Dog Obedience Training For Your Pet Dog

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1. by kibbi21, on March 19 2010 @ 4:36 am

   

   Housetraining a puppy requires time, vigilance, patience and commitment. Following the procedures outlined below, you can minimize house soiling incidents, but virtually every puppy will have an accident in the house (more likely several). Expect this – it’s part of raising a puppy. The more consistent you are in following the basic housetraining procedures, the faster your puppy will learn acceptable behavior. It may take several weeks to housetrain your puppy, and with some of the smaller breeds, it might take longer.

   Establish A Routine
   Like babies, puppies do best on a regular schedule. Take your puppy outside frequently, at least every two hours, and immediately after he wakes up from a nap, after playing and after eating.
   Praise your puppy lavishly every time he eliminates outdoors. You can even give him a treat. You must praise him and give him a treat immediately after he’s finished eliminating, not after he comes back inside the house. This step is vital, because rewarding your dog for eliminating outdoors is the only way he’ll know that’s what you want him to do.
   Choose a location not too far from the door to be the bathroom spot. Always take your puppy, on a leash, directly to the bathroom spot. Take him for a walk or play with him only after he has eliminated. If you clean up an accident in the house, take the soiled rags or paper towels and leave them in the bathroom spot. The smell will help your puppy recognize the area as the place he is supposed to eliminate. While your puppy is eliminating, use a word or phrase, like "go potty," that you can eventually use before he eliminates to remind him of what he’s supposed to be doing.
   If possible, put your puppy on a regular feeding schedule. Depending on their age, puppies usually need to be fed three or four times a day. Feeding your puppy at the same times each day will make it more likely that he’ll eliminate at consistent times as well. This makes housetraining easier for both of you.
   Supervise, Supervise, Supervise
   Don’t give your puppy an opportunity to soil in the house. He should be watched at all times when he is indoors. You can tether him to you with a six-foot leash, or use baby gates, to keep him in the room where you are. Watch for signs that he needs to eliminate, like sniffing around or circling. When you see these signs, immediately take him outside, on a leash, to his bathroom spot. If he eliminates, praise him lavishly and reward him with a treat.

   Confinement
   When you’re unable to watch your puppy at all times, he should be confined to an area small enough that he won’t want to eliminate there. It should be just big enough for him to comfortably stand, lie down and turn around in. This area could be a portion of a bathroom or laundry room, blocked off with boxes or baby gates. Or you may want to crate train your puppy and use the crate to confine him (see our handout: "Crate Training Your Dog"). If your puppy has spent several hours in confinement, when you let him out, take him directly to his bathroom spot and praise him when he eliminates.

   Oops!
   Expect your puppy to have an accident in the house – it’s a normal part of housetraining a puppy.

   When you catch him in the act of eliminating in the house, do something to interrupt him, like make a startling noise (be careful not to scare him). Immediately take him to his bathroom spot, praise him and give him a treat if he finishes eliminating there.
   Don’t punish your puppy for eliminating in the house. If you find a soiled area, it’s too late to administer a correction. Do nothing but clean it up. Rubbing your puppy’s nose in it, taking him to the spot and scolding him, or any other punishment or discipline, will only make him afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. Animals don’t understand punishment after the fact, even if it’s only seconds later. Punishment will do more harm than good.
   Cleaning the soiled area is very important because puppies are highly motivated to continue soiling in areas that smell like urine or feces (see our handout: Successful Cleaning to Remove Pet Odors and Stains).
   It’s extremely important that you use the supervision and confinement procedures outlined above to minimize the number of accidents. If you allow your puppy to eliminate frequently in the house, he’ll get confused about where he’s supposed to eliminate which will prolong the housetraining process.

   Paper Training
   A puppy under six months of age cannot be expected to control his bladder for more than a few hours at a time. If you have to be away from home for more than four or five hours a day, this may not be the best time for you to get a puppy. If you’re already committed to having a puppy and have to be away from home for long periods of time, you’ll need to train your puppy to eliminate in a specific place indoors. Be aware, however, that doing so can prolong the process of teaching him to eliminate outdoors. Teaching your puppy to eliminate on newspaper may create a life-long surface preference, meaning that he may, even in adulthood, eliminate on any newspaper he finds lying around the house.

