House Training Options

House training is one of the areas of dog ownership that’s most subject to misunderstanding, confusion, and just plain dread! I personally don't know anyone who likes to clean up dog poop inside (or out for that matter)!

Dogs are den animals, instinct encourages them to keep their dens clean by eliminating outside of their sleeping area.

It is this instinct that allows us to house train them. There are several ways we can accomplish this, but each takes training ourselves first. Understanding what options are available to us and how we can achieve a positive outcome to each may help ease that dread of House Breaking.

I read the general rule for house training is that a puppy can hold it one hour for every month of its age, so a 2 month old puppy can hold it 2 hours, etc. until 10 hours, the maximum an adult dog should be asked to hold it. So about 2 hours is maximum target for your puppy.

Its best if you can catch them before they have an accident instead of waiting for them to whine, while their young don't expect them to hold it through the night.

Also, make sure the crate is an appropriate size, if they can mess in one corner and then avoid it by sitting in another corner, its too big.

Paper

House train your puppy or dog to go on paper or puppy pads. Pros: Papers can be moved around, you and puppy stay indoors.

Cons: Your puppy or dog may see any papers lying on the floor as a place to relieve themselves. If you plan to eventually train them to go outside you must transition from paper to ground or grass.

Choose a confined area such as a bathroom or service area. Cover the floor completely with papers or puppy pads, place their bed in one corner of the room. Instinct will take over, they will go as far away from their bed as possible.

Once they have chosen an area consistantly, start removing papers that are closest to their bed. Change the remaining papers frequently, but besure to leave a small piece of dog urine soiled paper on top of the clean ones where you want him to go.

If they go on bare floor at anytime, clean the area good with an enzymatic cleaner, and recover that area with papers. Visit Planet Urine for more info on cleaning. They discuss enzymatic cleaners, and since urine is their biz they know what they're talking about. I just know you gotta clean it right!

After they consistantly use one or two papers you can slowly give them a larger area to move around in. If accidents happen reduce their area again, this is all part of the house training process.

Litter Box

Your puppy or dog can learn to use a litter box, I house trained my chihuahua's to a litter box. With 4 of them it was not easy, but I hate going outdoors at night "it's cold here in Oregon"!

Pros: Portable, indoors, keeps you from having to go out in the cold or heat and your puppy or dog doesn't have to wait for someone to let them out.

Cons: Requires daily cleaning of the litter box; may not work well for larger dogs and some male dogs.

Litter box training is much easier if you combine it with crate training. Confining to a crate makes house training much easier when your not able to closely watch them.

Choose a litter box large enough for your dog to circle around in. Do not use cat litter as this could be harmful to a puppy. I use Dry Den for my Chi's, it is an all natural pellet product, and they don't try to eat it, although they did play with a few pellets that landed on the floor when they were pups. I did not worry about it being toxic to them.

Training to the litter box is done slowly, if you make them afraid of it, well, you guessed it, you have another training process to go through and things take even longer. I started with paper in the litter box with just a small amount of litter added to it. I took them directly from their kennel to the box and placed them in it saying "Potty", of course they immediately jumped out.

I continued putting them back in the box using the "potty" command. When they went I gave them lots of praise and a treat. If they did not go, I immediately returned them to their kennel and watched for snifing and circling again and repeated the process. Carry directly to box, place them in with the "potty" command.

I truly gave them no other choice, when they realized I was serious, they opted for relief and a treat and play time. Before too long they finished their business quickly and we played longer.

I started adding more litter as they got faster at going. I had to add the litter slowly as I have one Chi who is very cautious and did not like the feel of the litter not being real stable under her feet.

I have 4 Chi's; 3 females and 1 male I set up 2 litter boxes. In one I gave my male a large rock placed in the middle for him to lift his leg on.

I just replace the rock with a clean one when I clean the box. He is so cute, If I happen to be in the area when he's going he looks at me with that "Thanks Mom" attitude, I just have to laugh.

Crate Training

House train by using a crate to confine your puppy or dog when you're not able to supervise them.

Pros: They use their own natural instincts to control their bathroom needs, making house training easier. The bonus of crate training is they have a secure and safe place to retreat to.

Cons: They must go outside regardless of the weather or time of day or night. They must wait until someone can take them outside.

Many people feel this is mean or cruel, in fact it is very natural and comfortable for dogs, they feel safe and secure in a small confined area.

Choose a crate that your puppy or dog can stand up in, turn around in and lay down. For puppies it is especially important that it is not too big, or they will sleep in one corner and potty in another, defeating the whole training process. If it is too big place a box at one end reducing their floor area.

Plastic kennels are better and your puppy or dog will feel more secure, they are warmer inside and many plastic kennels are approved for airline travel.

Although finding a den is instinctive you may need to train him to use the den you chose for him. Do this slowly, throw a treat in and allow him to go in and eat it and come back out. Give him lots of praise each time he does this. Begin to feed him in the crate, don't close the door until he's comfortable being in it. Then close and open it immediately, gradually increase the time the door is closed.

Once they are used to it leave them it for longer periods of time, with you close by.

Never use the crate for punishment

Never drag your dog or puppy to it.

Never allow children to tease a crated puppy or dog, or bang on the crate, children should never get in the crate with your puppy. Teach children that the crate is your puppies private space and they should respect it.

