If you are housetraining an abused dog, the most important thing you need to know about it is its background - although it is easier said than done. A dog can be abused in many different ways such as beaten regularly, ignored, repeatedly shouted at, kept outdoors all the time, repeatedly teased by kids and scared or attacked by other dogs. Such dogs become both psychologically and physically vulnerable. These dogs many even fail to trust human companions anymore. They become either fearful or aggressive. Owners, who adopt abused dogs, may face a few problems like hypersensitivity, submissive urination, aggressiveness and so on - while dealing with such pets. But dogs are remarkably adaptive. Given proper care, freedom and space, they can adapt to new loving families. A dog is open to learning new rules and getting to know new people. So, when you are housetraining them, it is important to be patient with such dogs.
Housetrained dog having accidents?
If your dog, after behaving impeccably for months, suddenly starts having "accidents", what do you do? The reasons could be many. The most obvious one being that he has been hit by a bladder infection. So, the first thing you should do is to take him to his vet to rule out this possibility. A second reason could be old age catching up with your pet. As with old people, so also with dogs suffering incontinence, you will have to make allowances for this problem and get special pads to prevent your house being "mucked" up. These are physical reasons over which you have little control. But there are other possibilities which are not so obvious. A change in environment for instance, can often cause a dog to start having accidents. One of the first things you can do to help your dog is refresh housetraining. Next, try to keep your pet in good humor by playing with him at home, giving him ample exercise and taking him out for a walk.
Fears Related To Housetraining
For proper housetraining, you need to follow one rule: never punish your puppy when you find out that it has eliminated in the wrong place. Also, if you find a mess that was left when you were not there, clean it up and forget it. Being scolded, punished or even hit for defecating or urinating at the wrong place only scares the puppy. The poor fellow will never understand why you are scolding it. The only message it will get is, it is being scolded only because it has eliminated in front of you. Your puppy's only reaction to such a situation will be to go and eliminate where you cannot see or do it behind your back. Best way to avoid these 'accidents' is to follow your dog's body language. The puppy will show the same behavior every time. It may vary a little from pup to pup but they always show their own pre-potty pattern before the act.
Indoor Potty Training
Wee pads are modern day alternatives to newspapers and litter boxes. They are mostly used for dogs who are trained to eliminate indoors. These pads are manufactured in such a way that you can permanently avoid poop and pee stench and stains. Moreover, these pads are treated with natural attractants to help draw pets to the pads. Wee pads are also best for housetraining puppies, stay at home dogs, senior dogs, disabled pet owners, or even for people who cannot avail the facility of taking their dog to the backyard.
Crate Training
Crate training is important for dogs that will be left alone for long periods of time or the ones who will be boarded at a place where they will be crated. A crate is useful for restricting your new dog from accessing various areas of the house. This will help in keeping those areas clean while your dog is being housetrained. It will also keep him from chewing things he should not chew until he gets past that stage of life. The crate should be a safe place for your dog. Dogs live in dens in the wild, so this will become his den. If it is approached properly and early in his life with you, he will learn to go into it without barking and to stay in it until released. In fact, many dogs enjoy being in their crates. Crate training is never used as punishment or “time out.” It is always to be viewed as a happy and safe place for your dog.
Teaching “Do Your Business”
‘Do your business’ is an easy command to teach your puppy. This will help you train your puppy to relieve himself on command. This is not really a command, but a phrase. Repeat ‘Do your business’ again and again to make your puppy familiar with this phrase as he does his business. Continue to repeat this until the dog learns to make the connection between the phrase and the action of doing his business. The main goal is to condition your dog to this phrase so that the dog has to go to the washroom whenever you say ‘Do your business’. Keep him on the lead so that he’s close to you. This should be done right away during the puppy training. Remember that this phrase will work only if your puppy actually wants to do his business. Praise your puppy by saying ‘Good do your business’ after it is done with its business.
Puppy Bell Training : An Useful Trick to Teach “Go Outside”
If you're never quite sure when your dog needs to go outside, you might be thinking that it would be nice if he would just tell you! Training your puppy to ring a bell is a wonderful tool for learning when he needs to go outside. With this training, you need to set up some jingle bells on the door the dog uses to go outside when you’re housetraining him. Ignore the bell. Don’t introduce your puppy to the bell when they are first hung up. Next time when you take him outside, bring him to the door and let him nose the bells. If you can’t get him ring the bell on his own, encourage him to touch it and shake it slightly to make a ring. Don’t ring the bell when you come back inside. The puppy will often ring it just to play with it. But whenever he does so, take him outside immediately even if he doesn’t have to go. This actually helps the puppy learn to ring the bell only when he needs to go outside.
Housetraining a Puppy
Housetraining should be started as soon as your puppy comes home. Be sure to get your hands on a few items even before the pup arrives: leash, collar, crate, baby gate, lots of treats and cleaning supplies. Try to avoid puppy pads as it actually teaches your puppy to eliminate inside the house. The single biggest factor for housetraining success is how well you can train yourself to understand when the dog has to go outside. If the dog is sniffing on the floor and pacing, or if it is restless then it means that it wants to go to the washroom. Teach your puppy to use the same door everytime it goes outside and praise him for relieving himself outside. Never punish your dog for going in the house. If you were not able to prevent the puppy from eliminating inside, just clean up the mess, but do not clean in front of him.
What To Expect From This Section
This video focuses on how to housetrain your puppy. Housetraining your puppy is one of the most important step to have a happy life with your dog. Making your dog properly housetrained will help you avoid accidents inside your house. It is normal for puppies to have "accidents." In fact, soiling accidents are unavoidable under certain circumstances, even if you keep a constant eye on your puppy. This can be a very frustrating process for the dog owner. Housetraining a puppy has much to do with training the owner to get the puppy outside as it does with training the puppy. This section of the video shows all the tools you need to properly housetrain your puppy.