   When your puppy must be left alone for long periods of time, confine him to an area with enough room for a sleeping space, a playing space and a separate place to eliminate. In the area designated as the elimination place, you can either use newspapers or a sod box. To make a sod box, place sod in a container, like a child’s small, plastic swimming pool. You can also find dog litter products at a pet supply store. If you clean up an accident in the house, take the soiled rags or paper towels, and put them in the designated elimination place. The smell will help your puppy recognize the area as the place where he is supposed to eliminate.

   Other Types Of House-Soiling Problems
   If you’ve consistently followed the housetraining procedures and your puppy continues to eliminate in the house, there may be another reason for his behavior.

   Medical Problems: House soiling can often be caused by physical problems such as a urinary tract infection or a parasite infection. Check with your veterinarian to rule out any possibility of disease or illness.
   Submissive/Excitement Urination: Some dogs, especially young ones, temporarily lose control of their bladders when they become excited or feel threatened. This usually occurs during greetings, intense play or when they’re about to be punished (see our handout Submissive and Excitement Urination).
   Territorial Urine-Marking: Dogs sometimes deposit urine or feces, usually in small amounts, to scent-mark their territory. Both male and female dogs do this, and it most often occurs when they believe their territory has been invaded (see our handout Territorial Marking Behavior in Dogs and Cats).
   Separation Anxiety. Dogs that become anxious when they’re left alone may house soil as a result. Usually, there are other symptoms, such as destructive behavior or vocalization (see our handout Separation Anxiety).
   Fears Or Phobias. When animals become frightened, they may lose control of their bladder and/or bowels. If your puppy is afraid of loud noises, such as thunderstorms or fireworks, he may house soil when he’s exposed to these sounds

2. by me, on March 19 2010 @ 4:36 am

   

   don’t feed all of your puppy his/her food in the house.
   reserve a portion to feed him/her after she goes outside.
   Take the puppy outside frequently and feed the puppy each time it pees outside. Try not to give treats in the house until he starts to understand whats expected of him.

3. by sun_and_moon_1973, on March 19 2010 @ 4:36 am

   

   Take her by harness or leash to the same spot in the yard and say go potty-stay out with her until she goes and then reward her with praise and a small food treat. Keep a potty log and write down when she eats and drinks and how long until she has to go potty and take her out a few minutes before hand. Set up a small bell by the potty door and ring it everytime you take her out saying potty time and after a few days take her paw and ring it saying potty time so when she is older she can let you know when she has to go out.

4. by hanksimon, on March 19 2010 @ 4:36 am

   

   House Training:

   Don’t use ammonia to clean up any messes, because it smells like urine to the dog. Use vinegar or the special pet stain cleaners, instead.

   1. Watch her very carefully when you are home and take her outside after she drinks, eats, or sniffs around. Keep her outside for 5 minutes, then come back in…. but keep careful watch. Always take her to the exact same spot outside for her toilet, and clean up solid waste every few days.

   2. When you can’t watch her, put her in a crate. You want to try to let her out about every four hours, she is old enough that she can handle3 -4 hours, if you are diligent in walking her before and after meals, and before and after leaving for work/school.

   3. If you don’t use a crate, then confine her in a room, like the bathroom or kitchen that you can cover with newspaper.

   4. Put food, water, toys, and bedding in one corner. When you come back after a few hours, take her outside for a walk. Then clean up soiled newspaper, clean the floor underneath with vinegar, and save a small piece for the smell. Place some clean newspaper in another corner of the room, away from her food, and place the smelly piece of newspaper in the corner. Keep newspaper on the rest of the floor.

   5. The next day she should have tried to go to the bathroom close to the smelly corner. Repeat the process from above, clean the floor, use new paper, place a new smelly piece of paper in the corner opposite her food.

