House Training

In the appropriate place...

It doesn't matter what the age of the dog is, inappropriate elimination is only about you.  The dog is being rewarded because he no longer has to go.

To create better control of the situation, let's go back to the very basics.  It doesn't matter what the age of the dog is, so long as the dog is healthy and ambulatory.

1. Confinement

Until you get things going in the proper direction, the best thing is to confine the dog.  This means a crate.  

Crates are great things, dogs love them if you haven't abused the crate.

So, if you can't be paying attention to what the dog is doing because you are busy, or the whole family has their heads in the boob-tube, crate the dog.

Do not crate any dog for longer than four hours at a time, because a properly sized crate is for sleeping, not living.

2. Training

The easiest part is getting the dog outdoors, they love to be outside if you are with them.  

Hint number one! Go outside with them, and I don't care what the weather is or how you happen to be dressed.                               Go Outside Together.

Now, Stay Outside until you get elimination, then an additional two, TWO, minutes doing something besides running back into the house!  

Hint number two! When the dog eliminates and you race his butt back into the house immediately, you will find yourself out there for hours on end waiting for elimination. BECAUSE you just punished the dog for eliminating by taking him directly back into the house.  Don't do it!

3. Timing

Timing is important, so jot this down:
A.  Immediately after a nap
B.  Five minutes into a play session
C.  Ten minutes after eating
D.  First thing in the morning
E.  Last thing at night
F.  After a car ride

Well, I have covered all the times that I have to go, how about you?  Dog is the same.  Puppies even more so.

4. Praise

Can't say enough about Rewards.  Some dogs like just praise, others like stroking, and still others like a special treat.

My recommendation is to start with shredded canned chicken.  This is the Ace in the Hole of rewards.  They only ever get shredded canned chicken when they eliminate outdoors.  Dog gets it!  By day three, he will drag 'your laziness' outdoors so shredded canned chicken arrives on his lips.

As soon as elimination starts:  Name it...
  Good Pee Pee
  Good Whiz
  Good Poo
  Good Potty
  Good Whatever!
Then, deliver a couple of pinches of shredded canned chicken to those lips while you are praising what just happened (naming it) to the Heavens!

Again!  Dog gets it!  By day three, he will drag "your laziness" outdoors so shredded canned chicken arrives on his lips.

This of course doesn't have to happen forever, but I would suggest a couple of weeks to drive it home.

Additionally

Talk to your dog.  Your conversations will be repetitive, and that is what the dog needs to learn what you want. We speak human, they speak dog.  They are much more adept at reading our body signals than our speech, so you have to do and say the same things over and over.

I always ask:  "Do you want to go outside?"
or
"Do you want to go pee pee?"

I do this in a higher happy voice, and they race around until I get off my "dead" and onto my "dying" and get them out the door.  They love it, and so will you!

All Creatures Country Club