Housetraining

       Housetraining is usually the first priority for owners of new puppies. When owners successfully teach dogs to go outdoors, and to generalize the indoor spaces as non-toilet areas, a dog is considered housetrained. While some puppies seem to "housetrain themselves" in a matter of days, others struggle with accidents into canine adolescence and sometimes on into adulthood. The puppies which fail to get off on the right paw during early potty training may end up taking a turn for the worse as they mature and their elimination habits do not. Frequently puppies who failed potty training turn up in shelters when their owners can no longer delude themselves into thinking their pet will "grow out of" inappropriate elimination. Owners can set their puppies up for success by following simple, logical steps, and by remembering to save their emotions for positive bonding moments with their pet. Punishment, anger, and disapproval have no place in any aspect of training. When owners lose their cool during housetraining efforts they can cause irreversible damage both to the dogs housetraining and its trust of human beings. Worried their puppy’s accidents might lead to chronic housesoiling, some owners begin to express disapproval and even anger toward their pets. Most common and widely utilized are owner reactions that involve "showing" or rubbing the dogs nose in, its own eliminations. This has no more place in the teaching of a puppy or dog than it would in the potty training of a child; it is abuse. 

Why do dogs repeat certain behaviors, despite their owners sometimes blatant attempts at letting them know they disapprove and want them to cease, desist, and never repeat the undesirable act? Because, regardless of how unpleasant the behavior may be to the humans, it is purposeful, and has a positive result for the dog! Elimination provides the dog with positive reinforcement in the form of relief, wherever it occurs! When owners provide positive alternatives to inappropriate elimination, while preventing the unacceptable behaviors, their dogs’ behaviors change for the better. 

House trained dogs may have the "run of the house," or be limited to certain areas; they may be "crate trained," or confined to a small area when the owners are unable to supervise, to be sure accidents don’t occur; they may have a dog door, allowing free access to an outside elimination area, or they may need to be taken or let outdoors. Some dogs are allowed out, alone, to a fenced yard or kennel run to "do their business," others are accompanied, and some must accomplish their task while on a leash or while being walked. Some owners establish a schedule, some take their dogs out randomly, and some let their dogs out on demand, when they "ask," or "signal." Paper training, establishing an indoor area with training pads or newspaper as an indoor "relief station" is another housetraining option, but has a higher potential for ongoing accident problems, as accuracy actually hitting the papers seems to vary. The recentintroduction of commercial "dog litter," for litter box training, offers a minor variation on traditional paper training, with a pelleted paper product in a box used in lieu of papers on the floor. There are dogs which do well with each of these extremely different approaches, so it is important to stress there really isn’t one "right" way to housetrain a dog. But the effort required in order to accomplish the task varies from one approach to the next, from one owner’s circumstances to the next, and from one dog to the next. Across the board, the key to success in any potty training program is patience, consistency, and prevention of mistakes.

PAPER/PAD, LITTER BOX TRAINING

       An owner of a small breed puppy living in a high-rise condominium may decide the best approach for their circumstances would be to paper or litter train their pet, while the owner of one or more large breed puppies would most likely quickly rule that option out. Paper/pad or litter box training permits the dog to eliminate indoors, possibly breaking the entire taboo not to soil the "cave." As a result some become sloppy and begin to miss, going where ever the urge strikes, rather than seeking the assigned relief station. Paper and litter training are best done best done by establishing the relief station in a remote area, such as a utility room, or on a patio, porch, or deck. By following the same rules and patterns for teaching a dog to go outside, but instead taking it to an indoor toilet area, the risk of sloppy habits and spontaneous elimination can be reduced.

"SIGNAL" TRAINING

       An owner who is home nearly all of the time, and always in close proximity to their dog, may not mind teaching the dog to signal to go outside. But an owner who isn’t constantly available would wisely worry about missing signals and having to clean up the consequences. Signaling dogs may become pushy and controlling over their owners, demanding to go out excessively. The question of "Who’s training whom?" frequently comes to mind, when observing a dog that has learned its signaling works to get more than just relief.

