Adventures In Housetraining

Puppies do not have perfect behavior.  But neither do we humans.  I have been working on housetraining since bring Renegade home.  I have been utilizing a crate and/or playpen to help him understand where it is and isn't appropriate to go potty.  And he has been doing pretty well for only 9 weeks old.  But even as a trainer I have to remind myself that a good day does not mean housetraining is complete.  Yesterday Renegade had a perfect day with no accidents in the house.  This morning, first thing after letting him out of his crate we went outside, he did his business and I praised and treated him right away and we came back in the house.  Next in my morning routine is I prepare the dogs' food.  This can take a little time because they eat different dog foods and my older guys get some supplements and medications added to their food.  So it is a process.  While I started preparing their food, Renegade and Cody decided to play a game of chase.  They were having a blast so of course Renegade was getting very excited.  Within 15 minutes (for my puppy who easily goes at least an hour between potty breaks during quiet times), I look over and Renegade is having a small piddle on the floor.  I run over, pick him up and take him out the door to finish but he had already gotten out all he had to.  Which wasn't very much because he had just been outside but the excitement had caused him to pee again.  Did I yell at him?  No.  Rub his face in it?  Absolutely not, he would have just thought I was crazy and I have never understood what people think that practice helps do other than make your dog confused and afraid of you.  I scolded myself for knowing better, cleaned up the small piddle with some enzymatic cleaner so he wouldn't be able to tell he went there and be tempted to use that spot as a toilet again, and went about getting them their food.

You see the mistake wasn't his, it was mine.  I know when you are housetraining you should take a young puppy (or even a dog new to your house) out at least every hour if not sooner.  In addition, any time they are playing hard, have just woken up from a nap, eaten something, or spent time chewing a bone or toy you should take them out within a few minutes.  It is much harder to control their bodily functions during these times.  I let running and playing go on for 15 minutes without having him take a break. And, in addition to that, I was not paying attention to him and let him out of my direct sight which is also not a good idea with a housetraining puppy.  Bad trainer.  So our no-accidents-in-the-house streak ended at one day and the count restarted.  And I remind myself that although I know better and did everything wrong in this instance, I am human too and make mistakes so rather than get frustrated I need to learn and move on.

So, what am I doing to housetrain him?  First, as I said any time he wakes up, plays, eats or drinks I take him outside to see if he has to go.  And if he goes potty outside I immediately praise and treat him right on the spot.  We don't wait until we get in the house for the treat because then he would think he was being treated for coming in the house not for going potty while he was outside.  And that is the common mistake people make.  They wait to reward until the puppy or dog comes in and since the dog thinks they are being rewarded for coming in (because they will always thing the reward was for the thing they did right before being rewarded) you end up teaching your dog to ask to go outside just so they can come back in.  And since they don't understand outside is the bathroom, they will go out, come in, get rewarded and go potty in the house.  So treat outside as soon as they are finished going.  I also take him out once an hour just to make sure he doesn't have to go.  If I take him outside and he doesn't go potty, we come back in the house and he spends some time in his crate and we try again in 15 minutes.  And repeat until he goes.  Once I know he has done all his business, it is time for him to be able to have fun and walk around and play with the other dogs in the house.  I always keep him in the room I am in so I can watch him for any sniffing, circling, whining that might mean he has to go again especially if he is playing.

Now lets talk about the crate.  I did not have a puppy sized crate.  But my bigger dog crate came with a partition you could put in to make it smaller.  This is perfect and is what I would recommend for those on a budget who don't want to have to buy a bigger crate as your pup grows.  You can just use a bigger crate and partition it off so that your pup has enough room just to stand up, turn around, and lay down comfortably.  You make think you are being kind by giving them more room than that in a crate but in actuality you would just be sabotaging your housetraining for no reason because dogs actually like "den" like areas as long as they are properly introduced to them and the crate is never used as a punishment.  Puppies will try not to soil where they have to sleep.  So if their crate is properly sized and they are taken outside regularly, they will not go potty in it.  If it is too big, they may be tempted to use one corner of it to potty and just lay down in the other end.  Also, whether you put a bed or just a mat (or maybe nothing at all) in the crate with them will depend on your puppy.  If they are a chewer and could chew up a bed and hurt themselves, a bed may not be a good idea.  I once had a client whose dog would chew anything they put in the crate including the plastic tray in the bottom.  For this dog, we actually took the tray out of the crate and got a bigger tray that the crate could sit in so the tray was under it and had no edges the dog could chew and possible ingest which could cause a veterinary emergency.  Also remember, puppies need proper exercise.  I would not leave a puppy in a crate more than a couple hours during the day.  They should have time to be out playing and bonding with you.  Just save that "free" time for times when you know they have just gone to the bathroom outside.

And remember, housetraining does not happen overnight.  And a good day does not mean you can relax your attention to them.  I generally follow a 3 day rule.  If they have gone 3 days with no accidents, try to push your scheduled potty breaks out by 15 minutes.  And repeat as they grow and are able to hold it longer.  But also keep in mind a puppy is generally only able to "hold it" for about as many hours as they are months old.  So don't push it to far or accidents could happen.  Some puppies learn housetraining fast, but sometimes it takes months.  Your consistency could make the difference.  Stay diligent my friends and a few bad weeks of feeling you are outside more than inside will pay off!

Well, Renegade has been sleeping like a little angel while I have been sitting at my computer writing this but has now woken up.  So outside we must go!  Are you having any challenges?  Or do you have any funny stories you would like to share about housetraining?  We are all in this together so drop me a comment.  Lets work on raising the companions we hoped we would.