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Never leave an un-housetrained dog
unattended
- Not even for a minute. If you aren't actively engaged with your dog, having her in the same room doesn't count.
A crate is a wonderful house training aid and provides a safe, warm "bedroom" for your den dwelling pet.
If you don't want to use a crate, you should tether your pet to you so no matter where you go, he's right there with you. Put a clip on your dog's leash, put the leash on your dog, and clip it to your clothing or belt. The leash should be no longer than 4 feet.
This won't be a practical solution for many people, thus the advantage of crate training.
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Why a crate is a good idea for you and
your dog
- A crate allows you to work with your pup's natural desire to be a den dweller. Dogs in the wild seek out small, dark, safe spots to inhabit. And dogs are programmed by nature not to soil their dens.
In the wild, nursing wolves and coyotes teach their pups to relieve themselves outside their dens. This keeps predators from investigating inside their little homes, and keeps messes outside the sleeping area.
And that is exactly why crates are so useful for un-housebroken dogs. A dog with her own made-to-order den will not want to soil it, so by purchasing a crate for her, you work in harmony with your pup's natural instinct to keep her little space clean.
As long as your dog is getting consistent and frequent trips outside to relieve herself, nature will prompt her not to soil her den space in between potty trips.
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Overcoming hate for the crate
- A dog who has experienced a crate as a form of punishment or has been locked up for inappropriately long periods must be gently and patiently reconditioned to view his crate as a good thing.
See How to Housebreak Your Dog Without Losing Your Sanity for step-by-step tips on how to help your pet learn to love his crate.
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Feed your dog on a consistent schedule
- If you leave food available for your un-housetrained dog all day long, she'll snack all day and poop all day as well. It will be almost impossible to predict the best time to take her outside to her potty spot.
Feeding your pet on a specific schedule makes elimination more predictable and allows you to have more control over the situation. The more opportunities you give your pup to succeed by relieving herself outside, the faster she'll be housetrained.
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Reward your dog for good behavior
- Dogs respond to positive reinforcement training, so you'll want to reward your pet for good behavior during the housetraining process.
Almost all dogs speak the language of food, so treats are a good reward during housetraining. Make sure you have a few on you whenever you take your pet outside to potty. When he eliminates in the right spot, praise him with words and give him a treat within three seconds of the behavior.
After a short time, he'll recognize he makes you happy when he eliminates outside, and he also gets a reward. You want to reinforce that behavior every time it happens.
Once your dog is fully housetrained, you can reduce and eventually eliminate the food treats and use only verbal praise as a reward.
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Don't punish your dog for mistakes
- In order to successfully housebreak your pup, you must avoid punishment of any kind when she makes a mistake. And she will.
Even if you catch your pup in the act of relieving herself indoors, anger or force are inappropriate reactions. What can happen in that case is your pup will connect you seeing her eliminate with your anger, and she may just get sneaky about it.
You cannot punish or frighten a dog into appropriate behavior.
The important thing to remember is by the time your dog is relieving herself on your floor, your opportunity for a successful toileting adventure outside has passed. All you can do is clean the mess, review what you could have done differently to avoid it, and rededicate yourself to the housebreaking process. You will succeed!
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Establish verbal cues
- When you take your pet to his potty spot, initially he may just stand around or decide to sniff every blade of grass. In other words, he seems to be interested in doing everything but relieving himself.
After about 5 minutes, if he hasn't gone potty, bring him back to his crate or other confined space and close the door. In about a half hour, get the treats out, take him back outside to his spot, and let him try again. Normally it only takes a second trip to get the mission accomplished, but occasionally you may have to make more than 2 trips to the potty spot.
The second your dog starts to urinate, say something like "go potty" to mark the behavior you want. You want your pet to make the connection between the verbal cue "go potty" with the act of relieving himself. You can use "go poop" for the other behavior you desire.
Eventually you'll be able to take your dog to any spot you choose and give the verbal cue. Your dog will understand what you want of him and "go on command."
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Reinforce positive behavior
- It's easy to get excited when your pup potties outside right where you want her to, but you want to make sure not to scare her while she's in the act, causing her to stop doing the thing you're praising her for. Make sure your verbal cues are said in a low, reassuring tone.
Within three seconds of your pup finishing her business, you must give her a treat and say "good job." Give her a couple more treats and continue to praise her before you go back inside.
Don't wait until you're back indoors to give your dog her treat. You want to make sure to associate the food reward with going potty outside – not coming back inside. That's why it's critically important to remember those treats when you take her outside, and then reward her within three seconds after she completes the desired behavior.
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Not recommended: allowing your dog
to housetrain himself
- If you happen to have a fenced backyard and don't care what part of the yard your dog uses as a potty, you can simply let him out on his own to relieve himself. However, this isn't recommended.
You won't know whether or not he's done his business unless you watch him every second he's outside. Also, it's impossible to establish a verbal "go potty" cue if you're inside and he's outside. And finally, you can't give him a food reward within three seconds if you're in different places.
Your dog may or may not become completely housetrained if you let him out into the yard by himself or install a doggy door before he understands the verbal cue and food reward systems.
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Help for dogs who can't be
completely housetrained
- Not every dog can be 100 percent housetrained. The more you work with your dog, patiently and consistently, the better your chances of getting your pet all the way there.
If at some point you realize your dog will have the occasional accident no matter how vigilant you are in your housetraining efforts, don't despair -- there are products available to manage the problem. There are hot pants for female dogs and belly bands for male dogs.