DOG DOOR TRAINING

       Owners with a fenced outdoor enclosure may opt to install a dog door, to allow their pet free access to an outside elimination area. Inside, a cage or small kennel run may be built to prevent the unsupervised dog from having the run of the house when home alone. Another option is to install the dog door between a kennel run and a utility room or other small, dog-proof indoor area. This especially appeals to families with multiple dogs, who wish to allow their pets to spend time together but don’t wish to return to find their house has been redecorated by overly enthusiastic playful pets. It is also a great option for people whose pets would otherwise spend too many long, boring hours confined alone indoors in a cage. (Full time outdoor kenneling, or in/out kennels set up off of out buildings are not discussed here, as they do not technically qualify as "housetraining") Free access to outdoor areas and resulting frequent elimination, made possible by either a dog door or a person playing doorman on the dog’s demand, can actually undermine, rather then improve housetraining results. But the dog door approach can lead to complaints from neighbors if the dog is a barker. The outdoor run or enclosure must be escape-proof, to be certain there will still be a dog waiting for its owners when they return home. The area must also be safe from people who might antagonize or harm the dog. During play or when very distracted, young dogs may "forget" to use the dog door, even though they have the option. Dog doors can lead to excessive trips in and out, muddy paw prints, yucky dog "prizes" being brought or dragged in, and rarely, surprise visits from other critters. Some dogs may begin to show reluctance to eliminate in the outdoor kennel run if they spend more time outside than in. If the run is perceived as canine "living space" rather than dog-toilet, resident dogs may become reluctant to defile it, instead waiting until they are in the yard or indoors to "take care of business."

CRATE/CAGE TRAINING

       Crate training dissuades accidents by confining the puppy to a small enough area that it becomes reluctant to eliminate in it. Crate training can help a puppy increase its capacity to hold eliminations, and learn to wait to go outside. But it can be detrimental to a dogs social development, as well as inhumane, to use confinement excessively. Generally, the maximum number of hours a puppy should be confined would be about the same as the number of month old the puppy is, up to six months. While some dogs are able to tolerate longer periods of confinement, from a humane standpoint no dog should be confined for longer than eight hours without interruption. I personally advise anyone who will be leaving their dog alone longer than six hours to either hire a dog walker to break up the time, or install a dog door to an outside enclosure so the dog can go out as needed. Excessive confinement can result in a dog becoming housetrained only to its "house"--the cage! When allowed access to the rest of the home the puppy which has spent excessive time in the cage and little or no time elsewhere may prove itself untrained in those areas. Puppies caged for too long may eventually begin going in the cage, to their own discomfort and distress. It can be difficult if not impossible to proceed with training once the primary prevention tool, the crate, has been eliminated, literally, from usefulness.

FREE TRAINING

       Dogs can be trained without a crate, using baby gates or areas such as a utility room to confine them while they are being taught to hold their eliminations. The fact they have enough freedom to locate remote areas and comfortably have accidents often allows the precedent to be set for eliminating indoors as well as out. Until dogs learn they are capable of holding their eliminations for a reasonable period of time, rather than spontaneously eliminating, they won’t. A diligent owner, using a combination of leash restraint, baby gates, and constant supervision may be able to housetrain a puppy without ever using a cage. But in addition to preventing indoor eliminations during an owner’s absence, the crate also provides protection from dangers such as electrical cords and prevents destructive behaviors from ever developing. When puppies mature and develop improved self control, both with oral exploration and elimination behavior, and become more passively resigned to owners’ absences, many are "weaned" from their crates. Some owners remove the cage altogether, and others keep them around, as the dog’s "den," leaving the door open to allow the dog to enter and exit freely. Many owners of cage-weaned dogs come home to discover their pet voluntarily sleeping in the open crate!

       When a puppy eliminates in a room it rarely accesses, or at a point which is far away from its sleeping/playing/eating areas, the puppy is actually showing an early stage of "housetraining". The hard part is getting a small animal which in nature would have a snug cave as inhabited space to view the entire interior of even a modest sized human home as all "cave," and none as "outside." Puppies that are purchased from pet stores, which had been confined in small cages in close proximity to their own eliminations can be very difficult to housetrain. Their instinctive drive to keep clean and healthy, by eliminating away from their sleeping area, has been over ridden. Out of forced necessity they go in their beds and lie in or upon their waste, as a result becoming comfortable with, or oblivious to, its presence. Depending on the puppy’s age, health, physical development, history, feeding schedule, and access to water, it will have varying potential for bladder and bowel control. An owner’s adherence to reinforcing appropriate elimination behavior while preventing accidents is critical to success. Using the following steps as a guide, while taking into consideration individual differences, owner’s should be able to develop the housetraining plan that best suits both the dog and family, and offers the best odds for accomplishing housetraining.

