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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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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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