Housebreaking your Dog
Housebreaking is one of the most problematic complaints from dog owners. But the problem lies with a lack of understanding on the part of the owners and not with the dog. Good potty habits in a dog comes about only as a result of training and good communication.
There are several methods to housebreak the dog and all it requires is that you dedicate some of your time and being patient with your pet. When a potty accident happens, people are hesitant to train their dogs.
There are a lot of methods of training, however clicker training and other gentle method of training is known to be more effective for dogs. Responsible dog owners know that the best thing to do is to spend time with their pets and teach them the essential dog obedience.
As for a puppy, it needs to relief itself about six times a day. It should be taken out right after each meals. You should never leave an untrained puppy at home unattended.
There are various methods of training a puppy to housebreak and one of them is the crate training method. This method will take a few days for the puppy to get used to it. This method concerns leaving your dog in his crate with his bed and food, and only taking it out on a schedule. Even if the dog is whining for you to let it out, you must not do it. Letting it out when it whines becomes a habit. When the dog potties while you let it out, reward it with treats, long walk or playtime before putting it back to its crate.
Crate training needs to have a balance of companionship and ample time for exercise. Try to extend the duration of time outside the crate with supervision. If you let your dog out during its schedule time and it doesn’t potty, put it back into the crate. You need to stay on schedule for this training. Usually dogs do not soil its “nest”, so you need not worry too much.
When the training seems to have taken place, you can now confine your dog in a room where the floor is washable in case of accidents. Continue with the schedule potty time and keep an eye on your dog. When you see your dog show signs of wanting to pee or poop, take it out immediately to do its “business”. If an accident happens, take it back to the crate. Do not punish your dog or shout at it. Punishment after the act has happen does not help to boost its confidence. It only confuses the dog. It cannot connect or relates to the act after the incident passed.
Another method is by using a stack of newspaper as its potty area. Lead your dog to the newspaper every time your dog wants to relief itself. Once your dog has pee or poop on it, removes the top layers and leave the rest of the stack. This will leave a slight urine smell your dog can detect and this will lead your dog to that spot next round when your dog wants to do its pottying.