Kranky K9 Housebreaking 101

Potty training can be very stressful. But it doesn’t have to be if you stick to a schedule, reward for “going‟ in the correct place, and don’t let her out of your sight until she is accident-free for 60 days. Housebreaking is a very tedious job and you cannot let yourself be caught off-guard. I have helped a lot of people potty train their puppies. Amongst these puppies, many of the owners were making the same mistakes. Hopefully I can get a few of those mistakes out of the way and get you and your puppy on the right path to keeping the puppies waste outside where it belongs.

1. STICK TO A SCHEDULE! Put your puppy to bed, wake your puppy up, feed your puppy, and take him out to potty all at regular scheduled times. The closer you can stick to a regular schedule, the easier it will be for her to predict the next time she will go out. If a dog knows that an opportunity to ‟go‟ is in the near future, it will learn to hold its bladder until that time. ● Do not train your puppy to ring a doorbell to tell you to let him outside. This helps the puppy perceive that he is in charge and has the ability to tell you what to do. You’re reversing the roles of the dog and his master. This will cause future pack hierarchy issues. You are in charge of your relationship. You are the leader, the parent, the intelligent human. You are to tell the dog what to do, not the other way around. The doorbell trick also gives the owner a license to take a lazy approach of expecting the dog to “let me know”. Lazy approaches and raising puppies do not mix. It is not the dog’s job to tell you anything. It is your job to know when he’s full and know when he’s empty, so you can know when he needs crated and know when he can be allowed free time. There will be side effects of some sort to a lazy approach to training. Instead of sitting on the couch wondering why he’s not telling you before he pees, you should be paying attention and actively participating in keeping the dog on a potty training schedule.

2. FEED YOUR DOG AT SCHEDULED TIMES. If you feed your dog three times a day, the dog will “go‟ three times per day. The same formula applies with the water. Give your dog 15 minutes to eat and drink, then pick it up until the next feeding. Know when your dog is full. Keep a record of when he eats and when he goes. Make sure to restrict water and food at least an hour before bedtime. ● Do not freely feed and water your puppy. Your puppy must be put on a scheduled feeding routine. If you know when he eats and drinks because you schedule it and supervise the feedings, then you will know when he is full and when his stomach is empty. This takes all of the guesswork out of the equation. When it comes to scheduling water consumption, put water in with his dry food and keep extra water dishes outside. If you’re taking him out every 45 minutes like you should be, he should have plenty of opportunity to get a drink throughout the day. This technique prevents the dog from filling up on water while he’s indoors. ● Free-feeding also takes away from the bond shared between a dog and it’s master. Your feeding ritual is a time when you do something for your dog. He appreciates it and it builds your relationship. It also gives you the opportunity to use obedience to strengthen your clout with him. The one who is in charge of the food is also in charge of survival. This makes you very important to him. Do not miss this opportunity for relationship building by free feeding. I also do not care for automatic watering machines for this same reason.

