Puppy Training – House Training Your Dog
No instruction is far more fundamental for pet owners than that very first important lesson: Do it outdoors!
Teaching your dog to potty outside the home, not in it, usually gets under way between six and eight weeks of age. Puppies as young as four weeks have been started on the routine, however at that age very few possess the muscular control to succeed.
Just like any kind of dog instruction regimen, trainer patience is as essential as the pet’s temperament. ‘Sit’, ‘stay’ and other manners can usually be mastered in a couple of days. ‘Potty’ instruction usually can take weeks – at times as short as two, often a month or more.
As with other learned behaviors, it helps to watch for signs of the wanted actions and enforce and direct them with a voice command followed by praise. In this case that method works much more for the trainer’s advantage, because all dogs will naturally eliminate. The strategy is to have them complete it when and where you would like!
Watch for signs od imminent potty behavior, such as circling or squatting, then pick up the pup, say ‘outside’ and rush outside. The puppy may possibly circle some more, but will often squat quickly. As it begins, say ‘Go potty’ (or some other unique word) in a clear, firm (but not angry) voice. Wait until it’s finished and praise the puppy lavishly.
You will not always be able to catch the puppy about to begin, but don’t become annoyed or impatient when the puppy messes indoors. This will take time for the dog to understand to tell you it is time to ‘go outside’. It also will take time for the muscles necessary to handle bladder and bowels to develop.
Young puppies will need to eliminate every 2-3 hours, on average. Should you haven’t spotted pre-elimination behavior within that time, take the dog outdoors anyway. Say the command ‘Go potty’ and wait. At first, normally, the puppy will have no clue what you want.
Again, even when outdoors, it helps to wait and view for the wanted behavior then say the command. That helps the puppy connect the command with the behavior. If the puppy hasn’t gone soon after a couple of minutes and a number of ‘Go potty’ commands, take it back inside for an hour. Obviously, in case you notice the pre-elimination conduct in much less time, go outdoors once again immediately.
Dogs have a surprising capability to quickly learn what their ‘alpha’ (the leader of the pack) wants. This really is practically usually accomplished by associating a spoken command with actions, followed by praise. Punishment is generally counter-productive, and nowhere more so than in waste elimination training. In no way rub a dog’s nose in waste.
Paper and/or crate training is preferred by some. A pup can be trained to go on a newspaper, or on one of the chemically treated pads designed for that purpose. Some small breeds that live all day within the home might not require to go outside at all.
The method has a couple of downsides nonetheless. Unlike cats, dogs will rarely go inside a perfumed litter box. Newspapers (even with all the top layer removed right after the dog goes) will eventually develop an unpleasant aroma within the house.
Also, long before the odor becomes unpleasant to humans, puppies can smell their own distinctive aroma. They do not find it unattractive – quite the opposite. And that’s the dilemma.
Puppies which are paper trained will generally choose to eliminate indoors. Occasionally they’ll miss the paper by only an inch, making a mess to clean up.
As soon as the odor is in the rug, the puppy will generally seek that spot out as its correct ‘place to go’. This makes training the puppy to potty outside much more difficult. Best to suffer a couple of accidents than to develop a hard-to-overcome habit.
Patience, praise and consistency are the keys to any puppy training. Elimination training will be the first test for you and your puppy.
Need help with house training your puppy or dog? Pick up a free report “Dog Training Tips” and register for your free 7 day dog training e-course at MyPuppyCare101.comDebra Garrison is a veterinarian and is dedicated to helping you raise a happy, healthy and well behaved dog. View a video on house training your puppy at MyPuppyCare101.com/articles
Article Source: Puppy Training – House Training Your Dog
Tags: clue, muscles, regimen, rush, muscular control, bowels
Technorati Tags: angry voice, bladder, bowels, clue, couple of days, dogs, learned behaviors, manners, messes, muscles, muscular control, patience, pet owners, pup, Puppies, puppy training, regimen, rush, Temperament, voice command
