Housetraining CPR
The CPR of housetraining means CONSISTENCY, PATIENCE, & ROUTINE! Granted, many
owners feel THEY need real CPR when their beloved baby has an accident on their
new carpet. Regardless of the age of your carpeting, housebreaking is a crucial
need for
Most of my comments will address "puppy" housebreaking. However, keep in mind
that the philosophies, theories, and fundamentals presented cross age barriers &
will apply to most HOUSETRAINING situations.
If you have children, you already have the most necessary information & don't
even know it! HOUSETRAINING your puppy/dog directly correlates to potty training
a toddler. You must be consistent and patient. You must use a routine to help
you achieve the end result.
There are specific times that the dogs WILL absolutely need to go potty. The
times you can COUNT on include:
· within 10 min.of eating, they will have to urinate.
· within 30-45 min. of eating, they will probably have a bowel movement.
· within 5-10 min. of drinking water, they will have to urinate.
· during play sessions (with you, another dog, or by themselves), puppies will
have to urinate approximately every 10 min. You better watch the clock, because
this will occur. As the puppy matures, this time frame will increase
accordingly. During play, the dogs are just like children, they forget...until
too late. They play hard, & suddenly, they will stop, take 2 steps & squat!!!!
· immediately upon "waking" (night sleep or day nap), they will have to go
urinate.They may not be able to make it to the door & you may need to carry
them.
What can you do? Be ever vigilant of these scenarios & react appropriately...get
your dog outside! If they have an accident in one of these situations ... it is
your fault, not theirs.
Some additional suggestions will help. Set up an exercise pen or buy some
galvanized wire to create a pen in the yard. This pen should be 4'x4' to 6'x6'
in size. Place this pen where it is easily accessible to you ... right off the
edge of the patio, for example. Using a confined & defined potty area serves
multiple purposes. It will help the dog learn they should go potty in a specific
area & on command. One common problem facing many owners is the dog goes into
the yard & as soon as they come back into the house...they potty in the house.
This situation is brought about because the dog gets so excited & involved in
the "stimulus" of their yard ... they forget to do their business. When they
come back into the house, the stimulus level immediately diminishes ... result,
the dog realizes ... I need to go potty & they do!
If you teach them to use their pen, they will do their business & then, they can
go play in the yard. Now, when they have been playing in the yard ... they will
need to go back in their pen right before you bring them into the house. The
playing will have stimulated their system & they will need to go again.
Initially, when using the pen ... you need to stay with them & encourage them
verbally to go potty. As soon as they do, praise them & have a treat to give
them as a reward.
It is crucial that you be patient when they are in the pen. If you get upset or
irritated & demand they go potty,
Every owner should use crate training as an aid to housebreaking. This is for
the benefit of the dog (& you). If they are loose in your house when you are
gone ... they will have an accident during the housetraining period. Every
accident you allow to occur is reinforcing the "wrong" behavior & making the
desired behavior more difficult to secure & lock in!
Just as you would with a child, remove the dog's water about an hour before
going to bed. Do not allow your puppy or unhousebroken older dog access to areas
in your house where you cannot keep an eye on them (this is true for chewing, as
well).
If you do not CATCH them in the act ... DO NOT SCOLD THEM!!!!! When dogs go
potty, they are doing what comes naturally ... nature calls. Initially, they do
not understand the ground rules. Inside vs. outside is a foreign concept ...
they have to go ... so they do! It is up to YOU to teach them that outside is
desired & inside is not acceptable. If they have an accident & you do not see
them do it ... do not scold & do not let them see you clean it up. Note:
Scolding is verbal. Spanking or other physical methods do NO good at all.
If you catch them in the act or immediately after (walking away), DO SCOLD them,
show them the problem, further scold them ... BUT THEN, as you take them to the
door to go outside ... BE HAPPY & EXCITED!!!! This means "let's go outside,
let's go potty". If you continue to SCOLD them all the way to the door & as you
put them outside ... SCOLD "you get out there & do your business!!!!!" Well, you
have just told them that "inside" is bad & "outside" is bad. So, where in the
heck are they supposed to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These elements are
Also, you can train dogs to "RING THEM BELLS" to go outside. This is a 3-tier
process. Go to a craft store & buy 2 large (2" diameter) bells. Tie them to a
long shoestring about 4" to 6" apart. Use the larger bells so, if the dog
happens to chew one off...they cannot swallow it. Put a nail in the wall, right
by the door, & hang the bell strand. EVERYTIME ... & I do mean EVERYTIME you
open that door & the dog is going to go out (whether with you or to be out in
their pen), YOU ring the bells. Do it moderately, you don't want to "scare" the
dog. When you ring the bells, say ... "outside, go potty, outside".
Within a short period of time, the dog will understand that the bells mean I get
mom's or dad's attention & the door opens! The next tier of behavior will be:
The dog will "ring them bells" every 5 minutes. WARNING ... this will drive you
insane. But, you must be consistent, patient, & follow the routine. So, you must
take the dog out EVERYTIME they ring the bells. This will not go on for more
than a day or two. The real key is that you must NEVER lose patience during this
phase ... you must react positively & reinforce the "outside" behavior.
Consistency & patience at this point will be very demanding on you, BUT, your
efforts at this phase will garner phenomenal results.
The next tier of behavior will be ... the dog will go to ring the bells, move
their nose or paw toward the bells & STOP before they ring the bells. You will
almost hear their thought processes. Hmmm, ring bells ... get mom's attention,
ring bells ... go outside ... hmmmm, I don't really have to go potty ... I don't
think I will ring the bells. At this point ... you are home free!!!!!
An unexpected & phenomenal result of this mental process in your dog is ... they
will realize they can COMMUNICATE with you & you understand & you respond!!! You
will see them begin to build on this "communication" avenue open to them. This
will enrich yours & their lives!!!!