Here's the good news: House training is a simple, step-by-step process. All you need to do is insure that your puppy is in one of three situations at all times during house training.
- He should be either outside with you
- Inside with your constant supervision
- Or confined in a small, puppy-proofed space such as a crate, small room or gated area.
Situation One: Outside with you. When you're outside with your dog, you're a witness of his activities, so you know if he has or hasn't pottied before you bring him back inside. Equally important, you'll be there to reinforce him for going potty outside so that he learns that it's the right thing to do.
Begin by putting treats in your pocket and taking him to the place in your yard designated as his toilet area. He'll seek out that area in the future on his own if you always take him to the same spot. Once you're in the right place, stand still and quietly wait until he begins to go. If you want him to eliminate on cue, softly say the words you've chosen just before he begins to eliminate. (For more details, see the "Putting Elimination on Cue" section: Part 9 of this blog) Avoid staring at your dog while you're waiting and when he starts sniffing the ground in preparation to potty. Staring will make some dogs less likely to get down to business because it looks like you want to interact. if he stars at you because he smells the treats in your pocket, cross your arms and look away. He'll give up on you soon enough and start sniffing the grass.
When he does start to eliminate, wait quietly until he's done, and then immediately praise him and hand him a tasty treat. While he eats it, tell him what a very good dog he is. Giving him the treat the instant he's done is a simple but essential part of efficient house training. Ironically, it's the part many people skip. They give the treat after their pup has trotted back toward the house. But think about it from your dog's point of view. If you treat your dog after he has eliminated and has come running over to you by the door, he'll think he's getting a treat for coming to the house. If you want him to understand that the treat is for going potty, you have to insure that the treat comes right after he eliminates. That means always going outside with your puppy. Sorry about that (especially if it's in the middle of the year's worst storm), but in some cases, this one small detail can be the difference between successful and unsuccessful house training, so it's worth it.
When you use treats, make sure that you are using great ones. Just as you may be willing to work harder for brownies than for carrots, your dog has preferences too. For most dogs, small pieces of meat or cheese are really good treats. To dogs, meaty, smelly treats are like cake and cookies are to us, while dry biscuits are like plain old crackers. For some dogs, kibble is about as effective as beets would be for most children. Enthusiastic praise is also a reinforcement, but even if they love praise, puppies learn faster if treats are used at the same time. After all, we all feel good when our boss says, "Nice work!" but we like it even better when she says, "Nice work! Here's a bonus" Some people are resistant to using treats for house training, but treats are hands-down the fastest, most efficient way to get house training, accomplished, so why not? As your pup gets more reliable, you can start giving the treats less often.
Situation Two: Inside with your "Constant supervision" means that you are watching your puppy very closely at all times. Anyone who has ever had responsibility for a toddler knows the drill. It only takes a moment for your little one to disappear from view, and it only takes a moment for a puppy to squat and urinate, so stay attentive. Don't star at your puppy -- it will make him nervous, but keep one eye on him and the other on making coffee or watching television. It's easier to keep an eye on your pup if you restrict his access to one or two rooms by shutting doors or putting gates up in doorways.
Letting your puppy out of sight too early in the process is a common reason for failed or delayed house training. If you have a small dog, you can even tether him to you with a leash clipped to your belt or wrapped around your waist. That way, he can never sneak off to potty somewhere else while you're not looking.
Beware of those times when you are physically there with your puppy but functionally you're not. Accidents often happen when you are preoccupied. It's your responsibility to take your dog outside when he needs to go. (See the "Knowing When to Head Outside: Part 3 of the blog for help w/ this.) Your puppy doesn't know yet that anyone cares where he goes, so don't expect him to tell you that he needs to go outside.
Situation Three: Crated or gated off in a small puppy-proofed room. Whenever you can't watch your pup, he needs to be in a small space like a crate or a small, puppy-proofed area. There are two advantages to this.
First, dogs will try their best not to soil their sleeping area, so your puppy is less likely to soil in a little, den-like place than any other area of your house.
Second, his crate or puppy room prevents the bad habit of going potty anywhere else in the house, and house training is all about developing good habits and preventing bad ones.
Lots of people have great luck with crates, because many dogs feel comfortable sleeping in small, enclosed den-like places. We like to put the crate in the bedroom, where your pup will be calmed by your presence at night. A few pups can't tolerate crates, so in this case, you can use a small room or kitchen with a baby gate across the door. For very small dogs, you can use an exercise pen set up with toys, water, and bedding. (Medium or large puppies may knock over the exercise pen, so this is for small breed dogs such as Yorkies, Malteses, and Shih Tzus.) What's important is that the flooring is easy to clean u (so it's not a crisis if your pup has an accident), that the crate or sleeping area is truly comfortable for your pup (not too hot or cold, the crate is large enough for the pup to sleep in comfortably, and turn around easily) and to too close to windows where your pup can be over stimulated by things going on outside.
