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Verbal cues
Specific verbal communications will also help the two of you
understand what’s desired. It’s an excellent idea to always
use a word when it’s time to head to the bathroom. We like
"Outside?". Remember that whenever you use a verbal command
or signal, it’s important that everybody in the family
always uses the same word in the same way. Think of the word
"Outside" in this situation not only as a question you’re
asking the pup but also as an indication that you want to go
there. Some dogs may get into the habit of going to the door
when they want to go outside. This is great when it happens
but it isn’t as common as some believe. We’ve found that it
is better to use verbal commands to initiate this sort of
activity rather than waiting for the puppy to learn this
behavior on its own. It seems like your consistent use of a
word or phrase like "Outside" will cause the puppy to come
to you rather than the door when he needs to go outside. The
pup more quickly sees you as part of the overall activity of
getting him where he needs to go. We believe this is much
better.
Once outside we try to encourage them to get on with the act
in question. We use the phrase "Do your numbers". This is
probably a hold over from our own parenthood and hearing
children use the "Number 1" or "Number 2" phrases. Others
use "Do It" , "Potty" or "Hurry Up". As soon as they
eliminate it is very important to praise then with a "Good
Dog" and then come back inside immediately. Again, make this
trip that started outside with a specific word "Outside" be
for a purpose. If we are taking the pup out to play with a
ball or go for a walk we won’t use this word even if we know
they will eliminate while we are outside.
When an "accident" happens
One of the key issues in housebreaking is to follow Rule
Number One: If you don’t catch your puppy doing it then
don’t punish it for it! We don’t care what someone else may
tell you or what you read, if you find a mess that was left
when you weren’t there, clean it up and forget it.
Discipline won’t help because unless you catch the puppy in
the act, it will have no idea what the scolding is for. Your
puppy has urinated and defecated hundreds of times before it
met you. Mom or the breeder always cleaned it up. Nobody
made a fuss before and they will not put the punishment,
regardless of its form, together with something they’ve done
without incident numerous times before. Especially if they
did it more than 30 seconds ago! Puppies are just like our
children. Unless something was really fun (and a repetitious
act like going to the bathroom isn’t), they are not thinking
about what they did in the past. They’re thinking about what
they can do in the future. At this point in their life a
puppy’s memory is very, very poor.
Anyway, let’s face it. It was your fault not the pup's. If
you had been watching, you would have noticed the puppy
suddenly walking or running around in circles with his nose
down smelling for the perfect spot to go to the bathroom.
It’s just as consistent as the taxi cab driver behind you
honking immediately when the light changes. The puppy will
show the same behavior every time. It may vary a little from
pup to pup but they always show their own "pre-potty
pattern" before the act.
The same should be said as to your first reaction when you
actually catch them in the act of urinating or defecating.
It’s your fault, you weren’t watching for or paying
attention to the signals. Don’t get mad. Quickly, but calmly
pick them up and without raising your voice sternly say
"No". Carry them outside or to their papers. It will help to
push their tail down while you are carrying them as this
will often help them to stop urinating or defecating any
more.
They’re going to be excited when you get them outside or to
the papers, but stay there with them a while and if they
finish the job reward them with simple praise like "Good
Dog".
Housebreaking Rule Number One:
If you don’t catch your puppy doing it then don’t punish him
for it!
In the disciplining of dogs, just like in physics, every
action has a reaction and for training purposes these may
not be beneficial! If you overreact and severely scold or
scare the heck out of a puppy for making what is in your
mind a mistake, your training is probably going backwards.
With housebreaking this is especially difficult for them to
understand as they are carrying out a natural body function.
Carried one step farther is the idea of rubbing a puppy’s
nose into a mistake it made, whether you caught it or not.
