HOUSEBREAKING YOUR DOG-----Betty the shelter director here. Recently when I was working in the office at the shelter, a person was talking to me about one of the prison dogs. They said “it has to be completely housebroken”. I looked at them and said, “dogs are as housebroken as the owner will let them be”. They had a funny look on their faces like they had no clue what I meant. I said, “let me explain”. I had two dogs, Freya and Hrothgar, then I brought home Harlem. He was an owner turn in and the lady said he was housebroken. It took 2 months to figure out Harlem and the housebreaking. See, he had no signal if he had a need to go out. By that I mean, Freya would walk up to you and act like she was going to puke. Which, you would jump out of the chair and run for the door. She would go out and do her potty business but never got sick. But she had learned from times when she was sick, we always ran for the door if she made that gagging noise. Hrothgar’s signal was easy. He barked. If you did not get right out of the chair, he would grab your arm and drag you to the door. Harlem had no signal that we could see. Not a bark, whine, scratching, nothing at all. It took us to watch him more closely. If he left the room we were in and went left down the hall, he went to look out the front window. If he went right, he would be at the back door. We would go see if he had to go out. My dogs has a potty schedule for the most part. They went out when we got up from sleep, once they ate, once they got done playing, one they ate again and before bed. However, just like with people, there are times when they need out again. This is when that signal helps out. There are other things folks need to keep in mind in regards to housebreaking a dog. First, do not free feed. This means always leaving food in the dog bowl. Remember, once they eat, they got to potty. What goes in must come out . Set a schedule for breakfast and dinner. I give my dogs 15 minutes each feeding to eat their food before I pick it up. They won’t starve if they did not eat their breakfast. After all, if they were to have a surgery schedule, they have to fast any way. My dogs quickly learned that meal time meant eat now. Second, monitor their intake of water. This is easier if you only have one dog. You can use a measuring cup and know that if you put 2 cups of water in the bowl and all is gone, then your 20 pound dog has a full bladder. Also if they can’t seem to hold their urine in the night, pick up the water around 8 or 9 pm. It is kind of like what you do with a toddler when you don’t want them to wet the bed. Third, if your dog seems to urinate alot, you might have them checked out by your vet. They could have a urinary trait infection or crystals. These medical issues can cause problems when trying to housebreak. Fourth, if you dog is not housebroken yet, then crate your dog when you have to leave. Crating is not a bad thing. Fact is a crate is a very natural, normal habitat for a dog or puppy provide you don’t use it as punishment. I never crated my dogs when they were bad. I had a bad rug in one room and make them sit on it. Just like a toddler with a time out. The crate is a safe place for your dog. I have always crated my dogs. when we leave the house. We got webcam to watch them in their crates. They always ate their cookie they got when they kenneled up and then napped the rest of the time. Once I had decided to see what they would do if we left the kennel doors open and shut their room door. Three of the four dogs I hnow have slept in their kennel. The fourth one went and laid down in the sunshine. Fifth, when your dog has already done the deed in the house and you did not catch them in the act, to late to punish. Yelling at them will only make the dog fear you and become scared of you. And never, ever rub the nose in it. This is really unhealthy for the animal. If you see your dog about to potty, do not yell or scream, but say, let’s go out and run for the door. Hopefully your dog will follow and not potty. If your dog does potty in the house and you could not stop it, wait and clean up then take the mess and dog outside. Place the poop in the yard or the paper towel with urine and say, potty here. And once your dog starts doing business outside, praise and give a treat that they love and only get when they potty outside. Have a potty party as we always called it at our house. Sixth, exercise outside. I can tell you that when my dogs and I walk around our property (we live on 5 acres), about half way thru the walk, all four dogs have peed if not pooped. Also if you are out on a walk, please clean up the poop. Never leave it. After all, there is nothing worse than stepping in it, having to deal with another dog’s poop in your own yard, and for health reasons. And finally if you need more help, google the internet, ask a dog trainer, talk to your vet, talk to a friend. They might be able to help or give you tips that might work on housebreaking your dog. Stay consistent, stay positive, stay patient. Set a schedule. Dogs usually go potty after sleeping, eating and play/exercise. And remember, you have to help your dog to be housebroken. Cause we all know, when you got to go, you got to go.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 21:14:26 +0000
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