House-Training
a New Dog or Puppy
Golden Retriever
Style ....
Regardless of your new
dog's
history, start with the assumption that it is not house-trained. Always
approach house-training from the dog's perspective. Your dog does not
understand that it is wrong to eliminate in the house!
Feed your dog on a schedule.
Instead of free feeding, feed your dog at
set
meal times. Most adult dogs do well with two meals a day, but puppies
need more frequent meals. Stick to a high-quality, dry dog food and
keep your dog's meal times as close to the same times each day as
possible. Give them access to food for about 20 to 30 minutes at each
meal. Remember to walk them after they eat!
Take your dog outside to eliminate as
often as
possible, and reward it whenever it eliminates outside.
If you are considering a young puppy, remember that they need to
eliminate every hour. Regardless of your walk schedule always take your
new dog outside after playing, napping and about 20 minutes after
eating. Try to use the same spot each time. Keep walks brief, and
encourage your dog to sniff (this is an important part of the canine
elimination sequence). Praise the dog as soon as it begins to squat and
as it eliminates. Do not play or take long walks with the dog until
after it has eliminated outside.
Pay attention to your dog's body language
when
inside.
Behaviors such as pacing, whining,
circling,
excessive sniffing or squatting indicate that the dog may need to
eliminate. If you catch your dog exhibiting any of these behaviors,
interrupt the dog and immediately take it outside. If it eliminates
outside, praise it profusely.
Catch him or her in the act!
If, and only if, you catch your dog
eliminating
in the house can you correct it. The correct must take place at the
same time as the undesirable action (preferably as the act begins). The
most effective correction is to startle the dog with an unpleasant
stimulus (a loud noise, squirt of water, etc.) as soon as it begins the
unwanted behavior. You can then redirect its behavior. This means that
after interrupting it, you should immediately take it outside to
eliminate. Praise it if it goes outside. Remember to always use the
weakest stimulus possible to interrupt your dog. Your goal is not to
scare the dog, but to startle it.
Punishment
Punishment has no role in house-training
and can
actually intensify the dog's undesirable behaviors. Dogs make immediate
associations.
Here are some Additional
House-Training Options Below in Training Your New Dog or Puppy
Crate
Training
One of the first decisions you have is whether to use a crate. The
crate has two main functions. First, it keeps your dog and your
possessions safe while you are away, and second, it encourages your dog
to inhibit the urge to eliminate.
For example, if you come home and find a puddle of urine on the floor,
show it to your dog, and punish your dog (either physically or
vocally), your dog will associate the punishment with you and the
puddle of urine and not with the act of urinating in the house. This
may seem like the same thing to you, but for your dog there is a huge
difference between the act of urinating and a puddle of urine.
Since your dog does not understand that it was its act of urinating
that contributed to the punishment, it may in the future cower or act
guilty when you come home to find another puddle or urine on the floor.
Your dog's guilty behavior is merely canine submission and it is its
way of telling you that it acknowledges your anger, but does not
understand its cause.
In fact, punishing a dog for eliminating inside has been known to lead
to other behavioral problems. A classic example is the dog who after
repeatedly being punished for eliminating inside, develops coprophagia
(the nasty habit of eating feces). In this case, the dog views the
feces as the cause of punishment and attempts to get rid of it by
eating it. Again, the dog did not understand that its defecating caused
the punishment.
Clean any soiled areas with mild soap and
an odor eliminator.
If your dog has an accident (and most will have at least one), getting
rid of the underlying odor is crucial. Dogs use scent cues when
deciding where to eliminate, and the average dog as 215
million more
scent receptors than you. Thus, even if you cannot smell that
spot on
the rug, chances are that your dog can. Never use an ammonia-based
product to clean up after your dog. Many of these products just smell
too much like urine for your dog to resist. Always place your dog in
another room before cleaning up a mess. You do not want this to become
a game.
Health and Behavior
If your dog continues to eliminate inside after repeated attempts to
house-train or if your house-trained dog begins to eliminate inside, it
may have a medical problem or behavioral problem that needs to be
addressed. First, have your dog thoroughly examined by your
veterinarian (including urinalysis and fecal exam) to rule out any
medical problems. If your dog is healthy and the problem persists, ask
your veterinarian to refer you to a qualified animal behavior
specialist.
An alternate to crate training is to confine your dog to one area of
the house using a baby gate or door when left unsupervised. Just make
sure that the area is puppy-proof. You can gradually expand its access
to the rest of the house. If you use a crate, remember the following:
No dog should be crated for more than four consecutive hours! Your dog
may still have accidents in the crate. The crate must be large enough
for the dog to completely stand up and turn around in, and your
ultimate goal is not to use the crate.
Paper Training
Teaching a dog to eliminate indoors, even on paper, makes it more
difficult to ultimately teach the dog to eliminate outdoors. If you do
not have to paper train your dog, then don't. This said, there are some
circumstances when you might want to consider paper training. For
example, if your dog is very young or very old and you can not take the
dog outside to eliminate as frequently as it needs, you may need to
paper train. Small dogs can even be litter box trained. It is possible
to house-train a dog that has been paper trained, but it may take more
time and vigilance on your part.