To teach your pup to be comfortable in his crate (we'll use "crate" from now on to discribe your puppy's sleeping place), toss treats into it so that your dog learns to love going inside to get them. If your pup is hesitant about going inside, put the treats on the lip of the crate and gradually toss the treats farther and farther toward the back. Don't shut the door, just let him run in and out as he pleases. Do this three to five times in a row so that your dog associates going into the crate with fun game, rather than the beginning of being trapped. Repeat this exercise every couple of hours during the day. Once your dog happily charges into the crate, begin to shut the door for just a second after he enters it. After a few more sessions of that, toss in a treat, shut the door, then feed your dog through the gate.
The next step is to leave him in the crate with a stuffed Kong to keep him busy. (Kong is a hard hollow rubber toy that you can stuff treats into) Once he's involved with licking out the food, walk away, only to return in about 30 seconds (before he has had a chance to lick up all the food), open the door, and encourage him to come out. With repetition, he will learn to love being left in the crate and he will be happy to be in there for a long enough time to finish what he's doing.
Other ways to help your pup feel comfortable in his sleeping area are to line it with a towel that you or his litter mates slept on, a T-shirt that smells like you, or something else soft and fuzzy to make it cozy. These soft cloth objects help many puppies to cope with being alone at night, but some puppies will just chew them up, so they may not work for every dog. Some puppies prefer crates that are covered and some prefer them uncovered. If you get a wire crate, you can try experimenting by draping the crate with a sheet or towel to see if your puppy likes it better covered or uncovered.
You'll also want to put your pup in the crate when he's sleepy, so that he gets in the habit of sleeping in it. This part is really easy -- puppies have on/off switches and after playing like maniacs, will slump down like a rock in water and go to sleep in less than a minute. As soon as you see signs that your pup is about to nod off, encourage him to walk into his crate and sleep there. If you find him already asleep, then carry him to it and put him inside it as quietly as you can.
Use your pup's crate both at night and any time during the day when you cant be watching him or have him outside. At night, pups settle best if they sleep in the same room as you, where they can hear and smell you. remember that your pup may have never been alone in his life, so it helps to ease the transition by crating him close to you at night. Our preference is for the dog's crate to be in the same room where you sleep at night, but if it's more convenient, the crate can be in other parts of the house during the day. It's best if the crate is not in a HIGH TRAFFIC area of the house so that the pup isn't disturbed by people passing by. Also, don't put the crate by the window -- it seems to us that it might be more pleasant, but often i just over stimulates and frustrates dogs, so pick a quiet place where your pup can nap.
If he does have an occasional accident in the crate, don't worry about it, just clean it up well (see "OOPS! Handling Accidents and Clean-Ups": Part 5 of the blog) and try to figure out why it happened.
- Was he in there too long?
- Did you make sure he went outside before you put him in the crate?
- Did you change his dies?
If you don't know why he had an accident, don't worry. A few accidents in his crate or sleeping area aren't a crisis. If it continues and happens frequently, then try the pup in a small puppy-proof area rather than a crate, insure that your pup is getting taken outside often enough and rule out any medical problem that might make it impossible for your pup to hold it.
Some dogs accept their sleeping area from day one, but others like to whine or bark a bit when you've put them down for a nap. There's a fine line to walk here, because you don't want to teach your pup that you'll let him out if he makes noise, but you don't want to ignore him if he's trying to tell you he needs to potty either. Usually you're safe to ignore any whines or whimpers when he is first put into his crate -- most pups settle down after a few minutes and go to sleep. However, if an otherwise quiet puppy started crying at three in the morning, we'd get up and take him out to see if he had to go. If after a few nights you realize he just wants to wake you up to play, you can ignore him the next night and try to get some well-deserved sleep. If he did need to go, try waiting longer and longer each night before you let him out. Listen also for the pup who was quiet all night but starts to cry around five in the morning. He well may need to go out, so you've got to get him out of the crate quickly. Try, however, to let him out when he's quiet, not when he's barking. You can either wait until he's paused for a second or two, or you can make a noise that startles him for a moment. Don't scare him, just make a noise that gets him to close his mouth and prick his ears up momentarily, and let him out right away while he's still quiet.
Most dogs learn to love their crates -- they seem to think of them with the same fondness that many of us have for the tranquility of our own bedrooms. But there are a few dogs who truly panic in a crate. If your dog begins panting heavily, drooling and barking hysterically when you put him in his crate, he may be better off in a small, puppy-proofed room. Apparently, not all dogs have read the books about how they're supposed to like small den like areas. But these dogs are in the minority, so don't be too quick to give up on your crate if your pup just fusses in it for a few minutes.
Do keep in mind that a puppy should be taken outside immediately after being released from confinement. Otherwise, all that effort of holding it while being confined can go to waste (if you'll pardon the pun.)
Other situations? There are NONE! Alt least not until your dog is father along in the process. During the beginning phase of house training, your puppy is always in one of the three situations listed above. NO exceptions. Preventing mistakes is the key to making house training fast and efficient, so it's worth the effort. Later, we'll address how and when to give your dog more freedom.
(We'll continue every day to add to this blog, so check it out for the add'l blogs)
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