housetrained dog.
One of the first things that a new puppy has to be taught is where to relieve itself – the garden being the preferred place in most households. Sometimes housetraining a puppy can seem difficult and be very frustrating. However, most puppies can be housetrained in approximately 2 to 3 weeks as long as you keep to the following guidelines.
What you should know about canine toilet behaviour.
As soon as puppies can walk they will want to leave their bed or den to relieve themselves. We can use this instinct to help with their housetraining. Dogs also learn to associate the surface they are standing on at the time of relieving themselves with the act itself. It is therefore up to you to anticipate the pup’s need and ensure he is in the right place at the right time- every time!
Be prepared Puppies usually need to do their toilet business after a sleep, a meal and times of great excitement like a game or a homecoming. Small puppies will need to go more often than older dogs, as their bladders cannot hold much. If you watch carefully you will see by his body language when he needs to go: he leaves his bed, walks away from a game or even adopts a withdrawn or troubled look. These are all telltale signs and you need to react immediately before an accident happens. Take the pup to the preferred area and stay with him until he does the necessary and then give lots of verbal praise and a treat.
Getting through the night.
For the first few nights the best way to avoid accidents is to put the puppy in a high-sided box or a travel crate right next to your bed. When he wants to relieve himself and finds he cannot get out of his bed he will whimper and wake you. You will need to get him outside as quickly as possible before its too late. This nightly chore will pay dividends in the long run as it will speed up the housetraining learning process. Most pups will start sleeping through the night by 12 weeks of age.
Reward good behaviour The key to successful housetraining is to give your dog as many opportunities to get it right and the more times he is rewarded for going in the right place, the quicker he will learn. Keep lots of little treats handy so that you can reward immediately.
Do not punish Punishment only teaches the puppy not to do it in the presence of people and increases anxiety. Some dogs may even resist relieving themselves outside when people are around. Nose-rubbing and rolled up newspapers will only traumatise the pup and confuse him. It is important that mistakes are ignored and that you learn to be more vigilant in future! By rewarding your dog at the right time and ignoring mistakes your dog will soon get the idea and be accident free in no time.
Whose fault is it when an accident happens?
Not the pup’s! He desperately wants to fit in and please you, but he has to rely on you, a member of a different species communicating in a totally foreign language, to teach him what you require of him. You need to be more vigilant and anticipate the need in future.
What if accidents happen? When an accident happens don’t make a fuss – your dog has not done it on purpose! If he is regularly going in the wrong place it is because you are not watching him carefully enough. If you cant watch the dog, place him in a safe area where you don’t mind accidents. If you find an accident then quietly put the dog away while you clean up the mess. Make sure you clean up removing any smells by using biological soap and water. Do not use anything containing ammonia as this smells like urine to dogs and will encourage them to use the same spot again. Puppies will return to a place it has previously used if there are still smells in that location.
Safe areas This could be the garden, a small penned off outside area for a little pup, or even a courtyard, the crate, or an area penned off in the kitchen. Anytime you cannot watch your dog, place him in the safe area with something to do, like a chew toy for example. It is far kinder to put the pup in his safe area when you cannot watch him than to constantly tell him off if he toilets in the wrong place. Place the bedding away from the toilet area and remember water and shelter if he will be there for any length of time.
The newspaper method.
Another method of housetraining is having a large area covered with newspaper, which is gradually reduced and moved, over a period of time, towards the door until the newspaper is kept outside and eventually dispensed with. The disadvantage of this system is that the puppy does not have the preferred texture (grass or soil) underfoot and may for a long time seek out hard surfaces or even paper to toilet on. Puppies reared in this manner are usually more difficult to reliably housetrain.
Be patient and responsible. You are dealing with a baby animal that is not deliberately soiling your house. He is not used to such a large den! You need to show him, every single time, where the preferred toilet area is to be found. Before you know it, you will have a reliable housetrained dog.