Potty Patrol
Patience,
confinement,
and supervison get
the job done.
By Sally Deneen
confinement,
and supervison get
the job done.
By Sally Deneen
House-soiling ranks as one of
the top reasons dogs end up in
animal shelters, yet teaching a
puppy to never eliminate on the
Oriental carpet can be simple,
says Teoti Anderson,
president-elect of the
Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
Just get ready to apply a few
essentials: patience,
supervision, confinement - and
lots of treats.
"You can train your dog,"
assures Anderson, author of the
upcoming book, Super Simple
Guide to Housetraining. "It's not
complicated."
Says Ontario veterinarian Gary
Landsberg, a diplomate of the
American College of Veterinary
Behaviorists, "The main part of
housetraining is to teach a
puppy where to go - not where
not to go."
First, show your pup where you
want her to eliminate. Lead her
on leash to a particular outdoor
spot near the front or back door,
then stand there for three to five
minutes. If she doesn't
eliminate, return indoors. Every
hour (when you're home), take
her to this spot. Tell her to
eliminate. Praise her when she
does, and give her three
freeze-dried liver treats, says
animal behaviorist Ian Dunbar.
"The dog leans, 'Wow! If you
wait for the owner and do it in
your doggie toilet outside, you
get three liver treats, " says
Dunbar, director of the Center
for Applied Animal Behavior and
author of After You Get Your
Puppy (James & Kenneth, 2001).
the top reasons dogs end up in
animal shelters, yet teaching a
puppy to never eliminate on the
Oriental carpet can be simple,
says Teoti Anderson,
president-elect of the
Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
Just get ready to apply a few
essentials: patience,
supervision, confinement - and
lots of treats.
"You can train your dog,"
assures Anderson, author of the
upcoming book, Super Simple
Guide to Housetraining. "It's not
complicated."
Says Ontario veterinarian Gary
Landsberg, a diplomate of the
American College of Veterinary
Behaviorists, "The main part of
housetraining is to teach a
puppy where to go - not where
not to go."
First, show your pup where you
want her to eliminate. Lead her
on leash to a particular outdoor
spot near the front or back door,
then stand there for three to five
minutes. If she doesn't
eliminate, return indoors. Every
hour (when you're home), take
her to this spot. Tell her to
eliminate. Praise her when she
does, and give her three
freeze-dried liver treats, says
animal behaviorist Ian Dunbar.
"The dog leans, 'Wow! If you
wait for the owner and do it in
your doggie toilet outside, you
get three liver treats, " says
Dunbar, director of the Center
for Applied Animal Behavior and
author of After You Get Your
Puppy (James & Kenneth, 2001).
In addition, don't give your pup
free reign of the house, even
when you are home. Supervise
her constantly. Keep her
tethered to you, if needed. When
you're to busy to watch her, keep
her confined to a portable crate
or a baby play pen (with
food-stuffed chew toys). Such
short-term confinement, Dunbar
says, lets owners "predict when
the dog wants to go, so that they
can show it where and teach it
why" - the why being an instant
reward of liver.
Some other key tricks to try:
Schedule meals. Offer food at
set times two or three times a
day, and remove the food bowl
within 30 minutes. Your pup will
fall into a regular elimination
schedule. Landsberg advises.
Prevent mistakes. Head to the
same potty spot immediately
after play, naps, and meals to
take advantage of a pup's natural
"emptying" cycle, advises Amy
Shojai author of 18 pet-car
books. Taking the pup to the
same place helps establish an
association - and scent - to cue
the behavior you want. It's even
better, Shojai says, if you give a
command, "such as "Hurry up' of
'Get busy' of 'Tinkle.'"
Think twice about paper
training. Although a practical
alternative in some siuations,
paper training can confuse dogs
and is "really much harder for the
dog to do," Landsberg says,
Paper training sends a mixed
message: It lets the pup
eliminate indoors or outdoors
instead of outdoors only. Pups
also don't learn to control their
bladders well; after all, they can
urinate at will on newspapers.
