Most dogs and cats try to avoid soiling themselves or their usual eating and sleeping areas.
They also naturally develop habits of where they would like to eliminate. For example, dogs
that have a habit of eliminating on grass or dirt would rather not eliminate on concrete or
gravel, and cats may develop preferences and dislike when it comes to type of litter and
boxes, as well as their placement.
Cats will usually house train themselves, and if something goes wrong, you have to problem
solve rather than teach. This is much too broad a subject for me to cover here and I
recommend researching it on the Internet.
House training your Dog
The first thing to do is help the dog establish its "den". The den should be a crate that has
been turned into a comfortable sleeping place, and it is important to make it a positive place
to be by crate training correctly.
A common mistake is to open the whole house to the new dog. The dog will often consider
the outer rooms as being away from the den area and choose to go there to potty. Instead
start with one room that can be closed off with doors and/or baby gates and short but
frequent use of the den. Only when the dog is reliable in that area should you introduce it to
the rest of the house a little at a time.
Make me make one thing clear: In spite of numerous anecdotes, it does NOT work to push
the dog's nose in the poop or pee, and the dog does NOT understand when you point at it
and reprimand it, either. Dogs do not feel remorse, they simply read your mood very well and
respond to it. Even when they are able to predict that a certain object (poop, emptied trash
can, etc) will cause you to get angry do the NOT feel responsible. If they did they would have
learned not to cause it in the first place. Besides, it is mean or even cruel! And it will only
show you as an unjust, untrust-worthy and incompetent leader.
A scenario I like to use is when you hear your friend let out a scream and see him/her point or
look wild-eyed at a spider. You assume the person is afraid of spiders, not that he or she is
angry with you for allowing a spider near. The same goes for dogs - if you "act up" at the
sight of poop or something chewed up, they simply figure that you are afraid of poop and
socks and so on. So how may a dog "save" you from having to face your fear? A common way
is to avoid pooping or chewing where you can see it. That means not wanting to eliminate
when you take it outside to go potty or for walks, and then how will you praise it for doing
the right thing? So in the dog's mind it may be forced to hold it until it is back inside where
it can do it in a corner of the house while you aren't paying attention. Then there are a few
that learn to remove the evidence by eating it - a very rational solution, but not what you
want!
With the chewing, you will probably simply teach the dog to only chew when you are not
there, and you may create a situation where the dog will not fetch since that requires taking
something in its mouth.
Dogs do not think in terms of good and bad, but in term of what works!
So you may be thinking: "But it worked with my other dogs". No, what worked was the
dog's intelligence and inherent ability to learn in spite of what you did. Dogs are fabulous
body language readers and are amazing at figuring out what we mean rather than what we
say and do. But just because eventually they are usually able to figure it out, doesn't mean we
are justified in using techniques that are confusing, contradic-tory and unhelpful, and it is a
failure in leadership to do so.
There are three main things to remember in housetraining: 1) Praise/reward the dog for
going potty where it is supposed to, 2) Manage the dog from having accidents, and 3) Do not
cause the dog to be punished/have a negative experience when or after going potty in the
right place.
It is pretty simple but it does require that the owner puts in a little effort.
1) Accompany the dog, maybe even on a leash, so you are in the right place at the right time
to praise. If the dog wants to play with you or sniff around a bit, do so/let it. In bad weather,
the reward may be to be allowed back in quickly.
2) The easiest way to keep the dog from having accidents is to take it outside frequently and to
control its movements. You can put it in a crate when you can keep an eye on it (very much
recommended) since dogs generally avoid soiling their own area. If you are not sure it can
hold it for the time it has to be alone (puppy or has a UTI) then a single room with towels in
the corner are a better choice. If you crate the dog at night (at least until housetrained) you
will know how long you can expect the dog to hold it successfully. When you do have time to
watch the dog you can keep it on a leash or again close off the room you are in. In both cases
you want to take the dog outside regularly and give it the opportunity to relieve itself and
yourself a chance to praise. Naturally you can do other things while watching the dog so it is
a matter of organising your activities to fit the training until the training is done. If you
follow this regime pretty thoroughly for about a week your dog should, all things
consid-ered, be housetrained at the end of that time. Puppies may take longer if their
inter-nal plumbing isn't fully developed yet.... small bladders and all that!
3) The owner may inadvertently punish the dog, for example by calling it back inside right
after it has done its business when he or she would rather stay outside with the owner and
play or explore. When the dog has a negative experience right after going pottying it may
start holding it until it is inside! Try to see things from the dog's perspective and prevent
problems rather than have to fix them later.
Ian Dunbar has great articles on the subject, too:
http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/errorless-housetraining
If the dog has trouble getting housetrained in spite of your efforts, you need to look for two
things. The first one is obvious: Does the dog have loose stools? This can be caused by worms
(another reason to watch your dog when it goes potty), stress (see how to settle a stomach
under "Food"), or an allergic/sensitive reaction to its food (also see under "Food"). The other
thing to look for is a Urinary Tract Infection. You can primarily tell by the symptoms though
the urine is also sometimes cloudy, smelly and a darker yellow. Typical symptoms are
increased water intake, frequent urination and possibly a look of discomfort when urinating
the dog my walk around and sniff like it needs to go but avoid actually doing anything. Dogs
(and other animals) can get UTIs from being at the shelter (stress, lowered immune system,
cold floors, etc.); it can be part of an allergic reaction to the feed; or it may simply show up for
unknown reasons. You need to consult a vet if you suspect a UTI.