1) Rule out health problems with your veterinarian. Puppies with diarrhea, loose stools, or digestive upset cannot be expected to show elimination control. Puppy cystitis is a common cause of inappropriate wetting, especially in female puppies prior to their first heat cycle. Discuss neutering with your veterinarian if a male dog over 6 months of age is "marking" (lifting leg to urinate on objects) inside the house. Worms, coccidia, fleas, ticks, or other internal or external parasites can undermine housetraining efforts and cause ill health.

2) Schedule food intake to specific meal times, as recommended by your veterinarian. Offer food two or three times each day at the same times, but avoid feeding a large meal just before confinement. The last meal should be finished three to five hours before bedtime. Remove your puppy’s food bowl after 20 minutes. Feeding on a scheduled basis allows for more accurate prediction of elimination needs. Puppies will need to go outside or to their indoor elimination area soon after they wake, after meals, after playing, and after drinking.

3) Feed the same food every day, and make any changes gradually. A consistent diet of a high-quality food is recommended. NO scraps, treats, inappropriate "people-food," or dog "junk-food." Do any supplementation, if necessary, at meal times only. If it is necessary to change food for any reason, do it gradually over a period of 4 to 7 days, by increasing the new food as the old food is proportionately decreased.

4) Allow free access to water at all times except when your puppy is in its crate/cage. Ask your veterinarian how much water your dog needs to consume each day for good health; be sure to provide extra when weather conditions are very hot. Be sure not to over confine puppies; to do so could cause dehydration, as well as stress. Over-confinement may force puppies to soil their sleeping area, and is abusive. Remove water approximately two hours before bedtime, and take the puppy outside for pre- bedtime bladder relief to be sure the puppy is tucked in for the night empty. Some puppies show excessive interest in water; rationing water intake would only make them more thirsty, Instead, allow the puppy to literally "hit the saturation point," by offering large bowls of water. Take the water obsessed puppy out or to its elimination area several times in a row, as it most likely will need to urinate more than once, in rapid succession, to unload all that fluid. instead of trying to correct or prevent excessive interest in water, compete with it by heading outside. Not only will this lure the pup away from the water, it will create a timely opportunity for soon-to-be-needed bladder relief!

5) Take the puppy out at scheduled times only. Owners with the greatest potty training success tell their pets when it is "time," rather than waiting for signals. Schedules reduce stress because they create predictability. Signaling dogs may not develop a strong ability to wait and hold eliminations, and may have accidents when owners are not available to tend to immediate needs. Another negative repercussion of signals is the potential for developing a dog that "cries wolf"--or more accurately, cries "outside." False alarmists, also known as owner-training dogs, are taught a sure fire way of yanking their owners’ chains by none other than--their owners!

6) Signals can work, provided they are taught to the dog. I must stress I don’t recommend them, but here is a better way to let your dog boss you around if you are sure you want to start this sort of training. Hang bells off of the doorknob at the door you use to take the pup out to eliminate. Each time you take the dog outside to eliminate, preface by saying time to go out and ringing the bells a few times, at puppy nose level. One day when you forget to take the puppy out, or it feels an off schedule need, it probably will remind you by nosing the bells. Go ahead and take your pup out, repeating the phrase and ringing the bells again as you go. This approach will allow your dog to remind you when you occasionally lose track of the time, hopefully without resulting in a dog that drives you crazy playing "Jingle Bells" all day long (if it becomes too musical, remove the bells)!

7) Either carry or take your puppy on a leash to its designated toilet area. Allow only about three to five minutes, since this is supposed to be a "business trip." Waiting around for twenty minutes or more for a puppy to become "inspired" will have the opposite effect. The puppy will be in no hurry if holding out can prolong a walk or bonding time with the owner! Wait to go on walks or allow free time and play until AFTER the puppy eliminates. When your puppy is visiting the "business" area, it is important to not distract it by speaking; you need to allow the puppy to sniff for scent triggers (smells from previous successes, which you may have to "plant" if success has not yet occurred in the designated location). If the puppy fails to eliminate in the potty area during the allotted time, bring it back inside but keep it on the leash, very close to you, on your lap, or in its cage if no one is available to puppy-sit. Do not allow free activity in the house, or an accident is certain to occur. Use supervision or confinement for ten to fifteen minutes, to help your puppy "hold it," then try again for the three to five minutes. When the dog does begin to eliminate, attach a phrase to the behavior by saying (only once!) "go pee-pee!" or something similar. If the dog only hears this command DURING the act of urinating (and another creative command for defecating), for at least 30 days, the dog will become conditioned to eliminate in response to the phrase. But too much poorly timed repetition dilutes the impact and meaning of the words; instead they will mean "sniff the grass and ignore me"!

