Are you stuck at a point where you do not know how to proceed with housetraining your dog? Are you desperate to stop those accidents on your precious rug? Are you spending too much on room fresheners?
Smelly poops, carpet stains, unwelcome surprises and unwanted discoveries....in short, a perfect housetraining nightmare! If you are still spending sleepless nights conspiring on how to escape, STOP!
Don’t be ignorant. It's time to arm yourselves with the knowledge to deal with the problem. In today’s issue, we shall try and arrive at a definite solution to stop your dog's unwanted behavior.
How to Train Your Dog to Eliminate Outside?
Considering that your dog is properly crate trained, it is unlikely that your crate trained dog will eliminate inside his crate. Accidents generally occur the moment you take your Dog out of his crate and leave him unsupervised. It may be advisable to keep note of your dog's potty breaks and let him out of the crate 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Take him out to the desired place and wait till he finishes potty. Reward him soon after followed by praise.
Note : To help your Dog acclimatize to potty outside, it is important that you take him to the same place everyday. This will help him build association through smell while it also conditions him to go potty at a given time of day, at a given place.
Once conditioned, it is easier to train your Dog to go on command. Continue letting your dog out of his crate before his scheduled time, however, refrain from taking him outside. Remember, association is important at every step of training. Verbal commands and physical gestures combined are helpful in most cases. So, when you teach him to go on command, accompany by pointing towards the door.
You may use commands such as "Out" or "Outside". Repetitive use of these two words teaches your Dog to go out every time you give this command.
Note : It may be helpful to employ words commonly used in the household so that association is easy and your dog understands.
You can train him to bark, scratch the door or ring a bell each time he wants to exit. When you sense he wants to go, take him to the door and wait till he performs the desired behavior before praising him. Let him out once he’s through with asking.
A dog is a creature of habit. Know that...
Since your Dog has been conditioned to go out at a certain time in day, he will let you know when he is uncomfortable. By this time however, he is accustomed to eliminating in a particular place, therefore he will hold from eliminating inside or any other place other than his usual. When you give him the command and let him out, he will go anyway. By repeating the same process everyday, you will help him associate between the variables......time, place and command. Ringing the bell, to most, is a substitute for verbal commands. Instead of shouting "Out", ring a bell (tied to your door) and open the door. Once you have done this over days, your Dog will know that ringing the bell means being let out. Soon he will be ringing the bell as a signal to open the door.
Note : Ringing the bell may not always mean that your dog wants to eliminate. If your dog feels like a walk, he will ring the bell to go outside. At least, you will avoid accidents and perhaps make a few extra miles.
It is a rarity but a possibility nevertheless...even though the aforesaid training was imparted correctly...it is possible that your Dog may not eliminate in the first instance you take him out. What do you do under such circumstances? Very simply...bring him inside, but don't let him free as yet. Instead keep him on the leash and be more careful than usual. Constant supervision will help avoid accidents. Take your dog out at regular intervals, or when he shows the first signs of discomfort.
Note : Puppies are usually hyperactive. They need to go out:
Every time they wake up Immediately after each meal When they are generally active and playful It may be a good idea keep puppy diapers handy for young puppies (1 to 3 months old). Puppies older than 3 months can be brought under the training regime.
Training should be gradual. Do not speed the training process. It is advisable to carry on with the first employed training technique even when you are absolutely confident your Dog has mastered it. Graduate to the next step with ease.
If an accident still occurs...
If you catch your dog in the act, do not surprise him or stun him by shouting in disgust. Let him know your presence as softly as possible and take him outside so that he can finish there. When you bring him inside, show him his mess and be as firm as possible and say "No" or "Bad Dog".
It is helpful to avoid your Dog for some time after that. Show him your disappointment and disapproval by neglecting him. Nothing displeases your dog more than his failed attempts to please you. Do this every time he eliminates inside. Once bereft of love and attention, it will teach your dog that his behavior is unacceptable and he will gradually stop.
Continue training your Dog simultaneously in the correct training techniques.
Note : Puppies are generally prone to disobey. Since they have limited attention span, verbal commands rarely work with them. It is important to make eye contact with puppies while you are training them.
If you discover an accident after it occurred, apply techniques as (2). Unless you make your Dog aware of his mistakes, he will never learn to improve.
Keep in mind:
Never correct your dog too harshly or punish him severely. Your dog is prone to 'disobey' out of frightfulness.
Your dog spends quality time with his owner during walks. Avoid giving him the impression that the walk ends as soon as he finishes potty. Continuing walking until you or your dog grows tired.
Puppies are often in the habit of sneaking into places inaccessible to his owner and eliminating there. You may discover an accident long after it occurs or when you see that stain on the carpet or behind the sofa. The only way to deal with puppy training is to keep them under constant supervision. Negligence to show disapproval is never too successful with puppies. They keep busy with more interesting things in the house than pry for your attention all the time.
Note:
Commercial food takes longer to digest and can make your Dog poop more. Follow a routine with your dog. Decide a time to feed and a time when you let him out. Knowledge combined you can successfully condition your dog. Always maintain a diary of your dog's routine, till he is properly trained. This will help you bring training activities into a pattern. Following a method is always beneficial. To sum up, excellent management, careful supervision, loads of patience and knowledge of correct training methods combined, is your key to successful housetraining.
So gear up and start over! Cheers to a successful training session.
Nancy Richards has been a dog lover for the past 12 years. She has owned and handled dogs of different ages and have helped many fellow owners in training their dog. DogPottyTrain.com one of her sites has the aim to promote public interest in Dogs and convey by all possible means varied house training techniques for adult dogs and puppies.
Anybody is free to use the article in their website as long as an acknowledgement is given Nancy Richards' and a link to the site www.dogpottytrain.com
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