House Training
Housetraining a puppy is about teaching your dog to do their business in one place and NOT in another. This is confusing for baby dogs! We can help support them by breaking it down into smaller pieces and it starts with prevention! This article is written with puppies in mind, but the same principles apply to adult dogs.
Keep a schedule
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Set yourself and your puppy up for success by creating an eating and pottying schedule. Dogs naturally need to eliminate after naps, play, eating or drinking so use these as your cue to take your puppy out along with a regular schedule of bathroom breaks. Keeping a record can go a long way to helping everyone in the family know where the puppy is in his potty schedule and track any abnormalities or challenges that may occur. Your schedule should be based on the puppy's age as his ability to hold his waste is directly related to their age.
Supervision First!
Keeping your eye on your puppy is the first step! Dogs naturally don’t want to mess where they live, but they don’t understand our house is their house too! So while they learn your entire home is now their home you need to watch them closely.
Supervision achieves two things: It lets you keep your eye on your puppy so they don’t have an accident, and helps you learn to recognize the signs they need to go! What does your puppy do when it needs to potty? Some common signs are: circling, sniffing, trying to find a “private space” behind the couch, downstairs, or in that least used room of your house, or even getting really wild! If suddenly you have a pariah puppy on your hands that puppy probably needs to go potty!
What does your puppy do when they need to potty?
One way to guarantee supervision is to tether your puppy to your waistband. As you go throughout your house your puppy will be with you, and since you’ll be watching them they won’t have accidents. They will learn the lay of the land and that they live EVERYWHERE you live.
Another way is to set up a baby gate at the door of the room you’re in, but don’t get distracted! Keep your eye on your pup or he might find that convenient corner to relieve himself. The key here is keep watch and prevent!
What if I can’t watch my puppy?
Wait! I can’t take my eyes off my puppy? How do I take a shower? Because we can’t always be watching a puppy, and puppies also need to learn to be alone, confinement training is your next defense in house training. Crates, playpens, baby gates and tethers will be a must to efficiently house train a puppy. Plus, they make life so much easier in general! So as soon as you bring your puppy home start their crate and playpen training. The principle is: Eyes on or confined!
What kind of confinement, when and for how long?
You will need two kinds of confinement areas: one for long term confinement during the day and another for short term during the day and overnight.
Playpens
Exercise pens or playpens are used to give your dog a place he lives that’s bigger than the crate, but not so big he will be likely to have an accident. Set your playpen up on a potty-proof surface in the living area of your house. It should be big enough for the puppy to eat, sleep and play on one end and potty on the other end if absolutely necessary. If your potty schedule is consistent enough accidents in the playpen will be few. Playpens are used for times when you will be away more than two to three hours.
The principle is: Eyes on or confined!
A playpen gives your puppy a space they “live” and as they become reliable with their house training you can enlarge the space. For instance, start with it in a corner of the kitchen or living area of your home. When your dog has gone several weeks without an accident enlarge it to be one third to double the size. If your puppy starts having more accidents cut back the size of your playpen.
Crate
A crate can be set up with your playpen or in a different area of the house. I like to set my playpen up in the living area of my house and my crate in the bedroom. This allows me to have an area to confine my puppy during the day where they eat, play and take naps. This keeps their crate for times they’re going to sleep. A playpen also allows you to work at your puppy’s speed for crate training. Never put a puppy in a crate and leave them unattended until you know they have a positive association and are happy there.
The crate is used for shorter times during the day, generally less than two hours for puppies under 14 weeks old. Put your puppy in his crate at times he is likely to just settle in and take a nap. The crate should be just big enough for your puppy to stand up, turn around and lay down comfortably. It should not be big enough they can take a few steps. If it’s too big you risk them choosing one end for their bathroom.
The Actual Elimination Routine
When it’s time for your puppy to go outside put them on a leash and take them to the same area every time. A puppy chooses a bathroom with their nose so they need an area big enough to sniff around a bit. They also don’t usually pee and poo in the same area so make sure they have sufficient space to take care of both. Give your puppy a cue, “Go potty,” “Go your business,” “Hurry up,” or you can get clever, “Do your duty!” Whatever you say tell them as soon as you get to their area, then give them 5-10 minutes.
If they go:
Praise them! This is a big deal right? So have a party about it!
Give them a treat RIGHT at that spot! Do not ask your puppy to walk to you or walk inside to get a treat.
Take the leash off and allow them play time outside or supervised play time inside.
If they don’t go take them back inside to supervision or confinement and try again in a half hour or so.
Taking your dog out on leash is key! This is an added step that can seem like a hassle, and for some dogs it may take them longer to go when on leash, but it’s worth it! Young puppies who don’t learn to eliminate on leash will often hold it when away from home. This is neither convenient or healthy! I know a young dog who didn’t pee or poo for over 24 hours on her first vacation because there was no off-leash area to do so. Eliminating while on leash also teaches a puppy to go potty quickly when cued so they can have the leash removed to play.
Accidents Happen!
No one is perfect so if your puppy has an accident don’t worry. Clean up with an enzymatic cleaner that does not contain ammonia and look back to your record. What went wrong?
Did someone forget to take the puppy out?
Was the puppy given too much freedom and not supervised closely enough?
Does the puppy have a urinary tract infection or other illness?
Did you increase the size of the puppy’s living area too much?
Make adjustments and go back to basics, but NEVER punish an accident. If a puppy has an accident it’s just communication that our training plan needs adjustment. Rubbing your dog’s nose in it’s mess after the fact, scolding, or any physical punishment does not teach your dog not to pee in the house, but it does teach your dog you don’t like it when they pee or poop. Now we have a problem because the next time you take your dog out to eliminate he’s thinking the last time he did you got really mad! So keep the histrionics to a minimum. If you catch your dog in the act you can try to cheerfully interrupt, “Oh-oh! Let’s go outside!” scoop them up and take them out to finish. Just a warning though! For many puppies this just results in their peeing a stream on the way out the door. So in many cases it’s just better to let them finish their business, then go ahead and take them out and see if they have any more to do.
One thing to remember? Dogs do not pee or poop out of spite or revenge. This just isn’t the way a dog’s brain works so if you do come home to a mess and your dog looks “guilty” this is most likely because he’s trying to appease his upset momma!
Don’t Fret
Accidents happen and house training can take some time. So be patient and try not to get discouraged. Contrary to what our grandpas said, many dogs are not reliable in the house until a year old and some need even longer before being given free-range of the house. Expand their area as they are successful and if needed just go back to basics. Dogs have preferences about their bathroom space just like we do, so if your dog has chosen an area of the house for their bathroom, restrict access to that area. To this day Clara is convinced peeing in the rain is the WORST torture ever! She would much rather use the back office as her bathroom, thanks! So on rainy days we put up the gate or keep the doors closed, just to eliminate that option (no pun intended.)
On a Final Note
Potty bells can be a great help in giving your dog a reliable way to tell you he has to go out. If your dog wants to play with the bells instead of just ring them you can take the bells down when not using them and just hang them when your puppy is going out the door. However, if your supervision and confinement are sufficient you shouldn't need to worry about it because your puppy won’t have the chance to get into that mischief.
Avoid using potty pads. Unless you live in an apartment or up several flights of stairs avoid using potty pads. These teach a puppy that flat absorbent surfaces are preferable for pottying. What else looks like a soft absorbent surface? Your area rugs and carpet! So keep things simple by not using potty pads.
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