Never open the door of the crate while your puppy or dog is whining, barking or scratching

Now you can begin serious house training. Keep them securely confined when you cannot supervise them. Each time you take them out, take them straight to the place they are to potty (either outdoors or litter box).

Do not play with them until they have gone, then praise them a lot and play.

If they are not kenneled and you see them sniffing and circling in an inappropriate area give a loud sharp NO, pick them up, slide their tail between their back legs (this may stop the elimination long enough to get them to their potty place). Then praise, praise, praise alot when they're finished.

Punishing after the fact will not help in the house training process. It will only teach them to fear you. There really is a 3 second rule: praise or punishment will be associated with whatever the dog or puppy was doing 3 seconds before it occurred. Never rub their nose in it, this will only teach them to leave the area as quickly as possible.

2 Common House Training Problems

Two of the most common problems surrounding house training:

Submissive/excited urination
Scent marking

Problem #1: Submissive / excited urination

Submissive Urinator

A dog that urinates on the floor, on himself or maybe on you or a guest. Usually during extreme excitement or stress - when you return home at the end of the day, or when he’s being scolded.

Why do they do it?

Puppies are the most guilty of submissive/excited urination, but it’s not uncommon to see adult dogs with the problem as well: usually, these dogs are highly sensitive and timid and/or ones from a shelter/with a history of abuse (often these last two go hand-in-hand.)

When does it happen?

An excited/fearful dog is likely to urinate when:

Greeting time after a prolonged absence

Play time

The arrival of guests

Stressful situations at home, eg arguments

During a correction (you’re scolding him)

Sudden loud noises (thunder, fireworks)

What can I do about it?

The Good News is, it’s not difficult to “cure” your dog of his submissive/excited house training problem.

First, take him to the vet to make sure there’s no medical reason (like diabetes or a bladder infection.)

Next, it’s time to take control of the problem:

Limit his intake of water. Don’t restrict it over a prolonged period of time, but if you know there’s a situation coming which would normally result in urination – for example, you have guests coming over, or are planning on a play session soon – take his water bowl away for a period of time (maybe half an hour to an hour) before the event.

When greeting your dog, stay calm and relaxed. The more excited he is, the harder it is for him to control his bladder, so don’t encourage him: ignore him for the first few moments, give a calm “hello”, a quick pat, and then go about making yourself at home.

DO NOT punish or harshly correct your dog for this behavior. It’s not something that he can easily control, and he’s certainly not doing it on purpose. When you catch him in the act, interrupt him (a firm “No!” followed by praise when he stops) but don’t punish him. Keep your cool, and try to understand: he doesn’t mean to do it, after all!

If he urinates out of fear (submissiveness) when scolding him for something else, take the stress levels down a bit by keeping a firm, authoritative, but not angry voice. Remember, you’re dealing with a sensitive, highly-strung dog: if you get angry or worry him further, things will only get worse.

Problem #2: Scent marking

Scent marking - is when a dog “marks” his or her territory with urine – its not actually a house training problem, since it’s based on issues of dominance and territoriality rather than poor house training (a dog can be perfectly potty trained but still mark inside the house.)

It seems logical, in a way, to link this problem with house training, since this is one of the most widespread problems among dog owners, its worthwhile to include some practical advice.

Scent marking and lack of house training: how to tell the difference.

They're probably scent marking, rather than genuinely relieving himself, if:

The amount of urine produced is relatively small, and tends to be directed against vertical surfaces (walls, doors, etc)

He’s male, unneutered, and at least five or six months old. Unneutered dogs are much more territorial than neutered ones –if you have an unneutered dog in the house, you can pretty much expect a certain amount of scent marking. (Unspayed females also mark, but it’s less common; spayed and neutered dogs can also exhibit marking behavior, but it’s relatively infrequent)

It makes little difference how often he’s taken outside for a toilet break

He frequently targets items that are new to the house: new possessions, guest clothing/footwear, etc

You live in a multi-dog household and there is conflict between two or more of the dogs

There are other, unneutered or unspayed pets in the house

What to do about the problem?

Spay or neuter your dog(s) as soon as you possibly can. If you can do this early enough – ideally, at six months of age - this often stops the marking; but if they've been marking for a long time, he or she may continue to do so even after being spayed or neutered, since a pattern of behavior has been established.

Clean soiled areas thoroughly. Again I suggest you visit Planet Urine Oxi-Clean mixed with warm water is somewhat effective, if that's all you've got use it till you can get the really good stuff.

Dogs tend to re-mark the same places, finds ways to prevent this from occuring.

You can do this in a number of ways:

Feed him next to or on top of the spot

Play with him there

Groom him there

Put his bed over or next to it

Spend time there yourself: hang out with a book or sit down and work

If there is rivalry between dogs in the household, you’ll need to take steps to relieve it. This conflict is likely due to natures pecking order (a “power struggle”), which means that all you have to do to stop the tension is pay attention to whichever one seems to be more dominant (which one eats first, gets the toys he/she wants, “stares down” another dog), and reinforce this position.

How to do this: feed the dominant dog first. Pet him/her first. Give him/her a toy before anyone else gets one. This makes it clear to all dogs in the house which one really is the dominant dog – once this pecking order has been recognizably established, territorial/dominant behaviors like scent marking often vanish overnight.

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