House Training...

House Training Your Dog!

Most dogs are taught not to urinate or defecate in the house by owners who punish them for doing so. This usually works, especially when the dog is a puppy and is watched constantly. However, puppies are taught by their mothers to slip away and eliminate out of her sleeping area. If dogs and puppies are not watched constantly, they are able to do just that--slip away to eliminate. These dogs learn that it is not appropriate to eliminate when anyone is WATCHING instead of learning to eliminate outdoors. Once this occurs, housetraining becomes a problem.

Dog owners often mistakenly believe that the dog "understands" that elimination in the house is wrong because the dog acts "guilty" when shown the evidence. Try seeing this form the dog's point of view. The dog does know that something is wrong because she understands the facial expression and tone of voice of her owners. She may even understand that it is her "fault" because she knows that disapproval is directed at her. Some dogs even make the connection between urine and feces being in the house and owner disapproval but the dog does NOT understand how to avoid the punishment in the future. To prove this to yourself, pour a cup of water on the floor. Let your dog see you do this. Start pointing at the water spot and yelling. Why is she acting guilty? You know she didn't do it and so does she. She is appeasing you to avoid conflict.

If you are having a problem with house training, it is easier to solve than you may think. First, if your dog was previously 100% house trained consider that she may have a medical problem. Have your vet give her a check up. Second, if your dog was never 100% housetrained you can be pretty sure the solution is in clearing up the misunderstanding about the rules. Don't worry, it's never too late. If you need convincing, check out some case studies. The examples will give you hope.

Dogs want to do what we want. It's our job to make what we want clear to the dog.

THE PLAN
To house train a dog thoroughly, keep her with you on a leash indoors and outdoors for three days. For a new pet, this is also an excellent bonding exercise. Take her outside every few hours. Always use the same door. Do not play, just stand there, holding the leash. When she eliminates outdoors, offer a food treat immediately then praise her and play with her before going back in the house. Once indoors, she is still with you on a leash. If she attempts to eliminate indoors, you'll be right there to scold her and go outside right away. Do not play, just stand there. IF she eliminates, praise then play. If not, return inside and go about your business. Remember she is still with you on a leash.

Additional training: Use the same phrase every time you go out, such as "Hurry Up" to use later when you want your dog to eliminate on command. Hang some bells on the door and teach your dog to ring them by lifting her paw to the bells each time you go out. She'll learn to ring the bells when she wants to go out which makes house training easier.

This method will show her :

	it is never ok to eliminate in the house
	that it is always ok to eliminate outside
	that you cannot play outdoors until after you eliminate
	you can earn food rewards for eliminating outside if you can get a person to go out with you

This is exactly what we want her to learn. Especially the last one. Many dogs learn that they should go out to eliminate but have no idea how to open the door. If they bark at the door or scratch it, we will hear this and everything works out. But dogs who know the advantage of taking a person outside with them will learn to come and find you when they need to go out.

After a few days of leash bonding, keep your dog confined to a small area of the house that can be easily cleaned whenever you do not have her on a leash. If you must leave her for several hours, arrange for someone to take her out midday until you are sure she can keep the training. Repeat the leash training if she is having accidents.

SUBMISSIVE URINATION
If your dog is very subordinate to you or submissive to strangers, he may roll over and urinate when he greets you. This is not a house training problem. Believe it or not, a dog does this to PLEASE you. It is normal dog communication. If you show anger the dog will urinate again, if he is able. But if you do nothing, the behavior continues. A related behavior is loss of bladder control from excitement. It is difficult to tell if your dog has submissive urination or loss of control but both are treated in the same way. In either case, the dog is completely housebroken except during greetings. This problem requires special handling.

You might want to install a dog door so you can greet your dog outside or you could have someone else let the dog out a few minutes before you come home. If this is impossible, have a family member distract your dog when he starts to greet you long enough for you to get in the door and start ignoring him. Ignore him completely for about 10 minutes. Especially avoid leaning over him. Gradually fall into your routine of watching TV or reading. Pat the dog as if you have been home all day. The dog will gain more control as he gets older and more used to the routine.