How to Housetrain Your New Dog

How do you train a dog to stop jumping on you? You turn your back and tell him no.

How do you train a dog to stop play biting? You stop playing with him and tell him no.

How do you train a dog to stop counter surfing? You catch him doing it and scold him.

So, common sense would seem to indicate that if you want the dog to not potty in the house, you catch him doing it and scold him. It makes perfect sense. It follows the model of other training. This is how a lot of people train their dogs, and it even works with some. But, it very often backfires. Intuition lies in this case.

You should never scold your dog for pottying in the house.

Huh?

There is a method to my madness. See, you are scolding Rover because you caught him doing doodle in the house. Rover, being a bright dog, realizes he's being scolded because you caught him doing doodle. He tries to be a good dog, but he can't hold it forever. The whole doodling procedure now has become fraught with tension and hidden danger, so he only doodles where he feels safest (in the house) and when and where he feels sure that you won't catch him.

The whole "in the house" part of the scolding communication sailed right past him. You end up with a dog that won't potty when let outside, won't potty when taken out on leash and will strive with every fiber of bladder and bowel to potty on the rug when you aren't looking. He becomes a stealth doodler, creeping into corners and the other room when you aren't looking.

Ooopsie.

So, please, don't scold the dog for relieving itself.

This problem was hinted at in the first Obstacle, but it needs more explanation. You and your dog need to establish a good "tell" for your dog to communicate that she needs to go powder her nose. When you are awake and not distracted, you can notice things like longing looks out the window, wandering about sniffing in a suspicious manner, restlessness, or the typical time for such matters.

You might be planning on simply crating the dog at night to encourage her to "hold it".

Inevitably, though, there will be those quiet dark nights when eating adventures backfire. Trust me, you want that doggie to be able to rouse you from sleep and communicate quickly that she needs out before the rearward jets fire. I speak from personal experience, here, cleaning out crates shellacked in unmentionable is icky.

So, you and Fluffy need to establish this "tell." It should be some noise that will wake you and get your attention, that can be made by the dog while in a crate or car, and reasonably unique. For one of my dogs it is a groaning, moaning noise and the other it is a simple, sharp bark. Every time they make this noise, they go out.

Now, often there are all sorts of interesting things out there, so when establishing the "tell," Fluffy might start to lie when she realizes that the special yip or moan leads to fun stuff. So, when you take them out, be boring. Take them out on leash. Don't play. Don't let them walk all over sniffing things. No toys or treats. Until Fluffy justifies the excursion by producing, nada. If it becomes pathetically obvious to you it was a false alarm, go back in with the dog, and put her back in the crate. If it was a true alarm and she does what she needs to do, then play with her a bit, treat her, tell her she's good, whatever to mark that behavior as desirable.

This takes patience, and there may be some missteps along the way, but it will lead to a dog that is much easier and more pleasant to live with and travel with.

Submissive Urination: The dog pees when frighted. Never chastise her. The dog can not help it and any negative attention will just make her more desperate to placate you by urinating more. Common in puppies, it's often outgrown. Even if not completely outgrown, it can be mitigated by patience and only introducing the dog to new people or other triggering factors outside. Most submissive urinators do not do it for people they have become accustomed to, but caution with any kind of domination behavior (leaning over the dog, manhandling it, picking it up, encouraging it to rollover, encouraging frantic submissive begging for attention) will feed into the undesired behavior.

Excitement Urination: Like submissive urination, it is common in puppies and should never be chastised. The dog will probably outgrow it as the muscles mature. Until then, mitigation is the best policy. Don't over excite the dog. Don't encourage frantic greetings. Introduce exciting stimuli when the dog is outdoors.

Urinary Tract Infection: More common in older dogs, this can be diagnosed and treated by your veterinarian. To lessen the chances of developing it, provide your dog with easy access to fresh, clean water and good quality food. Don't crate your dog for hours on end expecting it to "hold it," get a dog walker.

Medically Diagnosed Incontinence: Your vet may be able to treat this to some extent, so that it is more manageable. At least they will be able to identify that's what's going on.

Free Feeding: Letting the dog eat randomly throughout the day can make it harder to establish a regular schedule. If he decides to gorge at 11:55 pm, you are screwed.

Dietary Indiscretion: Pay attention to what your dog eats. Some foods, just like with people, shoot through the digestive tract like a guided missile.

You've all had the joke emailed to you at some time about various dog breeds and changing a light bulb. Remember the line about Cocker Spaniels:

COCKER SPANIEL: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.

Well, cockers do have a certain reputation. So do yorkies, and a dozen or so other breeds. Breed differences can complicate the situation: If a dog is tiny, it has a tiny bladder. It cannot hold it for the same length of time. Every cocker I've ever met piddles when excited. They just as a group seem to have wimpy bladder muscles. Then there are the big northern dogs. Bred to be big, tough, and territorial, they often have marking issues. They've even got a reputation for marking their owners!

While certain breeds may have a reputation, that doesn't mean that there aren't many dogs in each of those breeds that have been successfully house trained. If there are physical issues, such as weak muscles and small bladders, get a dog walker. If the dog has an overweening desire to mark, use a belly band.

One option that people seem drawn toward is using a doggie litter box or wee wee pads. Don't. If you want to train your dog to go outside to pee, never, ever, ever, ever, encourage him to pee inside - even in a doggie litter box or on a wee wee pad. Honestly, if you're a dog, what's the difference between soft, absorbent dog litter and soft, absorbent carpet? Are wee wee pads and your favorite shirt that different? Don't teach your dog to eliminate inside. It violates the instinctual aversion to soiling the den that is the basis for house training.

Crate Fido. It's temporary. He'll get out eventually, but crating is a part of potty training.

Every few hours (varies depends on age of dog, feeding schedule, size of bladder) take Fido out on leash to the same spot and give him the potty cue.

If he potties, praise and play and then bring him in and let him run around a bit in the house while he's empty.

If he doesn't potty after a patient period of time, take him back in with no praise or play and stuff him back in the crate.

Pick a cue, a "tell" some unique noise Fido makes and take him out and give him the potty cue every time he makes that noise. Be boring unless he potties. If he potties, have a party. If not, take him back and stuff him back in the crate.

As you notice he seems to be getting it, going over to potty immediately when taken outside, expand the time between taking him out, stretching it, and longer time afterward running about the house. Don't go too many hours in the crate, at a stretch, though.

You can also, as he starts to catch on, have him out of the crate, but tethered to you with a leash so that he's always under your watchful eye. If you notice any squatting, suspicious sniffing, etc , take him out and give him the potty cue.

Gradually work it so that more and more of his time is spent loose, outside of his crate, in the house. It's very organic, depending on the dog, when they become completely reliable.

There are a lot of "outside dogs" out there. Why not just have the dog live out in the yard, guarding the house, and I'll go out and play with him when I feel like it?

Well, dogs are pets. They are bred as companion animals. They suffer from cold, boredom, and loneliness. If you train your dog as a house dog, he will be cleaner, healthier, and happier. You will enjoy interacting with an animal that is clean, groomed, and well socialized much better than a muddy, stinking, hairball that is desperate for any scrap of attention.

A dog that is curled up at the foot of your bed isn't outside, barking at every noise all night, being the cause of complaints and citations. A dog that is in the house interacting with you is not leaping or tunneling out of the yard to be hit by a car or picked up by animal control and need ransomed out, over and over. A clean, well groomed house dog is much less of an allergen than a filthy hairball outside.

You will spend a lot of money and energy on your dog. Whatever choice you make, he will require food, vet care and time. Make it worth it for you and the dog. Bring him inside where you two can enjoy each other.