House Training Dogs
Training tips for the new puppy
Everyone is excited when the new puppy comes. To help ensure that the joy of bringing a puppy home does not fade away, and for the homecoming to proceed as smoothly as possible, it is a good idea to prepare ahead of time.
A major challenge of dog ownership (especially first-time owners) is house training. If you equip yourself with some basic knowledge and a keep your attitude positive, it is a lot easier than most people make it out to be.
The Puppy Arrives
As soon as you bring your puppy home, take him outside. The car journey coupled with unfamiliar faces, sights, and sounds will have him needing to go anyway – and if you can orchestrate him first toilet break so that it occurs outside, instead of inside, then so much the better. And not just from the perspective of short-term hygiene, either – the more your puppy relieves himself inside, the more likely he is to do it again.
The homecoming is a great opportunity for you to set a precedent for toilet behavior!
- Take him to your designated toilet area, and put him down on the grass.
- Wait while he sniffs around – refrain from petting him or playing with him just yet, because you don’t want him to forge an association between this area and games. He has to learn that this part of the yard is for toilet breaks only.
- When he begins to relieve himself, say the phrase you want him to associate with toilet breaks: “Go pee” or “potty time” or whatever works for you. It’s best if that phrase is short and easily recognizable – and use the same voice inflection each time, too (so that your dog can easily memorize the meaning of the phrase.)
- When he’s done, make a big fuss over him: shower him in praise and affection, and give him a little treat.
When you take him inside the house, the house training regime you’ve decided upon should start immediately.
As far as house training goes, crate training is generally accepted to be the most effective and efficient means of house training a puppy in a short space of time.
What is crate training?
Crate-training is essentially the use of a small indoor kennel (the crate) to confine your young puppy when you’re not actively supervising him.
How does it work?
Crate training is based on all dogs’ inherent dislike of soiling the area where they sleep. Because you’re restricting your puppy’s movement to him sleeping space, he’ll instinctively “hold it in” until he’s let out of the crate (provided you don’t leave her in there too long, of course!)
This is why it’s important that the crate is sized properly: if it’s too big, he’ll be able to use one end as a bed and one end as a toilet, which defeats the whole purpose!
How do I choose a crate?
As a general guideline, it’s more cost-effective for you to choose a crate that’s big enough for him to grow into. It should be big enough for the adult dog to stand up comfortably without crouching, turn around in, and stretch out – but no bigger (so that he doesn’t choose one part as him bed, and one part as him toilet!)
Because the adult dog is likely to be considerably larger than the puppy, it’ll most likely be necessary for you to use a barrier to reduce the internal size of the crate. A wire grille or board will do just fine.
Alternatively, you can use a cheap crate (or even make one yourself) and replace it with a larger model as your puppy grows.
Using the crate for house training
Crate training works like this: your puppy is in that crate at all times unless he’s sleeping, eating, outside with you going to the toilet, or being played with (active supervision.)
You’ll need to be consistent, or else it won’t work: you can’t let your puppy wander off through the house unless you’re focusing your complete attention on him.
If you allow him access to the house before he’s thoroughly house trained, you’re basically encouraging him to relieve himself inside – and remember, each time he does this, it’ll be easier for him to do it again (and again … and again …)
Sample schedule of a morning's crate training
7am: Wake up. Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
7.25: Breakfast time.
7.45: Back outside for another toilet break (accompanied by you, of course.)
7.50 – 8.45: Play-time! Puppy is out of the crate being actively played with, cuddled, etc.
8.45: Outside for another toilet break.
8.50 – 11: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap
11 am: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
11.05 – 12.30: Playtime! Puppy is out of the crate being played with and petted.
12:30: Lunch time.
12.45: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
1 – 3.30: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap.
… and so on throughout the day.
Crate training generally takes one to two months (depending on the breed of your dog and how much time you spend on the training process.) As the puppy grows older, you can begin to reduce the amount of time spent in the crate – but beware of doing this too soon!
Other crate training rules
- Your puppy probably won’t be too happy to go in the crate the first couple of times he uses it. He wants to be outside, being showered with affection and attention, and hanging out with you (of course!) But it really is for him own good – in a surprisingly short time, he’ll come to accept the crate as him own personal haven where he can go to relax and get a couple hours’ uninterrupted sleep. It’s important to persevere: do not respond to any whining or crying.
- The best place for the crate to be is the hub of the household: usually the den or the kitchen, anywhere where people tend to congregate. Just because he’s in the crate doesn’t mean he can’t still feel like part of the household; it’s important for him not to feel isolated or excluded.
- The crate should be a welcoming, inviting place for him to go. Lay a couple of thick blankets or towels on the floor, and place a few toys and a chew or two inside it as well. The door should be invitingly open at all times (unless he’s in there, of course, in which case it should be securely shut.)
Some toilet facts about puppies that will come in handy
- Puppies’ bladders and bowels are so small and weak that they have only a very small window of opportunity between knowing that they need to go, and having that need become an immediate reality. Because of this, it’s imperative that you take him outside as soon as he wakes up (he’ll let you know he needs to go out by pawing the door and whining), and within ten minutes of eating or playing.
- Behaviors that indicate he needs to go outside include sniffing the ground and circling. Again, because he’s only little, he won’t exhibit these warning signs for very long – so as soon as he starts, take him out straight away. Better an unnecessary trip to the yard than an unnecessary wet patch (or pile) on the carpet!
- The maximum amount of time that a puppy can be crated at one time is figured out using the following equation: him age in months, plus one. So, a three-month old puppy can be crated for a maximum of four hours. However, this is likely to be physically pretty uncomfortable for him (not to mention hard on him emotionally and psychologically: it’s tough being cramped up with nothing to do), so you should really take him out at least once every two hours during the day. If he’s sleeping, of course, just let him sleep until he wakes up naturally.
For a more indepth look at house training, as well as a great deal of useful information on canine behavioral problems and the most effective training techniques, check out The Ultimate House Training Guide. It’s the complete dog-house-training guide..
