This is one of the most common questions I get asked. Whether you have a puppy or an older dog that is new to you, the key is removing variables and being consistent. Dogs are not born knowing that they are not supposed to go in the house. What is natural is for them to go where they can avoid laying in it. In a house that gives them lots of places to go. Nothing like stepping in dog pee while wearing socks…ask me how I know.
When someone comes to your house for any period of time, they are likely to ask you where your bathroom is. Well, the dog is not going to ask so you show them from day one. Personally, I don’t like the dog to associate going for a walk with going potty. When we walk out the door we might be going for a walk, car ride, or whatever. Just like the kids I want them to go before we begin. If they have to go on the trip that’s one thing, but it is never the reason for the trip. Like for human beings, having the urge to go can certainly take your focus off you enjoying where you are and what you are doing. Here are some of the biggest housebreaking mistakes-
- Assuming that the dog did their business because they went outside. The dogs’ primary interests when going outside it to smell and see everything outside has to offer. Like little kids that are potty trained, they go outside and get sidetracked by who knows what and they pee their pants. Until a dog is 100% housetrained you have to always take them out on a leash.
- Not taking the dog out on a leash, read #1 again. You want them to be conditioned to go as soon as they are out the door and to the location you want them to use. A dog off leash is just going to wander around. Thats fine unless it is 30 or 100 degrees out, 3 o’clock in the morning, or its raining/snowing.
- Giving them a treat for coming inside. Dogs have a 1-3 second window of association, meaning if they get the treat for coming inside, they can only assume that the treat was for coming inside, not going to the bathroom outside.
- Making a big deal out of it when they have an accident. Considering it is one of the behaviors that cause owners the most grief, a good recommendation would be to use all the energy you use complaining and yelling at them to instead be consistent with action and praise when they do what you want.
- Allowing your dog to lead you around by the leash as they sniff believing they are soley sniffing for the perfect place to go. They are not, they also learn to game it when they realize the sooner they go, the sooner your they go back inside.
The key to building a relationship with a dog is moving with them, with you in the lead. You don’t take the dog for a walk; you take your dog on a walk with you. If you were not going, they would not get a walk. If you’re going with me, then I am going to be in charge. That means you are going to walk in the heel position on a loose leash on one fingertip. When done correctly it should look like there is no leash, meaning the human and dog should both be walking as if they were walking individually. That means no bent arms, no pulling, no sniffing everything on the ground. There are two types of scent, air, and ground, if your dog was not sniffing the air they would pass out, just like you. They can get all the ground scent they want as long as they can keep the lead loose why you move.
When wolves or dogs move as a pack, the individual seldom stops to relieve themselves. This is for two primary reasons. The first is that if you stop, the rest of the pack won’t, and this leaves you totally unprotected as you take care of business. The second is that by stopping you could possibly be left behind by the pack, and that is not good for your survival.
The first reason for housebreaking the way we do is to condition the dog to eliminate as soon as they go outside and where you want them to. All attention, praise, and fun come after your go; it is not part of the adventure. The second is to ensure you have your dog’s full time and attention when you go out by conditioning them that relieving themselves is not something you do as part of other activities. So then, how do we do it. This works with any dog that is new to you. You can start any time of day, but I prefer to start first thing in the morning, because at 50, I know how motivated I am to get to the bathroom first thing in the morning. The morning relief marked with a high value treat, followed by tons of praise and a attention is the triple crown of housebreaking. Here is our housebreaking protocol, it works, but only with consistency. Basically, if said to you, see those three porta potties over there? Every time you use the first one, I will give you $20, but you will get nothing for using the other two. Not only would your use only the first one, but you would use it as fast and as often as possible to get that money.
