tips for housebreaking your dog
Reprinted with permission from Amy Peer of
SIT Training (310) 449-0191
suggested equipment
1. Puppy playpen. A large wire meshed (or similar) cage with no roof and
no floor. The pen has eight sides/panels and can be shaped into
different sizes and configurations.
2. Crate. Adjust
crate size regularly so it is always jus tlarge enough for the
dog to lay down and turn around. No extra room required ... the
dog will not be entertaining int he crate. Give him several
toys to chew on.
3. Patience. Even
if you do everything correctly, housebreaking a puppy can
sometimes take a month. Remember, some dogs mature and learn
faster than others.
Explanation: The
problem is simple, yet exasperating. You want to teach the dog
not to soil inside your home. Seems easy enough. You take the
dog out seemingly hundreds of times and stand out there in the
sun, rain and morning cold waiting for your dog to go to the
bathroom. He doesn't go. You assume, logically, he doesn't have
to. You bring him back inside the house and he pees on the
floor. You take the dog out and he goes. You praise him, you
bring him back inside the house. Two minutes later he goes
again. You have the dog inside and you swear to yourself
"I'm going to watch this dog and the instant he even looks
like he has to go, I'm going to take him out." You take
him out a ridiculous amount of times and inevitably you take
your eye off the dog for a second and he goes in the house.
You come home and find the dog has gone to
the bathroom in the house. Remembering what you think your
parents did, you grasp the newpaper firmly in hand and chastise
the dog. After two weeks of this, your dog screams everytime
you pick up the paper and still goes to the bathroom in the
house.
These "methods" don't work
because they are inconsistent. As a rule, you need to get 7 to
14 days in which the dog goes to the bathroom outside and gets
praised for it. Remember, 90% of housebreaking is positive
reinforcement of your dog's behavior when he goes in the
appropriate place. When the dog goes to the bathroom in the
house it counts as minus 2 days.
The best method we have found for
housebreaking your puppy is the "den method". Puppies
insitinctively do not like to soil on themselves. This is where
the crate comes in. While in the crate, dogs will hold it as
long as they are able. DO NOT LEAVE CRATED FOR MORE THAN 4
HOURS UNLESS IT IS BEDTIME. This is critically important. What
this means is that they can be put in a "magic spot"
to prevent them from going to the bathroom. All that is
required now is to set up a schedule.
The dog should sleep in the crate. Take
water away 2 hours before bedtime and take him out several
times before crating...DO NOT PUT THE DOG TO SLEEP WITH A FULL
TANK.
Get up early in the morning and take the
dog out of the crate and immediately accompany him outside.
Watch the dog. If he goes, praise, wait 5 more minutes (to let
him finish his business) then bring him in, feed him and give
him 15 to 30 minutes of supervised free time in the house. Set
the egg timer to be absolutely certain of the time.
At the end of the dog's supervised free
time, you have a choice. First, you can take him out again and
if he goes, praise, give five minutes more outside and another
15 to 30 miuntes supervised free time in the house. If you have
the time and the dog has the pee, you can do this all day.
Eventually you will run out of time, or the dog won't go. When
this happens, crate the dog and take hm back out to pee in
another 15 to 20 minutes. Your other option at the end of the
15 to 30 minutes of free time is to reconfine the dog in the
crate for 20 minutes or so.
If you leave the house during the day or
evening, you may crate the puppy for up to 4 hours (be careful
not to give him lots of water before crating). If you will be
gone for more than 4 hours, leave the dog outside in a safe
area* and upon returning home, place the dog in the crate
without free access outside. The regular schedule of taking the
dog out and either giving him supervised freedom or
reconfinement depending upon the housebreaking schedule will be
upheld.
*If you cannot leave the dog outside, you
will have to leave him in the playpen and do nothing about an
accident if he has one.
This may seem confusing, but it's really
quite simple. The dog must not have free time in the house
unless you have seen him go to the bathroom outside. When you
take him out, if he doesn't go, he must be reconfined. When you
take him out and he does go, he must be praised and given a
small amount of time to assure that he has done everything he
has to and no more than 30 minutes of free time in the house
before either reconfinement or being taken back out.
NOTE: If the dog is on supervised free
time and you cannot watch him, place him in the playpen with
his toys and water until his 15 to 30 minutes is up. If he is
in the play pen, he cannot get into any trouble.
Maintain a personal housebreaking
schedule. Write down the times your dog is taken out and what
he does.This will be important several weeks down the road when
you begin increasing his supervised free time.
Reprinted with permission by Amy Peer, SIT
(Specialized Individual Training for Dogs and Cats),
310-449-0191
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