How to house break your dog

Over my past nine and a half years in the companion animal industry as a kennel technician, dog walker, pet sitter, adoptions counselor, kennel manger and the last 6 as a dog trainer and behavior consultant. There has been a wealth of articles and information on housebreaking I have taken in, as well as obvious behavior patterns I see while observing my clients’ dogs in order to better understand and help my clients dogs learn healthy elimination habits.

On a generally larger scale dogs are very social which is why they work well with being companion animals but on a smaller note that helps them live and thrive in a human world is how clean they generally tend to be. When a client comes to me and ask about helping them with house breaking the first thing I and most dog trainers ask is how old their dog is? This is to give us a good idea of the capacity to hold their elimination, it is a muscle that needs to be developed. The 2nd question, but more a statement after asking how old their dog is, where do they eliminate? Hallways, Den, Dinning room, 2nd bedroom or guest room? Without hesitation most clients say “Yes! How did you know?” I know because these are the locations that their dogs and dogs in general spend the least amount of time. This is when I tell them how clean their dog is and that we must think about it from their perspective a little, that they do their best to keep the area where “they live” clean, the locations that they spend the most time, where they eat, sleep, and play. This is where the communication/expectations break down, that because they don’t or try not to eliminate in the living room, kitchen or master bedroom that they are house broken and do not understand why they so freely go in the less frequented areas.

I continue the conversation by saying most of house breaking has very little training involved. A very timely “Yes! Good Boy/Girl!” a small very tasty treat and small puppy party/play/pet session when they eliminate in the correct spot, and at most added management of a leash just incase your puppy forgets they need to go, and self-rewards with sniffing and running around.

The majority of house breaking is schedule and management:

1)      Keep in mind that just like us the ability to hold it is a muscle, the younger the dog the more frequently they must be let out. Trainer and Behaviorist have a general rule of thump that 1 more than age of your puppy is how long they can hold it. 2-month-old = 3 hours maximum, 5 month old = 6 hours maximum. Use this equation to help build a basic schedule.

2)      Baby gates, playpen, crates and dragging leashes should be used to systematically manage your dog so they do not have free roam of your entire house, no matter how big or small your house is, I guarantee that its to big for your dog. Give your dog access to 1 or 2 rooms, the ones you most occupy and as they go 1-2 weeks without an accident you can strategically relocate a baby gate to them a 3rd and later a 4th room to “live in”.

3)      After sleeping, eating, play and or training are most frequent times your dog is likely in need to go out, no matter the schedule.

4)      Management of water, there is a fine line to this, depravation can cause over drinking and in turn cause your dog to have an accident unexpectedly. I would always allow for water unless you are having issues with accidents over night or in crate.

5)      While your dog is out try to pay close attention to subtle signals of having to go out like heavy floor sniffing, circling, movement to any entrances or trying to wonder off to other parts of the house. By paying attention to these signals and rewarding it (letting them out) you are building a way for them to communicate their needs.

These are tips for standard dogs, ones who were able to spend the first 8 -10 weeks with their mother who clean up after their puppies in order to create a healthy aversion to their own elimination. If your puppy was removed from their mother to early or grew up in puppy mill situations where cleaning up was not done by the mother or owners, these tips can help but might have to seek out a professional for 1v1 help.

With the influx of house breaking question I have received in recent time I hope this blog article helps.