   You are trying to teach her where her toilet is by placing a large blinking sign that says bathroom. Since your dog can’t read, you are using a small piece of paper for the same purpose. Your dog has a good sense of smell, so the smelly paper doesn’t have to be very large or disgusting. Just a few inches.

   6. Keep doing this for a few days, until your dog goes to the bathroom consistently in the same 5′ x 5′ area. If you are patient and loving, then she may learn to go in an area less than 2′ x 2′ in less than 4 days, but don’t push it.

   7. If things are on track after 5 or 6 days, then remove all of the paper, except a 5′ x 5′ area in the corner, with a small smelly piece of paper.

   8. Advanced: If she is a small dog, then you might slowly reduce the area to about 1′ x 1′, then you can train her to use a kitty litter box inside… but that may be pushing things.

   9. When she is consistent, then remove all the paper, and move the smelly piece of paper to the outside to show her where her bathroom is. She may have a few accidents, so try to understand what happened and why she had the accident.
   But this method should work for most puppies and dogs.

   10. Things to remember:
   A. You can remove the paper when you are home and watching her. You only need the paper during the training period of about two weeks, and only when no one is home to watch her, while she is confined in the kitchen/bathroom.
   B. Always clean up the floor under any mess or mistake with lots of vinegar to remove the smell.
   C. Remember that the smell to a dog is like a large, red, blinking sign to people.
   D. Always get rid of soiled newspaper, except for a tiny piece with smell. Replace the soiled newspaper with clean newspaper for the first few days.

   Also, walk her, pet her, and talk to her softly… so that she will learn that she has a loving home.

5. by Having_twins, on March 19 2010 @ 4:36 am

   

   use puppy pads. start outt with them in a spot where he always goes sniffing around. each week move them closer to the door. when you get him at the door you just trained him to go there when he has to go potty. let him out you could either put the puppy pad on the out side of the door and keep moving it till it gets to the grass or when he goes to the door take him ou on the leash to make sure he goes. also you might want to take him out every 2 to hours keep him or her on a leash and walk with them so you know if he or she has done their duty give he/she treats every time they "go" out side when your there .. once their used to being outside and going then let them off by themselves if its fenced in yard

6. by Lauren, on March 19 2010 @ 4:36 am

   

   Remember: dogs are not born knowing they go potty outside, not on your rug.
   Crate train and when she is not in her crate watch her every second. Dogs go through a routine before they eliminate, some sniff, some circle… when you see that pick her up and run outside and say hurry up (whatever you want the cue to be). If she goes outside, praise her ton. Not just a "good dog", throw a party, run around in circles, give her a piece of cooked hotdog.
   Obviously you must take her outside often, I would say every hour, but dogs must go after they eat, sleep, and exercise. Take her out, say hurry up, when she goes praise and go inside.
   If you take your eyes off of her and she goes and you don’t see her doing it, that is your fault, do not punish her because she will not know why she is in trouble. If you catch her in the act, make a loud noise to stop her and rush her outside. Praise her after she goes. Don’t smack her if she pees in the house, she may just try to hold it forever and develop bladder problems, something you really don’t want, or she’ll just hide to go next time. Don’t correct after the fact. If the dog is corrected after the fact, it will not connect the correction with the behavior, and will begin to think that corrections are random, and that the owner cannot be trusted. This results in a bad relationship and a dog that does not connect corrections, which are believed random, with bad behaviors even when they are applied in time. When she does have an accident, be sure to clean it up with nature’s miracle or something made specifically for urine stains or she will go back to that spot to eliminate again.
   I cannot tell you how helpful a crate has been in housebreaking my puppy. He has never had an accident in his crate and when I get him out of his crate we go directly outside (I carry him) and he pees.
   I do not recommend pee pads or paper training. When you use pee pads, you are teaching your dog to go potty in your house. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my dog peeing anywhere in my house, pee pad or no pee pad.
   http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm – don’t buy the video- read the article below the video

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