3.USE A CRATE Crates are not inhumane. They are not mean. They are necessary. Dogs are den animals and if the crate is used at an early age (and not used as a punishment) they will learn to love it and can become a very useful tool for you in the future. Use your crate when you can’t watch the puppy. It is instinct for a dog to leave the den when he has to ‟go‟. A dog will not go to the bathroom in a spot that he has to sit in. If you train it properly, your dog will enjoy the crate and it will be a very useful tool for you to use throughout your relationship with the dog. When you leave the house, crates prevent the dog from going to the bathroom and from absolutely destroying everything that you own. Unless you can hire a babysitter for your dog, you need to use a crate. One must also think about the dog’s future when making the decision to not train the puppy to use a crate. If you’re going to have the dog groomed he will most likely stay in a crate. If he ever needs to have surgery, the veterinarian will most likely use a crate. In the surgery situation, neglecting to crate train the dog at an early age will cause extra stress during a time when he should be healing. So, train and use the crate. ● Do not put a towel or any absorbent material in for the pup to lay on. He will soil it and push it in the corner, basically turning the towel into a toilet. He could also tear it up, swallow it, and block his intestines. This could turn into a very expensive surgery or death. ● Do not leave a puppy in a crate for any longer than he is old. A 2 month old puppy can only hold his bladder for 2 hours. A 3 month old can be crated for 3 hours and a five month old for 5 hours. This is a good guideline to follow to minimize accidents. ● If you have to leave the puppy for a long period of time like bedtime or going to work, don’t give the puppy water or food at least 2 hours before going into the crate. This will help to lengthen the amount of time the puppy can be left in the crate without having an accident. Also, if you work long shifts, hiring someone to let the pup out mid- day is an excellent idea. It will just be temporary while the dog is young. The extra money spent on the dog sitter will save you a lot of headaches in the long run. You may have to get up in the middle of the night to take out the dog during these young months. ● If you have issues with the dog “going‟ in the crate, you are leaving the dog too long, leaving a dog who is full of food or water, or the kennel is too big for that size of a dog. Another reason for this could be anxiety or early crate-abuse, such as puppy mill or pet store experience. ● When training a puppy to use a crate, do not let him out if he whines. You will create a monster. He will begin to whine every time he wants something from you. Let him work it out. It may take a few nights to get the point across, but he will stop whining.

4.SUPERVISE EVERYTHING Use your crate, baby gates, and use leashes indoors so that you can keep him with you at all times. Dogs are pack animals so they tend to follow you from room to room. If your puppy is not with you, he is up to no good. Supervision is essential. Never let that puppy out of your site. ● Tie the puppy to your belt loop. If you tether the puppy to your body you can accomplish two things at once. You can effectively potty train the dog because he is never out of your sight and you will at the same time become his leader. If you go outside, he goes with you. If you go to the bathroom, he comes with you. You can’t trust him unless he is by your side or in the crate. Remember, every time your pup makes a mistake, you regress in training ● Do go outside with your puppy on leash and watch him relieve himself. Take him to the same spot each time and pester him to go potty. Make sure to praise him when he’s finished. If you take the lazy approach and just open the door to the backyard and send him outside, he will just play around while he’s out there and come straight in and pee on your floor. You have to go out with him so you can know for a fact that he actually went. If he doesn’t potty, you don’t give him free time when you come back inside. You would instead put him in the crate for a while, and then try another trip outside after another 45 minutes. ● Do watch very closely directly after he eats or drinks, after taking a nap, or during play and roughhousing. These are the times when your dog is most likely to have to go potty.

5.GIVE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT FOR ‘GOING’ IN THE RIGHT PLACE. When you take him outside and he pees in the correct spot,you have to act like he won the lottery. This is your breakthrough moment. Take treats outside with you for a reward. Good treats like liver, lunchmeat, or hotdogs. Not milk bones. Not dry dog food. You can also put “going‟ on command by saying “go potty” while he’s sniffing around. Also, give him another 5 to 10 minutes outside after he “goes‟ the first time. Sometimes dogs will save up and go multiple times while outside instead of all at once. ● Do not use puppy potty pads unless your situation demands it. Puppy potty pads can be a useful training tool for people in high-rise apartments who don’t have a yard. Relying on them too much for too long can hurt your potty training success. Using potty pads indoors teaches your dog that it is okay to go to the bathroom indoors. I have seen some folks put them inside of crates. This is another don’t. You are teaching them it is okay to pee inside a crate. Your crate is very useful; don’t ruin it by putting potty pads and other absorbent materials in it for them to soil.

6. CONSEQUENCE FOR ’GOING’ INSIDE. Clapping your hands loudly and saying “No‟ is a very affective consequence. It will stop most puppies midstream. Then, you can take him outside and praise him when he pees in the correct spot. You cannot reprimand the dog after the deed is already done. - Only if you catch him in the act. ● Do not rub their nose in their mess. Potty training can be easily done using scheduling and positive reinforcement for correct behavior. This awful technique is totally unnecessary. You might also be kissing that nose later so try to keep it clean. ● Do not use tools to give consequence. When I say consequence, I do not mean using a shock collar or any other tool to get your point across. Tools can be very useful in training an adult dog, but for potty training, methods like these will teach your dog to hide when he goes potty. Your dog will become a master of sneaking off to the back room when you are not looking, thus making your potty training effort more difficult.

