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House Training Your Dog Often Requires "Tough Love"
Invariably puppy will eventually cry when left in his crate. This is where you really have to have “tough love”. My last pup had a tough time with this one. She was in a wire crate right next to my work bench while I was working. She could see me and I could talk to her, but she WANTED OUT!!!!! She cried and whined and barked. I consulted an on-line e-mail list I was subscribed to and followed the advice I got there. I had to IGNORE the bad behavior. Do not yell, scold, coddle, nothing! Ignore it. If you yell, they have won and gained attention with that behavior. They are yelping and barking and they view your vocalizations as another yelp and bark; now they have company making noise and it just encourages them to continue. I had to go and buy ear plugs and I felt like a louse. She had everything she needed and I was right next to her. She didn’t need anything…it was a control issue!
She needed to learn that she was not in control…I was. So I ignored her. Boy was it tough because she was SOOOO cute and I felt so rotten. But I did it. The second that she was quiet (inhaling doesn’t count!) I told her she was a good girl, gave her a treat, and then went back to work. More crying. More ignoring. When she got quiet I repeated the sequence of praise and treat. It took about four days and I had won the battle. To this day (five years later) she is not really settled unless she is in her crate while I’m working. The door is open and she chooses to be in there.
A 12 Week Old Puppy Will Be Easier to House Train, Bite Less,
and Be Better Socialized
So back to housetraining. Young puppies will need to be let out about once every two hours. As they get older they can “hold it” for longer periods of time. If at all possible, schedule your getting a new puppy with a vacation so you can give the pup the time and attention it needs to tackle this important lesson. Also consider getting an older puppy. A 12-week-old pup has considerably better bladder control than an 8-week-old pup and will be able to achieve a reasonable level of housetraining much more quickly. They also learn a lot from being with mom and their littermates that extra four weeks…they will learn bite inhibition and how to properly socialize with other dogs.
House Training and "Accidents"
Sooner or later puppy will have an accident no matter how vigilant you are. Never, NEVER, NEVER rub the dog’s nose in it or hit the dog or start screaming. This does not teach the dog anything…it just vents your anger and will likely result in your dog learning to eliminate in the house where you can’t see it and do scary bad things to it. Again, think about it from the pup’s point of view. It doesn’t know the rules. It’s up to you to teach pup what you WANT, not just what you don’t want. It should be learning that eliminating outside is a very good thing. It gets praise and cookies. MMMM!
If you’re doing your job and keeping an eye on the pup, you will catch it in the act of doing the accident. IMMEDIATELY SAY NO firmly but calmly (no yelling) and scoop the dog up mid-stream and take it outside to the designated spot. If you’re fortunate, there’ll still be something in there to void and you can praise your puppy when it goes in the right place. Most likely there won’t be. But let the puppy sniff around and encourage him with the cue words.
When you return to the house, kindly place Pup in it’s crate and go clean up the mess. It is important to use one of the products on the market with the enzymes to remove the scent of the accident along with the stain. If you find a soiled spot and didn't see the puppy do it, shame on you. YOU were not doing your job. You will need to be more vigilant to prevent this. It is generally pointless to show the dog the mess; the damage is over and done with and your puppy won’t connect what it is being shown with a wrong action on his part. Simply send the puppy to his crate (you can’t keep an eye on him when you are cleaning) and clean up the mess…again making sure to use the enzyme cleaner.
House Training A Dog Summary
- Do kindly crate pup when you can’t watch him
- Do keep your puppy on a leash when outside and stay to chosen elimination area. Use cue words as your puppy is eliminating and praise him. Treat immediately after finishing job. This has a great benefit when traveling: your dog will eliminate on a leash when and where you tell him.
- Do let the puppy go outside to eliminate immediately upon waking, after food or water, and after/during play
- Do let puppy go outside to eliminate every two hours at first, lengthening the time interval as the puppy gets older
- When there is an accident, take the dog outside and encourage it to do its “job” in the appropriate place. Crate the dog while you are cleaning and disinfecting the accident.
Remember your goal is to avoid the unwanted behavior and praise the desired behavior. Be calm and consistent and your new puppy will soon learn the rules of the pack.
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