If your pet is lives inside your home, you will need to go through the housebreaking process unless to have a healthy, happy relationship with your pet. This can be as hard as you make it, and need not be a struggle or difficult.
It does not have to take a too long. Remember this is a training issue and you will need to have more than occasional input.
It will take some of your time but the more involved you get, the shorter it will be.
As with anything, there are rules-
Rule #1: This is The Most Important Rule If you don't catch your pet doing it - then don't punish them for it!
Rule #2: Praise your pet when things go right.
Don't get caught up where your only thing you say is "No" when they are caught using the wrong area.
If they do it right let them know!
Methods of housebreaking
Starting Inside: There are several ways to housebreak your pet. With the first, you can put down papers or treated pads, encourage your pet to use these areas for going to the bathroom. The pads are scented with a chemical that attracts the pet to use them. Whenever you see them starting into their "pre-potty pattern," such as walking around, slowly circling and sniffing the floor, you gently pick them up without talking and carry them to the papers/pad and then praise them when they go to the bathroom.
(Rule #2) When all goes well and they are using the papers consistently, the papers are either moved closer to the door and/or another set is placed outside. The change is made from concentrating the bathroom habits to one spot inside the home to one spot outside the home. This will help establish a favorite spot outside. Finally, the papers inside are not used anymore. The only problem with this method is that for a period of time it encourages the animal to eliminate inside the home. Experts say this method of housebreaking may take longer.
Crate Training: The second popular method of housebreaking involves the use of a crate or cage. The reasoning is that the pet is placed in a cage that is just large enough to be a bed. Dogs do not like to soil their beds because they would be forced to lay in the mess. It works, and while in these confines, most pets will control their bladder and bowels for a longer time than we would expect. Young pups, at 8 or 9 weeks of age can last for 7 or 8 hours in a crate, however, it is never recommend leaving them unattended in a crate for that long in most circumstances.
During housebreaking, whenever the pet is inside the home but cannot be watched, they are placed in the crate. This might be while you are cooking, reading to the children, or even away from the home. The last thing you do before you put the pet in the crate is take them outside to the favorite spot.
The first thing you do when you take the pet out of the crate is another trip outside to the favorite spot.
No food or water should go in the crate, just a blanket and maybe a chew toy to occupy their time. Overnight is definitely crate time. As your faith in your pet grows, leave them out for longer and longer periods of time. Most people do not recognize an important advantage of crate training. It does more than just stop the pet from messing in the house. It also teaches the pet something very important. The pet learns that when the urge to urinate or defecate occurs, they can hold it.
Just because the pup feels like they need to relieve themselves, the pup learns that they do not have to. This is thought to be the main reason why puppies that have gone through crate training have fewer mistakes later on.
Make sure you buy the right size cage. You want one that has the floor space that provides just enough for the pet to lie down. But cages are useful throughout a dog's life and it would be nice if you did not have to keep buying more as he grows. That is not necessary. Simply purchase a crate that will be big enough for him as an adult, but choose a model that comes with or has a divider panel as an accessory. With these, you can adjust the position of the panel so that the space inside the crate available to the pet can grow as he does. Using too large of a crate can often cause long term problems. The pet will eliminate in one corner of the crate.
After a while, they will then run through it tracking it all over the cage and themselves. If this is allowed to continue, the instincts about not soiling the bed or lying in the mess will be forgotten and the pet will soon be doing it every day when placed in the crate.
Now a housebreaking method has turned into a behavioral problem as the pet's newly-formed hygienic habits becomes his way of life.
Constant Supervision:
The last method does not involve papers, pads, or crates. Rather, you chose to spend all the time necessary with the puppy. This works very well for people who live and work in their homes, retired people, or in situations where the owners are always with the pet.
Whenever they see the pet is doing the "pre-potty pattern" they quickly hustle them outside.
It is important that the pet is watched at all times and that no mistakes are allowed to occur. This method has less room for error, as there is nothing like a cage to restrict the pet's urges, or is there a place for them to relieve themselves such as on the papers or pad. When they are taken outside, watch the pet closely and as soon everything happens as planned, they should be praised and then brought back inside immediately.
You want your pet to understand that the purpose for going outside was to go to the bathroom. Do not start playing, make it a trip for a reason. Verbal communication can help this method is discussed below, and on the obedience page.
For those with the time, this is a good method. A crate should be available as a backup when the owners have to be away from the pet.
Verbal cues
Specific verbal commands will also help both of you understand what is desired. It is an excellent idea to always use a key word when it is time to head to the bathroom. Like- "Outside?" Remember that whenever you use a verbal command or signal, it is important that everybody in the family always uses the same word in the same way.
Think of the word "Outside" in this situation not only as a question you are asking the pet, but also as an indication that you want to go there. Some dogs may get into the habit of going to the door when they want to go outside. This is great when it happens but it is not as common as some believe. We have found that it is better to use verbal commands to initiate this sort of activity rather than waiting for the pet to learn this behavior on their own. It seems like your consistent use of a word or phrase like "Outside" will cause the pet to come to you rather than the door when they need to go outside.
It is better overall to have the pet see you as part of the overall activity of getting to where they need to go.
Once outside, encourage the pet to get on with the act in question. Use the phrase "Do your numbers." or "Do your business"
This is probably a holdover from our own parents and hearing children say "Number 1" or "Number 2" phrase.
Others use 'Do It,' 'Potty,' or 'Hurry Up.' As soon as they eliminate, it is very important to praise them with a "Good Dog" and then come back inside immediately. Again, make this trip that started outside with a specific word "Outside" be for a purpose.
