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very well put and informative.
Nonnie & the Punk &
Darla
Hi
The following potty training information was
originally posted by Heather in our group(little Zoey's mom). I believe
she had gotten it from another group she belongs to. It was such
excellent information on pottying, written by a dog rescue person, that with
all the new members in our group, I thought it may be a huge help!!
Katie
Okay, this will be a serious answer to the
housebreaking questions raised. I
Do dog training for several rescue
groups. The #1 reason dogs are dumped, in
My opinion, is because they have
not been properly housebroken and their
Owners are tired of dealing with
it. Most of the dogs I get in my home have no
Concept of what
housebreaking is or what is expected of them.
First, here is my
definition of a dog that is housebroken: A dog that will
Either (a) use an
inside method to eliminate (whether it is papers, pee pads
Or a doggie
litter box) or (B) will indicate to its owner that it wants to use
The
outside to eliminate. I know some people will say, my dog is housebroken
But sometimes has accidents in the house. If your dog is eliminating
Inappropriately at any time, it is not housebroken.
Sometimes, a
dog -- especially stubborn breeds like chis and jack Russell
Terriers --
will engage in what I call "spiteful elimination". I have one
Here
that does that. If she gets annoyed at someone -- for example, she tried
To steal my lunch and I scolded her -- she will look for a shoe or some
other
Personal property and either urinate or defecate on it. That is a
different
Story and that is a behavior problem. That type of problem
requires a
Different approach and involves dog obedience.
Things
you should realize when housebreaking as dog:
1. If you don't catch
them in the act of making, do not scold them. They have
No idea what you
are yelling about. Dogs have a very short term memory span. I
Believe I
read somewhere that if you don't catch it within the first 15 or 20
Seconds, the dog doesn't know what is going on. So, if you come home
and
There is feces or urine someplace you don't want it, and you start
yelling or
Scolding dog, the dog thinks you are mad at it but has no idea
WHY you are
Mad. After a while, the dog will not come when you call it
because of this.
(this is also one of the main reasons that dogs have
difficulty responding to
Their owners in obedience classes. They have
learned to fear them and view
Their owner's behavior as unpredictable.
Once you lose your dog's trust in
You, it takes a lot of work to get it
back)
Think of it from the dog's point of view. He doesn't realize
that what he did
Was wrong because you were not there to catch him and
tell him. All he knows
Is the person he loves and adores is home. He rushes
to greet you. His tail is
Wagging, he is excited that "HIS" human is here!
You are back! How do you
Respond to this joyful greeting of love and
adoration??? You yell and scold.
Wow, he thinks, what's their problem?
This happens 2 or 3 times and he begins
To fear you as the psychotic
yelling machine that comes home every day.
2. If you catch
the dog eliminating inappropriately, do not yell again. This
Will only
scare him and he will eliminate even more. Just say in a calm, but
Firm
voice: no, not there. Scoop up the dog and place him where you want him
To
go. Even if he only dribbles the last few drops of urine from his bladder
Because the rest of it has already been deposited on your rug, PRAISE HIM.
Be
Very effusive "what a good doggie. What a very good boy".
Do not rub his nose in it. Do not keep pointing to the spot
yelling. This only
Reinforces the psychotic owner image in the dog's
mind.
3. If there is a spot where you dog makes all the time,
make sure it is
Thoroughly cleaned up and the odors removed or the dog
will continue to use
It. Animals are drawn to the smell. The best method I
have ever found was not
In a commercial product, but plain old white
vinegar. Dilute 2 to 1 in water,
Saturate the rug area with the
vinegar/water solution. Let it sit for a minute
Or two. Wipe up the
excess. Then sprinkle baking soda generously over the
Spot. It should be a
thin layer over the wet vinegar/water spot. Let it sit
For 24 to 36 hours.
The baking soda will turn a yellow/brown color (that is
The urine from the
under padding being absorbed by the baking soda) and it
Will become hard.
When it is hard, just vacuum it up.
If it is on a hard floor or
laminate floor, check with the manufacturer. I
Have Mannington floors in
my home. I specifically purchased the industrial
Strength laminate
floors from them because of all the housebreaking I do.
These floors
can take the vinegar/water mix on them for a minute or two
without ruining
the finish. I have had my floors 3 years and they still look
like
new. Most flooring companies have a website that you can check for
cleaning instructions and tolerance levels of cleaners.
4. No
liquids after 7 pm. Just like when you are potty training children. You
have to realize that a puppy chi has the bladder the size of a large pea
or
small lima bean. It cannot hold much. A lot of times puppies will drink
to
satisfy things other than thirst. That is why I would recommend buying
unflavored pedialyte (children or baby aisle of store) and freezing in an
ice
cube tray (I use the really small cube tray, the teeny tiny
ones). After 7
pm pop two or three of those cubes in a bowl and just
put enough water in the bottom of the dish to cover it. This will aid in the
melting of the cubes.
If the dog is thirsty, he will lick and suck
on the cubes. The electrolytes in
the pedialyte will satisfy his
thirst and he won't become dehydrated, but he
won't be able to
consume enough fluid to overflow his bladder.
5. Watch the
dog. If you see him sniffing or circling, place him in an area
which is
appropriate to eliminate. Watch the dog. If he is drinking a lot at
one time, realize that within the next 10-15 minutes he will have to
urinate.
Watch the dog. If he is chowing down on food, realize that within
the next 20-
25 minutes he will have to defecate. Watching the dog and
learning his body
language is important.
6. This is one thing I
cannot stress enough: Praise. An effusive emotional
positive praise
response after every act of appropriate elimination -- whether
it is just
sniffing the pad and not making or using the pad, or going up to
you or
the door to be let out -- is essential. The dog learns that when he
does
this type of action, he gets what he values most: Your undivided
attention in a positive manner. That is what housebreaking is. We
are re-
programming the dog's natural instincts of eliminating where he
wants to. We
are training him to act in a manner which fits into human
lifestyle. What is
his motive to do this? You. You and your love, and your
praise and your
positive attitude which makes him feel like he is the king
(or queen) of your
world.
7. There is no such thing as a
dog being too old to be housebroken. I have
done puppy mill rescue and
geriatric dog rescue since 1989. NONE of these dogs
have been housebroken.
The average age of these dogs coming into my home is 7
or 8 years old.
EVERY dog leaves my house: housebroken and on leash obedience
trained. You
must be consistent; you must be patient; and you must put your
ego on the
back burner. And EVERYONE in the household must participate in
this
training, not just one person.
8. A Chihuahua or any
toy breed for that manner takes a long time to
housebreak when young. I
have found the average age for being fully
housebroken to be about 9-12
months old. Some do learn earlier, some learn
later. But this is the
average age based on my years of experience.
Personally, I was shocked
when I started working with toy breeds because the
larger dogs "get
it" a lot faster. But, most Chihuahuas take a lot longer to
learn the
housebreaking "rules".
This is partly because of their size, their
bladders are small, and it takes a
long time to gain full control of the
bladder. Bladder muscle control is a
slow and steady process.
Patience is necessary. Another reason is because
they are a
stubborn breed and it sometimes becomes a battle of the wills.
After
all, it is much easier for the dog to pee in the corner of a room where
the puppy is playing (and not interrupt his play sequence) then it is to
go to
the appropriate area. Consistency and Patience are a must when
training toy
breeds.
Chrisc B of New
Joisey
Tabukitti's Animal House
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