Housebreaking

Some dogs are very easy to housebreak and others are extremely difficult. One of the main things to do when you are house-breaking a dog is to take him/her out regularly and often. When I first get a new older dog, I take him out every 1-2 hours to make sure they don't go in the house. As the days go by, if they are doing well on this schedule, I will extend the time little by little.

Anytime you are housebreaking a puppy, it is very important to take them out after they eat, sleep or play as well as take them out at regular intervals. Puppies are very quick to squat so you need to keep a close eye on them or you will be cleaning up a mess.

If you cannot watch the puppy closely, it is a good idea to crate train them. The first thing to do is get them used to the crate by hiding treats or toys in there so they think of it as a fun place. If you force your puppy in there, he will probably bark or whine because he will be very unhappy.

Even with crate training you need to take your puppy out every 1-2 hours. They have very small bladders and they are not used to having to hold it. Your puppy will not want to go to the bathroom in his crate if you get one just big enough to stand up, turn around and lay down because he will not want to soil his sleeping area. If the crate is too big, he will go to one end of it to relieve himself.

The picture above is of my dog, Katie, when she was a puppy. I was trying to get her used to the crate but Lucky, my cat, wouldn't stay out of it so they kept getting in there together and playing. Katie did real well with housebreaking so I gave up on the crate training. I had intended to put her in the crate at night while we were sleeping but she would bark to wake us up when she needed to go out. Also, she was so attached to Beau, my shepard, that it would have broken her heart to be separated from him.

Katie is the only dog I've ever had that will bark or scratch at the door when she needs to go out. For all the other dogs, I just had to know what the signs were when they needed to go. Some of them would fidget a little more, some would just look at me in a certain way and others I would just have to know by the look in their eyes. The key to good housetraining is learning to read your dog.

I did have one dog I adopted when she was 9 months old. Obviously this dog had never been housebroken and she was very challenging. It seemed like nothing was working and she kept going in the house. Finally I put her on a leash and kept her beside me all the time so I wouldn't miss the signal that she needed to go out. It took several days of doing this but I finally got her figured out and didn't have any more problems.

If you see your dog or puppy relieving himself in the house, immediately say no and take him outside. Tell him to go potty and praise him when he goes. Dogs want to please us and praise will go a long way in their training.