8) DON'T PUNISH! This will only make your dog more unwilling to eliminate when you are near (including outdoors). Most people punish because they incorrectly project human feelings and ways of thinking onto their dogs. Dogs do not understand "right" from "wrong." Puppies actually learn not to eliminate in inhabited areas by being kept very clean by their dam and breeder until they are old enough to begin moving away from their eliminations. They will naturally migrate away from their sleeping areas to relieve themselves in remote areas. Spare bedrooms, basements, uninhabited living rooms all qualify as "remote" areas to a puppy or improperly housetrained dog. Punishment may simply compel a dog to become more private about its "business." It also on occasion causes more deliberate "direct hits," when dogs figure out that owners punish in response to elimination. Some dogs, left home alone, begin to leave loud and clear statements in surprising locations, such as on pillows, in shoes, and even on kitchen tables! These are not acts of spite, but dropped gauntlets (sort of!). Dogs learn that absent owners return to punish; they may conclude it is their act bringing the owner home, and punishment is bearable, even desirable, if it brings an end to solitude and loneliness. These same dogs are reluctant to eliminate in front of frustrated owners when in the appropriate area; they know what elimination causes--punishment! The housetrained dog is not bullied into fear-based compliance, it is taught by a compassionate, intelligent leader to behave in positive ways. Intimidation tactics may scare some dogs into not soiling in the "big wolf’s" den, but most will simply wait until they are alone to go. Many owners are mistakenly convinced their dog eliminates in the house as an act of spite or revenge, because it cowers when they return and observe the "evidence." Punished dogs begin to associate their owners’ arrival with punishment, and assume submissive postures in defensive response. Punishment for elimination can even result in more elimination, in the form of spontaneous, or submissive, urination. Puppies may also spontaneously urinate when excited. This is something they cannot control, which punishment and scolding worsen. Provided owners don’t react, it is usually outgrown by the time a dog reaches 7 months of age. When accidents happen, grit your teeth, hold your nose and clean them up. No puppy has ever been housetrained without an accident or...several. Watch for signs that your puppy may need to eliminate, such as sniffing the floor, circling, or suddenly running out of sight. If you actually observe "it" happening or about to, quickly startle or distract the puppy without threatening it. Make a loud noise, or toss a paperback near the pup, but don’t be caught looking. The goal isn’t to intimidate the dog, but to simply interrupt it. Immediately calmly state "outside" (or whatever you normally say), then pick up and carry or lead the dog outside or to its area. Gently pushing the puppy’s tail down while carrying it can help stop any continued urination or defecation.

9) When despite your best efforts accidents do happen, remove your dog before cleaning up messes, or another potential cause-and-effect conclusion may be drawn by your pet--you come home to clean up. Take a puppy that has had an accident out at scheduled time, but don't necessarily expect it to go, since it recently did. After cleaning, use a pet odor neutralizer such as Nature's Miracle, Nilodor, Fresh 'n' Clean, or Outright Pet Odor Eliminator but avoid using ammonia-based cleaners to clean up urine. Ammonia breaks down to urea, which is a component of urine, and may actually attract the puppy back to the same spot. To discourage a puppy from returning to previously soiled areas, deny access by closing doors to the rooms, utilizing baby gates, or moving furniture over the soiled areas. Most pets prefer to avoid eliminating in areas where they eat or play. Feeding or placing water bowls, bedding, and toys in previously soiled areas can discourage elimination.

10) Don't reward outside eliminations with treats or you may throw off your puppy’s delicate digestive balance, causing a need to eliminate off-schedule. Instead, when the puppy does hit the correct spot, it is time to make life turn very positive; praise, play, go for a walk--make your puppy think a successful potty trip provides passage to adventure, and it will begin to hurry to complete the task.

