On our daily walk around the neighborhood, Tom and I have seen three new puppies either being trained or walked or played with. They make us want one of our own, but we're waiting until we get settled in our new home. Meanwhile, I visited the Pet Health Library and found this article on housetraining, which seems well-worth sharing.
First of all, while challenging, housetraining your puppy is an important experience which even the children can take part in. As the article notes, "...housetraining outside can be a quick and rewarding experience for both the new puppy and its owners." I especially like their advice that "it is important that you recognize your pet's cues that they need to eliminate."
Some signs to watch for are: sniffing the rug or flooor, walking in circles, and squatting. Also, know that a puppy needs to go outside several times a day. Not just once in the morning and once at night.
This training requires positive reinforcement. I cannot stress that enough. Positive reinforcement includes being calm and encouraging, teaching the puppy the right verbal phrase ("go potty?" or "outside?") and rewarding him with treats when he eliminates outside, where you want him to do his "duty."
One thing I learned from this article is to use the same route - in other words, take your puppy to the same door, at the same location, every time. If that's the sliding doors in the kitchen (as it is in our house), or the garage door, or even the front door, make sure the puppy knows which door is the door that he should be in front of when he needs to go outside for potty.
Do not - let me repeat - do not punish your puppy for accidents in the house. Clean up and be on guard. After the fact punishment just confuses the issue. Your puppy does not remember what he did wrong, if he did it more than a minute ago. Dogs live in the moment, as Dr. Larry likes to say. However, if you catch your puppy squatting, clap your hands and say, "Stop!" Be assertive without being angry. Then, follow the routine you have established...take him to the door, using the same route every time, and reward him when he finishes his duty in the right spot, outdoors. This article at the Humane Society also says to take the "soiled rags or paper towels and leave them in the bathroom spot" outdoors.
I've known people who did this over a weekend (a long weekend - three or four days, with a focus during that time on this task, and this task alone) and had their puppy housetrained. But, true results could take several weeks. That means the puppy recognized that outdoors was the proper place for potty and was trained to indcate when he needed to go. As a pet owner you need to always be aware and make it easy for the puppy to get to the proper place for potty.
Maybe a doggie-door could help? Maybe teaching him to bark once? Maybe assigning this task to everyone in the household, so puppy learns he can depend on any of his people to open that door?
What advice can you share on this topic? How did you housetrain your dog, when you first brought him home?
