Raising a young dog
Housebreaking your puppy
Since we gave the pup already a chance to eliminate outside, it will
be not so hard for you to get him housebroke. Really important is the fact that you
should try not to let the dog make a mistake, always reward the dog for desirable behavior
and if a mistake is made, correct and do not punish him.
You must learn never to let the pup out of sight while he is loose in the house. The
pup usually has to eliminate after waking up, also a short time after eating and after
a play session or other period of activity. Myself I use a crate. If I do not have
time to watch the pup, I put him into a big crate, but this only should be done, if
you are busy and are not able to watch him. Dogs are creatures of habits, if they get
away with eliminating the house, they will quickly learn that it is ok to do so. So
you have to make sure, that he does not get this chance. This is why you use the crate.
At night time I put the crate beside my bed. Dogs are inherently clean animals. They
will avoid fouling their own nest. A puppy between eight and twelve weeks of age with
good health should be able to hold its urine, while sleeping for approximately four
hours. When I take the dog out of the crate I pick him up right away, I do not let
him walk to avoid mistakes. I take him outside to eliminate. When the dog does eliminate
then outside I PRAISE, PRAISE and PRAISE him. Praise will tell the dog, that he has
done the right thing. If your dog does have an accident in the house do not punish
him, but correct him. If it did happen, while you were not around, you cannot correct
him, because a dog can not remember, what happened a while ago. The correction must
be done either at the same time or immediately following (within a few seconds of)
the undesirable act. If you see him doing wrong, do not be overly harsh, it can also
create fear in a puppy. Also do not rub your pups nose in its mess. Striking your puppy
either with your hand, a newspaper, or any other object can have even more serious
repercussions. It can break down the bond of trust or make your pup hand-shy. If you
see him doing wrong you pick him up with a loud "no, no", take him outside
and wait so long until he eliminates outside again. It can take some time, but it is
worth waiting. Then reward him with praise. The more you are able to watch your pup
in the house, the less chance he will have to have an accident. He will be housebroken
in no time.
I also want for you to keep following
in mind:
After a pup has been alone for sometime he will be very happy to see
you again when you return. Sometimes it can happen that he "pinkles" out
of excitement. You should not pay any negative attention to this behavior. If you know,
that our pup will do so when you return, you immediately take the dog outside and then
let him get excited. If you do so, this behavior will go away by itself as the puppy
grows older. If you would punish your pup for this behavior he will get afraid of you
and then it will happen out of fear, whenever you return and this he will do for a
lifetime.
Putting it all together
Do not leave the puppy unattended in your house. If something does happen do not punish
him, correct him. If he shows right behavior outside praise, praise and praise again.
If he "pinkles" out of excitement, pay no intention to it.
Copyright Dagmar Anderson 2001