Dog Obedience Training For Your Pet Dog

Some dogs foul their kennels, usually because their owners have interfered with this natural cleanliness habit. If a dog is chained up or confined to a small area for lengthy periods, what choice does it have? A dog should be permitted a run several times a day to help keep its kennel clean. To potty train a puppy that is allowed indoors, you need to first limit its sleeping quarters to a small area that comparable to its “den”. You can expect it to want to keep that area clean. Often dog owners and trainers recommend using a crate for this purpose.

There are two ways to do your potty training from there. You can train your puppy to go outside to do its business, or you can train it to use a dirt box inside. Whichever suits your situation, your objective is to have the puppy relieve itself in the place you designate, and not to treat your home as if it is the park down the street. If you have a larger dog and a secure yard, you will probably want to train it to go outdoors. This may not be practical if you have a small dog, or you live in an apartment with no outdoors kennel. Also if you are very busy or often absent you may need to train your dog to use a dirt box inside.

If you can, take your puppy outside onto grass as soon as it wakes or soon after it is fed, and several times through the day. Every 3 to 4 hours is a practical guideline, beyond which the risk of an accident rises. Success should be praised. As this becomes a routine, the pup will eventually begin reminding you when it is time for it to go outside. Once it gets the idea it will be able to let you know when it needs to go outside at other than the routine times.

It will take several weeks to reach this stage. Accidents will happen, but you must not punish your puppy. A much more effective training method is to reward positive behavior. It is a wise idea to have your puppy live in an area with a hard floor that is easy to clean, such as in your garage or utility room, at this time.

If you can, keep the puppy in a large run outdoors during the day. This way it will be asleep for most of its time in your house, through the night, which will reduce the need for you to act as its “nanny” during this stage. If you have a dog door that gives the puppy access to a secure area outside, train the puppy to go outside after eating. This is much easier for you, and speeds up the rate of learning.

Ideally the “den” area where it sleeps should initially be adjacent to this door. Of course, free access outside should not mean freedom to roam beyond a secure yard.

Access to the outside may not be practical for you. A dirt tray inside the house is an alternative. You can obtain absorbent materials to use in your dirt tray, which reduce your concerns about the smell. The tray should initially be located a short distance away from where the puppy sleeps so that it is clearly separate from its “den”.

You must take the puppy to the dirt tray when it awakens and about 20 minutes after it is fed. You need to reinforce success with praise, until it gets the idea of how to use the dirt tray. This method is a little more taxing than taking the puppy outdoors, but you must be patient. Some trainers recommend a paper-training stage before using the dirt box, to better communicate the idea. This is simply the use of newspaper laid on the floor as an alternative to a dirt tray. A little “starter” scent from last time the puppy went left on the paper helps to communicate the idea.

The advantage of using paper is a broader target-zone, and paper is cheap and easily cleaned away. You gradually narrow down this area over a couple of weeks to just the dirt tray. Once the habit of using the dirt tray is firmly imprinted, you gain some freedom to move it step-by-step further away from the den or sleeping area, perhaps to a utility room or attached garage, where the family spends less time.

Your aim is to give your puppy more access to your home in stages, to get your puppy to treat your whole home as its “den”, which it naturally wants to keep clean. It is smart to delay giving access to any dark or secluded corners too soon in case they prove a temptation before the habit to always use the dirt box is firmly imprinted. Your patience during this time will be rewarded by your puppy respecting your home as you want.