How do I house train the pup?
House training the pup is done with a ton of praise and gentleness.
Most useful is to watch and anticipate. The pup is but a baby and
depending on its age will pick up the training slower or quicker. Go
into the house training with the expectation that it may take several
months before a young pup will be able to pull all the systems
together. The little one has a lot to do. Has to figure out that it
needs to go to the bathroom. Has to figure out how to get to the
backyard. And finally has to communicate that to you. That is a lot of
work for a possible 8 or 9 week old pup.
Strategy on house training:
- Where: Begin with deciding where you want the pup to eliminate. And the quickest path there.
- Consistency: a consistent focus on the pups developmental stage and your preferences.
- Confinement: a method that helps build elimination control.
- Cleaning: a good enzymatic odor neutralizer to clean pet odors, especially urine odor, after accidents.
Highly suggest an
elimination "word" that you use constantly in reference to the deed.
Pup will eventually answer your question, do you have to ___?, with a
serious tail wag and / or bark in response to your "word".
Next, grab your egg timer and set it for half hour. Every half hour take the pup outside to see if its time. Lavish the pup with praise when elimination happens. By going out everyhalf hour
you get an idea of your pups system schedule. Once you get this down
you'll know when to expect the pup to eliminate which makes your life
easier.
As a rule
of thumb, a pup can control themselves roughly one hour for each month
of age. Up to about 9 months. At 3.5 to 4 months they may begin to make
it 6 hours a night, but usually eliminate more frequently during the
day.
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Pups
usually need to eliminate after eating, walking, or exercising. Noting
how long after each it takes to eliminate will help you predict and
schedule. Young
pups need to eat often, so be prepared in the beginning for lots of
events. If you schedule the feeding you will soon be able to schedule
the elimination time.
Pay close attention to body language and if your pup barks to communicate.
If you
are brand new to pups, they usually walk around a bit before defecating,
sometimes they go in circles. Urinating is usually just done. If you
have a female pup, she will squat her hind end down. Male will pick up
his leg.
Expect and anticipate the pup to eliminate immediately upon waking from a nap or nights sleep.
Watch
closely, learn the body language, observe pups signals, and scheduled
feedings will all help you enable your pup to succeed and prevent
accidents.
Once the
pup 'gets' the expectation he/she will do whatever it takes to fulfill
it. But you have to be available. This is serious team work.
Expect an
accident here and there. Never - ever scold the pup for accidents.
Never - ever smash the pups face in it. And forget about swatting with a
newspaper. All that makes your pup frightened of YOU. If you remember 1 thing, let it be this. Dogs live in the here and now. They forget what happened 10 seconds ago.
Once you've
implemented your schedule, if you catch the pup getting ready to
eliminate in the house , you can say no in a calm voice, grab the pup,
run like the wind to let him/her finish outside. Even if the pup makes a
drop outside, praise that it happened outside. Note the time, and
rework your schedule.
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The crate is an extremely
useful tool in house training. Since dogs want their den clean they
rarely eliminate inside the crate. YOU however, have to be available to
supervise when the dog needs to get out of the crate. Your crate
schedule needs to be realistic and sensitive to the pups ability to control itself.
Remember very young
pups need to eliminate frequently, so you need to take the pup out of
the crate frequently and straight outside. Doesn't matter if the pup
doesn't go, what matters is that when the pup does go, you have set up
the PERFECT situation for success. That's what you want your pup to
learn. Repetition will solidify the lesson, and you will feel so
proud.
Walking aids the
elimination process to kick into gear. If you begin to notice your pup
eliminates on the walk and then again upon returning home, try a longer
walk.
You thought you were
getting a pup, you didn't know you are now a teacher with a lesson
plan. Make your plan on which ever behavior you want your pup to learn
and he/she will learn it.
Pet Supplies Needed
- Protective pet crate liner
- Blanket or pet crate cover
- Enzymatic odor neutralizer to clean pet odors
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