Many dog owners are not prepared for what it takes to house break a dog He must be prepared to give of his commitment, consistency, and patience. It does take a lot of discipline He can minimize accidents around the house by following the advice given below. But an owner must be ready to accept the occasional puddle on the carpet. The more consistent you are in these housebreaking procedures, the quicker the puppy will learn the desired behavior. It takes several weeks to house break a dog,and some small breeds may even take longer than a few weeks.
Dogs will do better if you put them on a routine. In order to puppy train take your pet outside at least every two hours, immediately after waking from a nap, playing, eating or drinking.
Praise your puppy every time he does his business outside. Do it verbally with a lot of petting and even a treat. Make a big show of it. Praise must be administered immediately after the desired behaviour. If it is not done right away, the puppy may not realise what he is being praised for. Rewarding him is the only way he will understand what he’s supposed to do, so this type of positive reinforcement is essential.
Pick a spot for your dog to go that is near the door you take him out through. It must be done in the exact spot every time and he can be rewarded with a longer walk or play session only after he has done his numbers. If you have to clean up an accident in the house, take whatever you cleaned the mess up with and leave it on his bathroom spot. The smell will help him identify and understand that this spot is where he is supposed to go. Use the same phrase every time. This phrase when used later will help you and your pet communicate the need to go to the bathroom. When he becomes trained, and you use the phrase,”go Potty” he would become agitated and head for the opening to go to his bathroom.. He might look at you as if you are crazy if he does not need to go .
In order to puppy train, feed your dog at the same time each day. This will increase the likelihood that he’ll need to go to the bathroom on a consistent schedule as well. It will make the housebreaking process quicker and easier for both you and your pet.
Keep an eye on your puppy whenever he’s indoors and don’t give him the opportunity to have an accident on the floor. Watch for signals that he needs to go (sniffing or circling), and immediately take him out to his spot. Don’t forget to praise him immediately when he goes.
Confine him to a small area he won’t be able to eliminate in, whenever you are busy and can’t watch him. If he is in an area that only allows him to stand, sit or lie down, he would not be enticed to go there. After letting him out ,however, you would have to take him right away to his bathroom spot,and of course remember to praise him every time.
Expect your puppy to have accidents when housebreaking. It’s going to happen.
When you catch your pet in the act of going to the bathroom in the house, do something to interrupt him. Making a startling noise will work, but make sure not to scare him. After interrupting him, take him immediately out to his spot and praise him when he finishes outside.
Never punish your puppy for having an accident in the house. If you find a spot where he went, it’s too late to do anything about it other than just to clean it up. Don’t rub his nose in it, scold him, or try to punish him in some other way. Punishment will almost always be more harmful than helpful.
Always remember to clean up and deodorize any accident spots carefully, as if he gets the smell of urine or faeces anywhere inside, that can become his new bathroom from then on.
Consistency in these methods is the key to successfully housebreaking a puppy. It is your responsibility to effectively train the dog, not the dog’s responsibility to figure out how you want him to behave. The more quickly and efficiently you accomplish the goal, the happier you both will be.
Posted under Miscellaneous Content
This post was written by Noel DCosta on January 28, 2011