They also naturally develop habits of where they would like to eliminate. For example, dogs
that have a habit of eliminating on grass or dirt would rather not eliminate on concrete or
gravel, and cats may develop preferences and dislike when it comes to type of litter and
boxes, as well as their placement.
Cats will usually house train themselves, and if something goes wrong, you have to problem
solve rather than teach. This is much too broad a subject for me to cover here and I
recommend researching it on the Internet.
House training your Dog
The first thing to do is help the dog establish its "den". The den should be a crate that has
been turned into a comfortable sleeping place, and it is important to make it a positive place
to be by crate training correctly.
A common mistake is to open the whole house to the new dog. The dog will often consider
the outer rooms as being away from the den area and choose to go there to potty. Instead
start with one room that can be closed off with doors and/or baby gates and short but
frequent use of the den. Only when the dog is reliable in that area should you introduce it to
the rest of the house a little at a time.
Make me make one thing clear: In spite of numerous anecdotes, it does NOT work to push
the dog's nose in the poop or pee, and the dog does NOT understand when you point at it
and reprimand it, either. Dogs do not feel remorse, they simply read your mood very well and
respond to it. Even when they are able to predict that a certain object (poop, emptied trash
can, etc) will cause you to get angry do the NOT feel responsible. If they did they would have
learned not to cause it in the first place. Besides, it is mean or even cruel! And it will only
show you as an unjust, untrust-worthy and incompetent leader.
A scenario I like to use is when you hear your friend let out a scream and see him/her point or
look wild-eyed at a spider. You assume the person is afraid of spiders, not that he or she is
angry with you for allowing a spider near. The same goes for dogs - if you "act up" at the
sight of poop or something chewed up, they simply figure that you are afraid of poop and
socks and so on. So how may a dog "save" you from having to face your fear? A common way
is to avoid pooping or chewing where you can see it. That means not wanting to eliminate
when you take it outside to go potty or for walks, and then how will you praise it for doing
the right thing? So in the dog's mind it may be forced to hold it until it is back inside where
it can do it in a corner of the house while you aren't paying attention. Then there are a few
that learn to remove the evidence by eating it - a very rational solution, but not what you
want!
With the chewing, you will probably simply teach the dog to only chew when you are not
there, and you may create a situation where the dog will not fetch since that requires taking
something in its mouth.
Dogs do not think in terms of good and bad, but in term of what works!
So you may be thinking: "But it worked with my other dogs". No, what worked was the
dog's intelligence and inherent ability to learn in spite of what you did. Dogs are fabulous
body language readers and are amazing at figuring out what we mean rather than what we
say and do. But just because eventually they are usually able to figure it out, doesn't mean we
are justified in using techniques that are confusing, contradic-tory and unhelpful, and it is a
failure in leadership to do so.
There are three main things to remember in housetraining: 1) Praise/reward the dog for
going potty where it is supposed to, 2) Manage the dog from having accidents, and 3) Do not
cause the dog to be punished/have a negative experience when or after going potty in the
right place.
It is pretty simple but it does require that the owner puts in a little effort.
1) Accompany the dog, maybe even on a leash, so you are in the right place at the right time
to praise. If the dog wants to play with you or sniff around a bit, do so/let it. In bad weather,
the reward may be to be allowed back in quickly.
2) The easiest way to keep the dog from having accidents is to take it outside frequently and to
control its movements. You can put it in a crate when you can keep an eye on it (very much
recommended) since dogs generally avoid soiling their own area. If you are not sure it can
hold it for the time it has to be alone (puppy or has a UTI) then a single room with towels in
the corner are a better choice. If you crate the dog at night (at least until housetrained) you
will know how long you can expect the dog to hold it successfully. When you do have time to
watch the dog you can keep it on a leash or again close off the room you are in. In both cases
you want to take the dog outside regularly and give it the opportunity to relieve itself and
yourself a chance to praise. Naturally you can do other things while watching the dog so it is
a matter of organising your activities to fit the training until the training is done. If you
follow this regime pretty thoroughly for about a week your dog should, all things
consid-ered, be housetrained at the end of that time. Puppies may take longer if their
inter-nal plumbing isn't fully developed yet.... small bladders and all that!
3) The owner may inadvertently punish the dog, for example by calling it back inside right
after it has done its business when he or she would rather stay outside with the owner and
play or explore. When the dog has a negative experience right after going pottying it may
start holding it until it is inside! Try to see things from the dog's perspective and prevent
problems rather than have to fix them later.
Ian Dunbar has great articles on the subject, too:
http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/errorless-housetraining
If the dog has trouble getting housetrained in spite of your efforts, you need to look for two
things. The first one is obvious: Does the dog have loose stools? This can be caused by worms
(another reason to watch your dog when it goes potty), stress (see how to settle a stomach
under "Food"), or an allergic/sensitive reaction to its food (also see under "Food"). The other
thing to look for is a Urinary Tract Infection. You can primarily tell by the symptoms though
the urine is also sometimes cloudy, smelly and a darker yellow. Typical symptoms are
increased water intake, frequent urination and possibly a look of discomfort when urinating
the dog my walk around and sniff like it needs to go but avoid actually doing anything. Dogs
(and other animals) can get UTIs from being at the shelter (stress, lowered immune system,
cold floors, etc.); it can be part of an allergic reaction to the feed; or it may simply show up for
unknown reasons. You need to consult a vet if you suspect a UTI.
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