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Litter Box Training for Dogs
Muzzle Acclimation
Door Manners (No
Bolting)
Litter Box
Training For Dogs
Continue on to the next step once your dog uses the papers two times
in the step before
- Set up a pen and cover the
floor of it with newspapers. Give the dog broth to drink in order to
get lots of repetitions and begin work on this over the weekend.
- Crate your dog, and then
every 30 minutes put him in the pen for 5 minutes (set a timer). If
he "goes" he gets a big treat and 30 minutes of freedom. If he
doesn't "go", then back in the crate for another 30 minutes. Repeat
- Continue to feed broth.
Once he is pottying reliably on the papers, reduce the area of the
papers until you are down to the final size that you wish to use.
- Once he is pottying on the
smaller area of papers, transfer the papers into a dog litter box
from Purina or a large cat box.
- If he is comfortable now
using the box, the next step is to leave the pen door open and after
you take him out of his crate, encourage him to go in by himself to
potty. You are almost there!
- Remove the pen and take him
out of the crate and encourage pottying in the litter box.
- Now, move the litter box to
it's final place and work on getting him to use it there.
Once he is going there with your
guidance, you can remove the crate and simply supervise (of course
jackpotting any breakthroughs). A belly band might be a helpful
preventative at this stage. You may need to encourage him to go to his
litter box from areas in the house that are farther away. Continue
treating the dog for using the litter box for a few weeks
Muzzle Acclimation
The best type of muzzle to purchase is a basket muzzle which has
holes through which you can feed treats and the dog has enough space
to pant. If the muzzle is only going to be worn for 20 minutes in
temperatures under 75 degrees, you can use a "tube-type" muzzle which
are found at most pet stores.
Start by holding the muzzle in one hand and a treat in the
other. The "game" is for the dog to reach his nose into the muzzle to
get the goodie
Once your dog is eagerly shoving her nose into the muzzle to get
the scrumptious treat simply let go of the muzzle and offer your
dog a treat so that she tilts her head up. Have a handful of treats
and keep treating. The object of this part of the game is to keep the
muzzle on by herself
If your dog lowers her head and shakes the muzzle off, take a short
training break while you ignore her. Then begin again. Your dog will
very soon learn to shove her nose into the loop for the treat and keep
her head tilted up so the muzzle doesn't fall off
When you reach this stage and it could be in a few hours to a few
days, you are almost home free! The next step is to fasten the strap
and jackpot your dog for allowing this. Practice having her wear the
muzzle on for 2-3 minutes and feeding tiny treats or a meal and then
taking it off and ignoring her for a few minutes. Do this several
times per day. Gradually extend the time she wears the muzzle until
she is comfortable wearing if for 30 minutes. Only take the muzzle off
when she is calm (always!).
If your dog tries to paw or scratch the muzzle off you can redirect
her attention and then offer her a treat or if it isn't too bad, you
can ignore it. Be sure to reward her when she stops and is calm.
Usually this goes best if the shaping process has been done slowly
with lots of treats.
To help your dog make a positive association to the muzzle, put the
muzzle on to do things that she enjoys like taking her for a walk!
Teach your dog to exit doorways (house and
car included) only when told to. This is an important safety skill
especially for dogs who tend to bolt away from you, but is not
fool-proof (train the people to keep the doors closed too!).
1. Decide what your permission-to-exit-the-door word will be.
Ideally it should be a word that you won't use casually. A good
example is "exit". From now on all family members will need to say
"exit" before allowing the dog out of the door or car door (even if
you have not completed training).
2. Tie your dog back using a body harness and a tether so that he
cannot make it out of the door. Have your treats available and
yourself positioned by the door.
3. Open the door a crack. When your dog approaches the door, close
it (be careful not to get his nose!). will soon realize that this is
a trick and will not approach the door when you crack it open and this
is the time to have a little party (reward him big-time).
4. Continue practicing this until he is consistently not trying to
exit when you crack the door open. P/R (praise and reward) each time
he decides to wait.
5. Now try opening the door up further and further until you can
open it all the way. P/R him each time he waits and close the door
each time he goes for it without permission.
6. Put him on a leash. Open the door all of the way. If he remains
waiting, say "exit" and allow him to go through the door.
7. Repeat from the beginning without the tether but with a light
25' rope dragging or with a doorway that does not exit into dangerous
area (like a yard or garage), then practice with no tether.
8. Practice this in the car.
9. Practice this with something tempting on the other side of the
door.
10. Once you feel your dog has "got it". Continue to use your
release cue "exit" and repeat the exercise of closing the door if he
doesn't wait for "exit" to be sure that it remains fresh.
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