7. MAKE SURE YOUR PUPPY IS HEALTHY If your puppy has worms or other parasites there is no way you will be able to potty train her. She will have runny and irregular bowel movements. When you get a new puppy, make sure you do a thorough checkup at your favorite veterinarian to be sure she is clear of all harmful parasites and diseases. ● Feed a quality diet. Most dog foods on the market today are junk. They’re full of grains that the dog can’t digest, like corn and soy, and have ingredients that are not suitable for human consumption, like by-products. By-products are parts of the animal which cannot be used in human food. Chicken beaks and egg shells, intestines, feathers, and feet are by-products. A dog cannot be expected to learn housebreaking with a diet that is lacking in nutrition. He will make mistakes that are not his fault due to medical reasons. Make sure he is parasite free and is eating a quality diet. Research your dog’s food brand at dogfoodanalysis.com to make sure that you’re not accidentally feeding your dog morally- questionable ingredients.

8. STIMULATE THE BOWELS. If you are having trouble getting your dog to “go‟ when you take him out, here are a few more tips ● Take him for a short walk. This is almost always a surefire way to empty out your dog. ● If the dog makes a mess in the house, clean it up with a paper towel, then take the paper towel outside to the designated potty area. Set a rock on it to hold it there and take the dog to the scented paper towel each time you take him out. The smell will stimulate him to “go” ● For extreme circumstances, an old dog trainer trick to instantly release the bowels is to insert the head of a matchstick(cardboard match, not wood) into the dog’s behind. This should be done outside in the potty area. This technique empties the puppy so that he can be crated effectively. I will generally do this if I am having accidents inside the crate, am having a hard time getting the dog to go when I’m outside, or am having constipation issues. It is generally a last resort option for difficult potty training cases

Properly cleaning up messes: Dog’s return to the same spots to eliminate over and over. Make sure to clean up all messes with an odor/enzyme neutralizing product. A black light can be helpful to make sure the mess is cleaned thorough enough to deter the dog’s return to the same spot.

Incontinence: This is a common issue with puppies that are spayed at too young of an age. This is a medical issue and you should ask the advice of your veterinarian. I will generally suspect incontinence if I see the dog pee while he is sleeping.

Anxiety: There is crate anxiety and there’s separation anxiety. Crate anxiety happens from a lack of proper crate training. If you crate train correctly, this won’t be an issue. If you have already ruined the idea of the crate, sometimes you can switch to a different style of crate (that doesn’t look and feel the same to the dog) and get a fresh start. Separation anxiety is natural and common. Solid obedience training and crate training will help by creating impulse control. Also, filling a crate 75% full with straw will create a nesting behavior and drastically help the anxiety. It’s messy, but it works. I rarely use drugs for anxiety, but sometimes drugs can help in extreme cases. Contact your vet for these meds, but try everything else first and use drugs as a last resort.

Marking: This is a troublesome behavior. It will happen mostly with unneutered, untrained males, but females can do it too. It has to do with dominance. Get your puppies neutered and spayed to help this issue. However, unaltered dogs do it sometimes as well. It tends to show up as a competition between dogs or when new dogs are introduced to the house. My biggest recommendation here is to keep your pack hierarchy correct. Make sure the dog’s understand who the pack leader in the house is...YOU! This issue doesn’t generally happen in houses where dogs are well potty trained, obedience trained, kept on a schedule, crated, and exercised on a regular basis. This issue generally happens with new dogs or spoiled dogs who do not know who the leader of the house truly is.

Diapers and belly bands: These products can help with very difficult dogs to extend the period of time in between potty breaks