Another hazard, Anderson knows
of dogs that jumped on couches
to urinate on unread
newspapers. "You can't get mad
if you trained it to go on
newspaper," Anderson says.
free reign of the house, even
when you are home. Supervise
her constantly. Keep her
tethered to you, if needed. When
you're to busy to watch her, keep
her confined to a portable crate
or a baby play pen (with
food-stuffed chew toys). Such
short-term confinement, Dunbar
says, lets owners "predict when
the dog wants to go, so that they
can show it where and teach it
why" - the why being an instant
reward of liver.
Some other key tricks to try:
Schedule meals. Offer food at
set times two or three times a
day, and remove the food bowl
within 30 minutes. Your pup will
fall into a regular elimination
schedule. Landsberg advises.
Prevent mistakes. Head to the
same potty spot immediately
after play, naps, and meals to
take advantage of a pup's natural
"emptying" cycle, advises Amy
Shojai author of 18 pet-car
books. Taking the pup to the
same place helps establish an
association - and scent - to cue
the behavior you want. It's even
better, Shojai says, if you give a
command, "such as "Hurry up' of
'Get busy' of 'Tinkle.'"
Think twice about paper
training. Although a practical
alternative in some siuations,
paper training can confuse dogs
and is "really much harder for the
dog to do," Landsberg says,
Paper training sends a mixed
message: It lets the pup
eliminate indoors or outdoors
instead of outdoors only. Pups
also don't learn to control their
bladders well; after all, they can
urinate at will on newspapers.
Another hazard, Anderson knows
of dogs that jumped on couches
to urinate on unread
newspapers. "You can't get mad
if you trained it to go on
newspaper," Anderson says.
However, paper training can help
during the times when you
absolutely can't be there to take
your pup outside. You can do as
Heather McKinnon of Seattle did
whith her pup, Buster. She kept
him restricted to the bathroom
(then later the kitchen) with a dog
bed, water bowl, and food-stuffed
chew towys. At the farthest spot,
she placed a "doggie toilet,"
which can be newspapers, pads,
or a litter box.
On the lighter side, Vicki
Schepman of Lynnwood,
Washington, marveled at how
her Toy Fox Terrier, Roscoe,
improvised the day she forgot to
leave newspapers out for the
then 1 1/2 pound, 6-week-old
pup. "True to his
eager-to-please little nature, he
found a tiny grocery recipt - about
tow inches square - on the floor
in the kichen, and pooped
carefully right in the center of
that." Schepman says. "We had
a huge laugh imaining him
poising his little bottom over the
paper to get it perfectly on target -
and needless to ay, we never
leave him home much anymore.
He always gets to go with us
because he is such a good boy."
Consider a litter box. if you live
in a high-rise with a little dog.
Unlike newspapers, a litter box is
a unique item located in one
spot in the house. "I don't think
it's as confusing for a dog,"
Anderson says, "I do understand
for some people, [an indoor
doggie toilet] is a good option."
during the times when you
absolutely can't be there to take
your pup outside. You can do as
Heather McKinnon of Seattle did
whith her pup, Buster. She kept
him restricted to the bathroom
(then later the kitchen) with a dog
bed, water bowl, and food-stuffed
chew towys. At the farthest spot,
she placed a "doggie toilet,"
which can be newspapers, pads,
or a litter box.
On the lighter side, Vicki
Schepman of Lynnwood,
Washington, marveled at how
her Toy Fox Terrier, Roscoe,
improvised the day she forgot to
leave newspapers out for the
then 1 1/2 pound, 6-week-old
pup. "True to his
eager-to-please little nature, he
found a tiny grocery recipt - about
tow inches square - on the floor
in the kichen, and pooped
carefully right in the center of
that." Schepman says. "We had
a huge laugh imaining him
poising his little bottom over the
paper to get it perfectly on target -
and needless to ay, we never
leave him home much anymore.
He always gets to go with us
because he is such a good boy."
Consider a litter box. if you live
in a high-rise with a little dog.
Unlike newspapers, a litter box is
a unique item located in one
spot in the house. "I don't think
it's as confusing for a dog,"
Anderson says, "I do understand
for some people, [an indoor
doggie toilet] is a good option."
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