Dog Training Article: Housetraining (Housebreaking) Your Dog or Puppy

By Jess Rollins
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The most important housetraining rule is to avoid accidents!

To housetrain a dog we are relying on the fact that dogs are fairly particular about where they "go" and build strong habits. It is very important to prevent accidents, because every time she relieves herself in the house, she is building a preference for this area. Every time your dog relieves herself in the house, blame YOURSELF (but please be forgiving)! Until your dog has learned where to go potty, she should be under constant surveillance (with her leash tied to your belt if possible or on your lap), in her crate, or tethered on a comfy mat (tether should be used only under supervision).

The crate should be just big enough for her to stand up, turn around and lay down in. If your dog is having accidents in the crate, make sure it isn't too big and remove absorbent bedding.

When you are inside and she is out of her crate, keep her tethered to your waist and watch her constantly for sniffing or circling. Take her out immediately when you see this behavior.

Set a timer to go off every hour (this time can be increased as you progress) so that you don't forget to take her out before nature calls. If she doesn't relieve herself when you take her out and it's been a few hours, take her back in for 15 minutes (under your closest supervision or crated) and then try bringing her back out again. If she *does* "go", wait until she is completely finished before praising, feeding a treat and having a little play time together.

Stick to a strict schedule:

You should take your dog or puppy out many times during the day, especially after eating, playing or sleeping. Feed 2-3 times per day and leave the food down for about 15 minutes per feeding. Your dog can generally "hold it" for its age in months + 1 hr, but no longer than about 8 hours as an adult. The more often you bring your dog outside in the beginning the better because you will minimize the chances for mistakes and give your dog more opportunities for you to reward her for doing what you want. Water can remain down until about 8:00 at night.

Be consistent and keep it simple:

Until she is reliably housetrained, bring her to the same spot each time, and leave a bit of her waste there. Use this spot only as a potty area, and not for play. Bring her there on leash and say something like "hurry up" when you see her getting ready. As she goes, say nothing so as not to distract her, but when she finishes praise or click, give her a tasty treat and spend 5 minutes playing outside away from the potty area. If she doesn't go, return to the house, put her in her crate and wait 15 minutes before trying again.

"But, what if she goes in the house…"

Hit yourself on the head with a rolled up newspaper!  <grin> If you see your dog relieving itself in the wrong spot, bring her quickly outside and praise her for finishing there. If you find a mess, clean it very well (without her watching you) using an appropriate cleaner.

"How can I teach her to tell me when she needs to go out?"

You can teach your dog to tell you when she needs to go out by teaching her to ring a bell. This is best taught after your dog seems to prefer to go outside to potty and you would like to give her a good way to communicate that to you. This works especially well for dogs who only have a few accidents or have accidents by the door. Teaching your dog to ring a bell prevents her from needing to resort to such uncivilized behavior as scratching on the door or barking to tell you to let her out.

1. Show her the bell. If she touches it with her nose give her a treat. Once she is touching her nose to the bell every time you show it to her go on to the next step. Put the bell away when you are not practicing with it.

2. Show her the bell and only feed her a treat when she rings the bell by touching it. Once she is ringing it every time you show it to her go on to the next step.  Put the bell away when you are not practicing with it.

3. Hang the bell by the door and show her the bell. Give her a treat when she rings it. Once she is ringing the bell by the door each time you point to it, go on to the next step. Put the bell away when you are not practicing with it.

4. Let her watch you as you place a treat outside the door. Close the door and then point to the bell. When she rings the bell, open the door and let her get the treat. Once she rings the bell right away when you place a treat outside go on to the next step. Leave the bell in place by the door.

5. Next time you think she has to potty, go with her to the door and point to the bell. When she rings it, open the door and let her potty. Reward her with a treat when she finishes. Each time you let her out to potty, ask her to ring the bell first and feed her a treat when she finishes.

6. Leave the bell on the door and when she rings it let her out to potty. If she starts to play or dawdle outside, bring her in. This will prevent her from ringing the bell when she sees a squirrel (or at least prevent her from learning that she can get you to let her out to play instead of just to potty)

"Why are toy dogs so difficult to potty train?"

In my experience, small dogs often take longer to potty train. I'm not sure why this is, but my solution to the problem is to take them out more frequently than you would a large dog. Maximum time without a potty break as an adult should only equal about 4 hours. Many small dogs do very well with a litter box. I prefer this method because this way we can be sure that she can go whenever nature calls, even when it's a blizzard outside and she doesn't want to get her toes cold.

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