In the limits of a puppy’s intelligence, please explain to
us the difference of rubbing its nose in its mess it left in
your kitchen an hour ago versus the one the neighbor’s dog
left in the park two weeks ago. If the dog were smart enough
to figure all of this out, the only logical choice would be
to permanently quit going to the bathroom. Punishment rarely
speeds up housebreaking. Often it makes the dog nervous or
afraid every time it needs to go to the bathroom.
We’ll give you a perfect example of how this kind of
disciplining causes long-term problems between a dog and
owner. A client makes an appointment to discuss a
housebreaking problem. They’re hoping that on physical exam
or through some testing we can find a medical reason for the
animal’s inability to successfully make it through
housebreaking. They readily admit their frustration with the
dog. The fecal and urine tests reveal no problem. We assumed
that would be the case and have no intention of charging for
those services. In the room the pup is showing a lot more
interest in the veterinarian than it is in its owners. The
animal’s eyes are almost saying, "Please kidnap me from
them". When the owner reaches down to pet the dog on its
head, the pup reflexively closes its eyes and turns its head
to the side. The dog reacts as if it were going to be hit.
What this tells us is that the dog has been punished for
making messes in the owners’ absence. During this punishment
the puppy is not, and we repeat, the puppy is not thinking
about what it might have done two hours ago. It isn’t
thinking that it shouldn’t make messes in the house. The
animal isn’t even thinking about the messes.
The classic line that usually goes with this scenario then
comes up "When we get home we know he has made a mess
because he always sulks or runs and hides"! The dog isn’t
thinking about some mistake it may have made. Rather, the
pup has learned that when the people first get home, for
some reason it has yet to figure out, they are always in a
bad mood and it gets punished. The puppy has decided that
maybe it would be better to try to avoid them for awhile so
it does try to hide. In this particular case, discipline,
misunderstood by the puppy, has caused it to fear its owners
and this will probably affect their relationship throughout
the life of the dog.
If you want housebreaking to go quickly, regardless of the
method you use, spend as much time as possible with your
puppy. In an exam room, one of us once listened to a client
complain about how he had to take some time off from work
for his own mental health and also, but unrelated, how the
puppy wasn’t doing too well in the housebreaking department.
For us this statement was just too good to be true. It was
the perfect set-up for our pitch. This gentleman, a
bachelor, truly loved his puppy. We saw them together
everywhere. Still the problem was that he worked in a
downtown office and the pup was home. His work allowed him
to get home frequently but not always on a consistent
schedule. There would be accidents when he was gone and
sometimes he was gone longer than the abilities or the
attention span of the puppy.
The solution was easy. We simply suggested his health and
the puppy’s training would both do better if he stayed home
for a week or so. It worked. Under the man’s watchful eye,
he was always there at the time when he was needed and in
less than seven days the ten-week-old puppy was trained. We
aren’t saying there was never another accident, but they
were few and far between. In the end the best of all worlds
occurred. The man realized his dog could be trusted and
thereafter they spent their days together at the man’s
office.
Feeding and housebreaking
The feeding schedule you use can help or hinder
housebreaking. You’ll soon notice that puppies will need to
go outside soon after they wake and also within 30 to 40
minutes after eating. Be consistent when you feed the animal
so you can predict when they need to relieve themselves.
Plan your trips outside around these patterns.
All of this may seem simple and it really is. The keys are
that it will take time and you must be consistent. And, of
course, you must never lose your temper or even get excited.
Spontaneous or submissive urination
Puppies may spontaneously urinate when excited. This may be
when they first see you, at meeting a new dog or when they
are scared. It is often referred to as submissive or
excitement urination . Do not discipline the puppy for this,
as it is something they cannot control. Simply ignore it and
clean up the mess. If you don’t overreact, they will usually
outgrow this between 4 and 7 months of age.
Summary
Your new puppy is home and you’ve started the housebreaking
process. This is just as much a part of training as the
"Come" and "Stay" commands. However, mistakes that occur
with housebreaking can cause more problems between you and
your pet than those encountered with any other form of
training. Be patient and stay calm.
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