Paper Training
and Housebreaking Your Dog
 Paper
training or housebreaking your dog (teaching your
dog where you want it to go to the bathroom) may not be as important
as teaching it to stay out of the street, but it is a vital
part of it's overall training. If your dog is not paper trained or housebroken it
will more than likely end up living in the backyard, be given away, re-homed or yes, even
sent to an animal shelter.
We do not really
suggest that you go through the efforts of paper training your dog
unless you are not planning on house breaking it eventually.
Paper training your
dog is an option, but if you are planning to eventually go through
with house breaking you dog, paper training may actually confuse the
dog or puppy by making it think that it is
always OK to relieve itself on the paper or in the area where the
paper used to be even after you have trained it to go outside.
(Especially when you are not at home). Another good reason why we do not recommend "paper training" before teaching
the puppy or dog to relieve itself outside, is because you are
actually doubling the amount of time you need to achieve your final goal.
The hardest part of paper training or housebreaking is not so much about training the
dog, it's about training the humans. A dog will
tell you when it needs to relieve itself. You just need to know how to read
the signs. If you are unsure of how to read the signs, it is best to
provide your dog with a lot of opportunities to relieve itself in the correct
place ... and after it does, be sure to reward this behavior
immediately afterward.
These Paper training
or housebreaking opportunities should be given at regular intervals until a
pattern becomes visible. With a puppy, these intervals should be
right after feeding, drinking, playing or sleeping and with dogs
over the age of one year, about every 2-4 hours should be fine. You should also consider
walking your dog after feeding or drinking to encourage it to use
this time to relieve itself. (Don't forget to take your pooper-scooper or
a plastic bag along).
Any paper training or housebreaking
method you choose will require you to be nearby and to be watching
your dog for the signs that he/she needs to relieve itself. If your
dog learns good habits right from the start it will be a more
positive experience and you will be cleaning up a lot fewer messes.
With puppies, we suggest that you
feed at scheduled mealtimes ONLY, and then remove any food the
puppy does not eat during that feeding time. Do not allow the puppy
to "snack" on the rest of the food between feeding times as this
will make your paper or house training job much more difficult. To prevent
"accidents" in the house, take your puppy out before an accident
occurs. Get them used to going out, and they will be less likely to
"go" in.
When you take the
puppy or dog
out to do his/her business, take him/her out to the same spot each
time. If your puppy is too young to walk on a leash or if your area
is not enclosed, take them to a safe area and remain there until it
has relieved itself. When it does, remember to reward the behavior
immediately.
Reading the Signs:
Learning to read your dog's signs is a must, because that is the only way
you will really know when it's "time to go". Your dog is not a
little kid who can walk around with it's knees together, pushing
down on it's crotch area, and look desperate. But the signs are
almost as obvious!
The common signs your
dog will use are:
| 1). Sniffing
the Floor or Ground |
| 2). Circling |
| 3). Whining |
| 4). Tail Raised
in the Air |
5). Hunched or
Arched Back to Point the Butt Area Down
(To the un-trained eye, this
also will look like the dog is struggling to try to sit
down) |
| 6). Enlarged
Anus |
In older dogs (dogs
who were previously housebroken) you may also notice that they
become quickly excited and pace the floor or becoming hyper to go
outside.
If you notice any of
the above behaviors while you playing with the your dog, stop
playing and take it outside (or to the paper). If you don't,
you're going to be cleaning up a mess very soon.
Final Step in Paper Training /
Housebreaking:
Once you have recognized the sign or signs that your dog gives
you, you can now teach your dog to go to the door (or to the paper)
when it needs to "do it's business".
When the dog starts to give you a
sign, you walk it to the door or paper, (on or off leash which ever
suits your situation), and as you cross the threshold of the door or
reach the paper, say the word you want to use as the command.
(Example: "Outside" "Paper" "Potty" etc...) After a
short time (up to a few weeks), your dog will probably go right to
the door or paper for you.
|
