House Training

House training your dog is simple if you follow a few basic rules.

1) Your puppy must have NO time unsupervised in your home. NONE. If you are not directly watching the puppy, it should be in the crate, or outside in a safe area. You MUST watch your puppy at ALL times when loose in the house.

2) Your puppy should sleep inside the crate by your bedside. This way you can hear if the puppy should happen to need to go out during the night.

3) You must go WITH the puppy outside for ALL of his toilet trips. You must have treats with you. When your puppy is urinating, say "GO PEE PEE" or words to that effect in a nice praising tone of voice the entire time. When she is finished, pop the treat into her mouth at once, and praise, praise, praise. This should be something she gets at no other time, like tiny pieces of string cheese or boiled chicken. Same for defecation. Say "GO POOP" or words to that effect while she is going, and food reward and praise afterwards. You must observe and reward ALL outdoor potty time.

4) Keep a schedule. Feed at the same time, and walk outside at the same times. If your pup is older than 12 weeks, she needs at least 4 trips outdoors each day, and 5 will probably be better. Pup needs to go out at wake up time, lunch time, 4-5 PM, after dinner or any other meals, and before bed. Younger puppies may need to go out more often.

5) Use a key word each time you go out. I use "Come on!!" each time I'm opening the door to go out with the dog.

6) If you catch the puppy IN THE ACT of going to the toilet in your house, CLAP YOUR HANDS, say AH AH, OUTSIDE!! And immediately rush him/her outside. If she finishes there, do your usual food reward and praise.

The keys to getting your dog reliably housetrained are:

SUPERVISION: NO loose time in the house if you are not watching. NOT ONE SECOND. This is VERY important.

REWARDS: ALL outdoor toileting MUST be observed and rewarded. If you only do this ONE thing, your puppy will get housetrained.

PATIENCE: Anger and punishment have no place in dog training. Toileting is a natural and pleasurable experience for your dog. You can teach him/her not to soil your house, but punishment will NOT help. It will only teach the dog to hide when he/she needs to go the toilet.

If you have applied these techniques carefully for 4 weeks and you are still finding spots or piles after the fact, it's time for stronger measures. Roll up a newspaper and fasten both ends with a rubber band. Keep it handy. The very next time you find a spot or a pile that the dog has left behind, whip out that newspaper, and hit YOURSELF over the head firmly several times as you repeat "I FORGOT TO WATCH MY PUPPY".