If we are taking the pet out to play with a ball or go for a walk we will not use this word even if we know they will eliminate while we are outside.
One of the key issues in housebreaking is to follow Rule #1: If you do not catch your pet doing it, then do not punish them for it!
We do not care what someone else may tell you or what you read, if you find a mess that was left when you were not there, clean it up and forget it. Discipline will not help because unless you catch the pet in the act, they will have no idea what the scolding is for.
Your pet has urinated and defecated hundreds of times before he met you. Mom or the breeder always cleaned it up. Nobody made a fuss before and the pet will not put the punishment together with something they have done before. Especially if they did it more than 30 seconds ago!
Puppies are just like our children. Unless something was really fun (and a repetition like going to the bathroom is not), they are not thinking about what they did in the past. They are thinking about what they can do in the future., and right now
At this point in his life a puppy's memory is very, very poor. Anyway, let's face it. It was your fault, not the pup's. If you had been watching, you would have noticed the puppy suddenly walking or running around in circles with his nose down smelling for the perfect spot to go to the bathroom. It is just as consistent as the taxi cab driver behind you honking immediately when the light changes. The puppy will show the same behavior every time. It may vary a little from pup to pup but they always show their own "pre-potty pattern" before the act. The same should be said as to your first reaction when you actually catch them in the act of urinating or defecating. It is your fault, you were not watching for or paying attention to the signals. Do not get mad.
Quickly, but calmly pick them up and without raising your voice sternly say "No." Carry them outside or to their papers. It will help to push their tail down while you are carrying them as this will often help them to stop urinating or defecating any more.They are going to be excited when you get them outside or to the papers, but stay there with them a while and if they finish the job, reward them with simple praise like "Good Dog.
"Housebreaking Rule #1: If you don't catch your puppy doing it, then don't punish him for it!
In the disciplining of dogs, just like in physics, every action has a reaction and for training purposes these may not be beneficial!
If you overreact and severely scold or scare the heck out of a puppy for making what is in your mind a mistake, your training is probably going backwards. With housebreaking this is especially difficult for them to understand as they are carrying out a natural body function. Carried one step farther is the idea of rubbing a puppy's nose into a mistake he made, whether you caught him or not. In the limits of a puppy's intelligence, please explain to us the difference of rubbing his nose in his mess he left in your kitchen an hour ago versus the one the neighbor's dog left in the park two weeks ago. If the dog were smart enough to figure all of this out, the only logical choice would be to permanently quit going to the bathroom.
Punishment rarely speeds up housebreaking. Often, it makes the dog nervous or afraid every time it needs to go to the bathroom.
We will give you a perfect example of how this kind of disciplining causes long-term problems between a dog and his owner.
A client makes an appointment to discuss a housebreaking problem. They are hoping that on physical exam by a Vet and through some testing the Vet can find a medical reason for the pet's inability to successfully make it through housebreaking. They readily admit their frustration with the dog. The Veterinarian fecal and urine tests reveal no problem. The Vet assumed that would be the case and has no intention of charging for those services. In the examination room, the pup is showing a lot more interest in the Veterinarian than he is in his owners. The animal's eyes are almost saying, "Please kidnap me from them." When the owner reaches down to pet the dog on his head, the pup reflexively closes his eyes and turns his head to the side. The dog reacts as if he were going to be hit. What this tells the Vet is that the dog has been punished for making messes in the owners' absence. During this punishment the puppy is not, and to repeat, the puppy is not thinking about what he might have done two hours ago. He is not thinking that he should not make messes in the house. The dog is not even thinking about the messes.
The classic line that usually goes with this scenario then comes up:
"When we get home we know he has made a mess because he always sulks or runs and hides!"
The dog is not thinking about some mistake he may have made. Rather, the pup has learned that when the people first get home, (for some reason he has yet to figure out) they are always in a bad mood and he gets punished. The puppy has decided that maybe he would be better to try to avoid them for awhile so he does try to hide. In this particular case, discipline, misunderstood by the puppy, has caused him to fear his owners and this will probably affect their relationship throughout the life of the dog.
If you want housebreaking to go quickly, regardless of the method you use, spend as much time as possible with your puppy.
In an exam room, a Vet once listened to a client complain about how he had to take some time off from work for his own mental health and also, but unrelated, how the puppy was not doing too well in the housebreaking department. For the Vet this statement was just too good to be true. It was the perfect set-up! This gentleman, a bachelor, truly loved his puppy. They were seen together everywhere. Still, the problem was that he worked in a downtown office and the pup was home. His work allowed him to get home frequently but not always on a consistent schedule. There would be accidents when he was gone and sometimes he was gone longer than the abilities or the attention span of the puppy. The solution was easy.
The Vet suggested his health and the puppy's training would both do better if he stayed home for a week or so. .....It worked!
Under the man's watchful eye, he was always there at the time when he was needed and in less than seven days the ten-week-old puppy was trained. Not saying there was never another accident, but they were few and far between. In the end, the best of all worlds occurred. The man realized his dog could be trusted, and thereafter, they spent their days together at the man's office.
Feeding and housebreaking
The feeding schedule you use can help or hinder housebreaking.
You will soon notice that puppies will need to go outside soon after they wake and also within 30 to 40 minutes after eating.
Be consistent when you feed the dog so you can predict when they need to relieve themselves.
Plan your trips outside around these patterns.
All of this may seem simple, and it really is.
2. You must be consistent.
3. Play by the rules, and you'll have a good lifelong relationship with your pet.