11) During absences, confine your puppy in a crate/cage, or in your kitchen or laundry room with an open crate if you are unable to return home frequently enough to provide relief (as often as every two hours for puppies under 12 weeks). By leaving the crate open, and possibly even placing newspapers, pads, or a "dog litter box," you will be allowing your young puppy to move away from its "house" if it feels the need to go. Be sure to spend positive time in the confinement area with the puppy, to associate good things with being there. Never use confinement area or crate to punish or "time out" your dog, and be sure to provide appropriate chewing materials or toys for the confined dog. As puppies begin to show better control when owners are home supervising them, owners may decide to shut the crate to help compel the puppy to "hold it." Always take your puppy out to eliminate just before confinement. Be sure to purchase the right size cage. It must have enough floor space to allow the puppy to lie down comfortably; however, using too large of a crate can cause serious long term problems. The puppy may go to one side of the cage to eliminate, and then end up tracking through its mess. If this behavior is allowed to continue, the instinctive drive to not soil its bed will be lost and the puppy will soon be going whenever it is left confined in the crate. Buy a cage that will be big enough for your dog as an adult, but choose a model that comes with a divider panel as an accessory. By adjusting the position of the panel, the space inside the cage can be modified to fit your puppy as it grows. When housetraining my own puppies, I prefer to allow more freedom and to observe a slightly slower but steady reduction in indoor potty-area visits during my absences. At about twelve weeks of age I move papers outdoors, securing them with a rock. If your puppy’s potty control is unreliable at night, you may try moving the crate into your bedroom in the evening (or investing in a second one for this location), to give your puppy more company while preventing accidents. Your presence may reduce lonely moments in the middle of the night and resulting excitability. When puppies wake up and become active during the night, they will most likely need to go outside to prevent cage soiling. If intense need becomes apparent in the middle of the night, ring those bells and out you go. Nighttime need will be outgrown provided you don’t make the outing to socially rewarding. Keep midnight runs strictly business; do not be sociable, talkative, or even friendly (who is, at two AM?), or you may be repeating them every night! When you are home, limit your dogs activities as the next scheduled time approaches, in order to prevent accidents and increase the dog’s holding capacity. I prefer to use a leash to keep the dog close to me around the house, or confine using baby gates, rather than overusing the crate. Remember that neither "solitary" nor "confinement" are concepts natural to canines, so be sure to provide as much of your company as possible; counterbalance crate time with plenty of freedom, play, training and exercise.

12) Once your dog successfully eliminates in its designated area and has been positively reinforced with a walk, or play, consider allowing supervised access to otherwise off-limits areas of the home. This is a good time to begin gradually introducing the dog to the "run of the house," since it just eliminated in the appropriate area, and is unlikely to go again immediately. Bring your EMPTY dog into each room of the house, to introduce it as inhabited territory, NOT a toilet area! After about 20 minutes begin to supervise or limit a young puppy's activities.

13) Do not trust a dog's housetraining out of crate or when no one is home until at least 6 accident-free weeks have passed. If backsliding occurs, resume supervision and confinement techniques, before beginning to trust dog left unattended.

14) Enroll in a positive, fun obedience training program, to help direct your dog's energy into positive- attention earning outlets. This will help to reduce any deliberate, negative attention-seeking aspects of elimination behavior problems. Practicing positive obedience exercises for five or ten minutes just prior to confinement is a great way to make sure you are leaving a tired dog that has had its attention needs satisfied, rather than a wired dog that may feel separation anxiety.

15) Finally, and most importantly, try to be patient! Housetraining may take some time. The three most important concepts are schedule, supervision, and success.Housetraining a dog is a matter of taking advantage of canine instincts to keep inhabited spaces clean. Owners who help their dogs be successful and secure in accessing a location for relief, while preventing inappropriate habits from developing, are housetraining their dogs. Success may come more slowly for some, but when owners stick with the program it happens--without harm to the dog, the home, or the relationship!

SIDEBAR:

Reasons for accidents:

Medical problems
Over-excitement
Submissive/reflexive social response
Too long of a delay between outings
Out too frequently
Fear of punishment/eliminating in front of owner
Distraction while outdoors
Negative attention seeking
Patterned behavior
Aversion to inclement weather
Overfeeding, erratic diet
Excessive water drinking
Territorial marking
Poor imprinting regarding cleanliness
Anxiety
Lack of owner supervision indoors
Attraction to previous accident odors