By J. Kruczek The first necessary and often unrealized initiation into dog training is when a person or family decides to get a puppy in the house. Puppies are not only demanding in terms of craving affection and a play partner, behaviorily they can push the patience of the calmest people on the planet.
One of the most difficult things to break them of is the dreaded "accident", or unexpected going to the bathroom in the house, commonly referred to as House breaking. I recently purchased a male miniature Schnauzer, and he was leaving surprises all over the house. He being a very smart dog, seemed to be actually hiding them, behind whatever piece of furniture he thought would do the trick.
Fortunately, I've had many dogs up to this point, so I am accustomed as to how to approach such mishaps. First and foremost, it is helpful if you can have someone in the home all day (or as often as possible) for the first few weeks. Its difficult to expect a young dog or puppy to hold it's urine or movements for more than a few hours. After all, how would you feel if your were chained to your favorite recliner and not able to relieve yourself when the urge came. This provides an opportunity to familiarizing the puppy with going out and going to the bathroom, since one can let the dog out every hour or so.
Be sure to create "KEY Word" that the dog will recognize each time they are let outside. The obvious one that I use is "Outside!" everytime I let the puppy out. You will be amazed at how quickly they catch on to key words. My puppies grasped the outside keyword along with "upstairs" and "whose here". Each time I now excitedly yell "Outside!" the dogs come running.
Monitoring when the dog eats and how much it is drinking is also beneficial, since most dogs will have an urge to relieve themselves shortly after. Puppies will tend to eat and drink alot since their energy requirments are quite high, so visits outside should be often.
If you absolutely want a dog, and no one will be home for a large part of the day, see if a neighbor, family member or friend will help you out at first by letting the puppy outside at regular intervals. If this is not an option, you can corral a section of the home (laundry room, basement) and place paper on the floor to get the dog accustomed to only going on the paper. For shorter intervals, you can place the puppy in a crate or metal cage designed for keeping the dog's run of the house in check. It seems most dogs will not go to the bathroom in an area where they sleep or 'nest' and a crate offers this environment.
You will also want to take the dog outside on a leash when letting them relieve themselves to avoid the "running off" behavior that can occur if a rabbit or other animal is seen. Be sure to let them out in the same area every time so that they will begin to realize that this area is for going to the bathroom. This may sound funny, but they do indeed begin to realize the purpose of going outside to their special area is for relieving themselves.
Lastly, surviving throughout the night with a new puppy can be a daunting task for many. The best thing to do here is the crating method that was mentioned earlier in this article. Place a crate in or near the bedroom of the person or persons who will be responsible for reacting to the puppies yelps to be let out to go to the bathroom. As was mentioned earlier, they do not seem to want to urinate where the sleep or nest, so this is very effective for getting through the night. Be sure that you carry the pup, since letting him/her run the house with a full bladder or bowel is asking for trouble. I've made the mistakes and learned the hard way.
Having a dog can be a very rewarding experience. They are the most loyal pet and can be the most obedient if you take the time and caring required.
About the Author
Have been involved with raising dogs from the puppy stage since I was a young child. My family has had many dogs and I have been directly involved with training them from all aspects.
I have had no other pet that has brought greater enjoyment and consider all the time training them and helping them well spent. Other Articles
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