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Housetraining Tipsthanks to Frank Jackson (Chihuahua-L) for allowing me to publish this on our website, this was a reply to a post on that list I believe housetraining, or any kind of dog training, to be largely a matter of attitude. If you keep the following five basic principles in mind it will help you to obtain a successful attitude, and a housetrained dog.
1. Housetraining mistakes are NEVER the fault of the dog.You say: "He will poop and pee in the house as soon as my back is turned. This can sometimes happen even straight after I have taken him out walking and thought that he has done 'his business'." I think the key here is that you say you "thought" he has done his business. You must stay out with the dog until he goes, doing both pee and poop. Sometimes this takes a long time. Sometimes a good brisk walk will help. If you have stayed out a good 15-20 minutes and can't stay longer and have to bring the dog in, you must watch the dog while he is in the house, crate the dog, or keep the dog in some type of pen or enclosure. A young dog may have to go every half an hour or so. Control the dog's food and water so that he is fed and watered at certain times and then taken outdoors immediately. 2. Anger or punishment for unwanted behavior is counterproductive.Anger has no place in working with dogs. Anger will only make things worse. Tell yourself that you will work with the dog without anger, and that you will not allow yourself to get angry. Your anger can be controlled and your dog and you will both be happier. When something does make you angry, walk away and come back when you are calm. Decide that the next time the event happens you will deal with it without anger. 3. Praise for correct behavior gets results.You wrote: "I have tried wee pads, scolding him for doing wrong, praising him for doing right... but just nothing seems to work with him." I think that rewarding good behavior has a much better effect than scolding or punishing bad behavior. I think this is true for all training. Remember, your interaction with the dog is not only about housetraining. When you scold the dog for doing something that he is confused about you are just as likely to create another problem as you are likely to solve the housetraining problem. The dog will not be able to connect the accident that happened at 10:00 a.m. with the scolding he gets at 4:00 p.m. anyway. When you see the dog beginning to look for a place to go, take him out and praise him. 4. Consistency in goals and training methods is crucial.You wrote: "I have tried wee pads, scolding him for doing wrong, praising him for doing right ... but just nothing seems to work with him." This is where consistency pays off. You may be trying too many things and the dog is confused. Decide on the one thing you want from the dog and praise the dog when he does that. Decide if you want the dog to be trained to go outdoors OR indoors on papers. While some dogs learn to do both, most dogs will find it confusing to be expected to go inside sometimes and outside others. Work towards simple consistency. Let your goal be to train the dog to go outside and reward the dog with mountains of praise when he goes outside. Praise the dog for pooping outside and peeing outside every single time. This makes the time fun for the dog. Your dog wants to please you. 5. Patience is the key.You have only had your dog for two months which is not a very long time in light of the fact that your dog could live another 10-15 years. The time you invest now in good training will pay off many times over in the years to come. Also, your dog is still very young. Be patient. We don't expect a two year old child to be potty trained and expecting a 4-5 month old puppy to be housetrained is asking too much. Every dog is different. Some may be housetrained at 3 months, others may take much longer. Also, keep in mind, when you are housetraining your dog you are also teaching the dog many other things about what your relationship will be. You are molding the dog's personality. Your dog wants to please you. Give your dog numerous chances throughout the day to please you by going outside. Do everything you can to reduce the possibility for mistakes indoors by always watching your dog when he is inside or confining the dog until he is housetrained. For your carpets it is important to get something that will remove all traces of the odor to keep your pup from wanting to return to those spots. One brand name is Nature's Miracle. I can tell you love your dog and are frustrated. I hope some of this helps. Take a deep breath, relax. Focus on the good things going on with your pup. Your dog will be housetrained. Reward the dog for good behavior and make these formative months a happy period for both of you. Be consistent in what you expect and generous with your praise. Be patient. Lastly, do some reading on housetraining and training in general. The web is a great place but there are entire books on housetraining written by experts that can provide you with much better information. Housetraining and raising a pup are hard work. The reward for all the hard work will be a dog that is housetrained, a pleasure to live with, and a dog that is welcome in any home. Good luck! |
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