posted 07-30-2003 07:16 AM         

A new puppy can be a handful and even top breeders will admit that house-breaking a pup takes time and patience. Understanding a dogs natural instinct and watching their behavior will help you be successful!

More dogs are abandoned or taken to the pound for messing inside the house than for any other reason. Generally, the human caretaker is more at fault that the dog. Pet owners need to teach their pet how and when it is acceptable to relieve themselves.

What age should you train your pup? When you bring home a new puppy from a breeder, pet store or pound they should be no younger than 7 weeks old. The United Kennel Club and American Kennel Club both require breeders to not release pups to a new owner until they are at least 7 weeks of age. By then they should have received their first shots and be on their way to being house-trained. This should make your training job easier.

Generally dogs are easy to train because their natural instinct is never to soil the area where they sleep or eat. Even a very young pup will wobble a few steps from the main whelping area to urinate. When house-training we are essentially teaching pups to extend their den to OUR living area.

Because our home is so much larger than the pups original whelping box or den I suggest sectioning off the house using toddler gates. As with young children a pup can create messes that can be confined to a smaller area that is easier to control. Think of baby products that could work with your pup like a playpen or travel bed. I have even used a plastic swimming pool to aid in training a young pup. I was training several miniature American Eskimo pups that were not big enough to climb over the side yet, so the pool was easy to wash out too. Obviously this would not work long if your pup is a larger breed like a Great Dane or Golden Retriever.

Your puppy will need to eat an average of 4 meals per day at first. Immediately after feeding your new pup take him or her outside to relieve themselves. Always praise a dog right after they do it in an appropriate place. If they do soil the floor in your home do not rub their noses in it. This practice will not help your dog learn or improve your relationship with your dog in any way. You should also never hit your dog for making mistakes of any kind.

You should also take your pup outside immediately after they wake up or after you have played with him. These are natural times he might relive himself.

If you do see your dog relieving himself inappropriately or marking territory in the house try making a load "Auughk" noise. Done correctly it is a guttural throaty sound which reminds me of a German dialect. Believe me I know this sounds odd, but it really does work! Many dog trainers and breeders use this technique. They have found that most breeds find this noise distasteful and immediately stop what they are doing. Your dog will know your displeasure and often react by laying back his ears.

To help your dog learn to control himself at night I strongly suggest you use crate-training. A crate is not cruel to a dog if used appropriately. Think of it as a bed with a door. Include water and food and a soft blanket for your pet. Animal behavior specialists recommend introducing your pet to a crate slowly and gradually increasing the house you leave your pet alone in the crate. You can also reward your pet with treats when they are in there. The crate will quickly becoming a refuge for your pet and create a short term training break for you.

Cleaning up any accidents your pup makes is essential to successfully potty training your pup. A dog has a natural instinct to go again in places where they can smell urine or feces odors. If you paper train you should put plastic sheets underneath the newspaper. Plastic sheets that are used in care centers for incontinence problems work well or sometimes pet stores have "piddle pads" to prevent odors from seeping through litter boxes or newspaper.

To avoid accidents recognize the signs your pet will give you that he needs to go. Dogs will generally scratch at the door or sniff close to the ground and whimper and whine before squatting. Try to outguess your dogs needs and you will help them succeed in becoming house-trained.

Dogs are eager to please you if only shown how. Once they are taught what is acceptable behavior they can be an invaluable loyal companion.