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PAGE FIVE
Tips on Teaching Your
Dog to Go On Command
This is what you want
to do every time you take your dog potty on the paper or pad.
Your goal is to have
your dog connect the words you choose (go potty, get busy, make
potty) with the action of doing it.
4 Easy Steps For
Recording Your Dog's potty habits.
-
Make a record and study the times your dog needs to go potty. Write
it down. This will help with setting up your daily schedule.
-
Take him to the desired potty place. Set him on the paper or pad and
keep repeating the chosen phrase you have decided to use, "good boy,
go potty!" or whatever you like. Just make sure you stick with the
same phrase. Do not let him off of the paper or pad until he goes.
-
When your dog starts to go potty, keep repeating the phrase over and
over with your big happy voice. After 5 0r 6 times of doing this he
will begin to connect the action with the command.
-
Half a second after he finishes, give him lots of praise...!!!
Do this every time!
When Will Your Dog Go Potty?
Warning Signals!
Anytime there is a change in
activity, such as after waking, playing or eating, puppy MUST be taken
to potty!
There are certain signs that
will let you know when your puppy is needing to go potty:
-
sudden stop of play
-
circling
-
sniffing
-
running out of the room
-
a "look" on his face
You will soon learn to read
these "warning signals". Yes,
I know, for a while it may seem that all you do in life is take doggie
potty!
Extra effort= SUCCESS
**It is never good to give
your dog a large meal before an extended crating time, unless of
course he is in an ex-pen.**
(You have most certainly by now realized how much better an ex-pen or
small area makes training easier.)
Proceed to set up a schedule
of feeding 2-3 small meals rather than 1 or 2 large meals. Your last
meal should be given 3 to 4 hours before bedtime.
If you decide to use a crate, you will need to make a schedule of
feeding times, play times, crate times and paper potty times to help
your dog get used to a regular potty schedule more easily and help you
be able to determine when he will need
to go.
Setting Up a Daily Schedule For Your Dog
-
First thing in the morning -
before you do anything else, even have your coffee - take the puppy
to go potty on paper. He can then play for an hour while you are
closely watching.
-
Feed puppy breakfast in the
crate and don't let him out again for 10-15 minutes to a 1/2 hour.
Then carry him to go potty on paper.
-
Now he can have another inside
playtime for an hour or so. Don't give him free run of the house.
-
Only after he starts to show
you that he will go potty on the paper on his own can you start to
let him have increasingly more freedom of areas.
-
Use of baby gates or closed
doors are necessary to keep him out of rooms he shouldn't go in in
the beginning. (Puppies have a way of finding out of the way
corners to have accidents in - keep him in an area where you can
watch him). If you give him too much freedom too soon, he'll
probably have an accident.
-
After playtime, take him to go
potty again then put him into his crate for a nap.
***One of my customers just gave me the
greatest tip to mention at this point of the training and that is to get
yourself one of those little kitchen timers to be able to set it for 15
or 20 minutes.
It is so easy to let the time pass by
and then puppy might have an accident in his crate.
We want to prevent that at all costs!
Once a dog goes potty in the crate that
can seriously delay your training.
For
the first 6 months or so, you'll be feeding 3 meals per day.
Repeat the same
procedure throughout the day:
- potty 1st thing
in the morning,
- ½ to 1 hour
playtime, potty,
- meal in crate,
- potty,
- playtime,
- potty,
- nap,
- potty,
- playtime,
- meal, etc.
The playtimes can be lengthened as the
puppy gets older and is more mature and dependable.
Eventually the puppy will be going to the
paper on his own when he needs to go.
Make sure that always as soon as
puppy wakes up or comes out of the crate, take him immediately to the
paper or pad to potty.
Take puppy immediately to the
papers, stay with him at the papers, not letting him off the papers
until he goes potty.
(My new teacup pomeranian will keep trying to walk
off and I head him off at every corner.)
For better control of keeping your dog on
the paper until he goes potty, is to put on his collar or harness and
leash.
This will give you much better control, just
as if you were walking him outside to go potty.
After he goes potty give a lot of praise.
NOW, If he does not go potty after a while, then put
him in the crate for 10-15 minutes and try again until he goes on the
papers.
Do not let him play or be free until he goes potty on
the paper.
Clean up most of the soiled
area, leaving a small area with remains on it to leave the scent on the
paper. This works even better than the spray mentioned above.
I
know this sounds like a
lot of work and it is! Housetraining takes diligence.
The results of your dog
being completely housetrained to go potty in the litter box will be well
worth it, I promise you.
Remember that some breeds are
easier to housebreak than others and how the puppy was treated before
you got it has a huge affect on how easily he will be trained, too.
Puppies who were from the pet store and kept in wire-bottom
crates have less tendency to keep their crates clean.
Puppies that were
raised in garages or other large areas where they could "go" wherever
will also be a little more difficult.
Don't give up though
- you can always train them, it will just take a little longer.
Sample
Daily Schedule:
(Puppy using a
crate:
Owner Home All Day)
Please adjust your
puppy's schedule to what you recorded above.
- 8:00 AM Wake up, take to
paper to go potty
8:10 -8:30 AM Play time in Small Area
8:30 AM Food and Water
9:00 AM Go Potty Again
9:15 AM - Play Time In Small Area
9:45 AM Crate Time
12:00 Noon - Food and Water
12:30 PM Go potty on paper
12:45 PM Play Time in Small Area
(like kitchen where you can see well)
1:15 PM Crate Time
5:00 PM Food and Water
5:30 Pm Go Potty on Paper
6:15 PM Crate Time
8:00 PM Water
8:15 Go Potty on Paper
8:30 PM Play Time in Small Area
9:00 Pm Crate Time
11:00 PM Go potty on paper
GO TO BED IN CRATE FOR NIGHT
Sample Daily
Schedule
(Puppy in a confined area (like ex-pen or small area
blocked off) other than a crate - Owner
Working All Day)
6:30 AM Wake up
6:45 AM Play time out of confinement
7:15 AM Food and water
Can go potty whenever he needs by himself.
6:00 PM Play time out of confined area only if you are watching him
like a hawk!
6:30 PM Food and water
Go potty when he needs to!
9:00 PM Food and water
Can go potty
9:45 PM Play time before bed time
10:00 PM Back in confined area for night.
**Make sure that when you have your puppy out for play times that
he has easy access to enter his confined area to go potty if he
needs to.
So it is better to play close by his potty area.
Make up your schedule for your dog and as he gets older make sure
you adjust it accordingly to how many times a day he needs to eat.
Until the dog is
completely litter box trained, you will need to make sure that you
provide constant supervision and limit his freedom.
You can see why I
stress the importance of the crate or confined area.
CAN YOU SEE NOW HOW MUCH MORE TIME CONSUMING USING THE CRATE IS
GOING TO BE FOR YOU????
Using
the crate can be quite exhausting because all of his potty needs are
your responsibility.
He
is dependent on you totally to:
Let him out
to get to potty place
Making sure he stays
there until he goes
Return him to the
crate when finished.
**NOW!!!!
There is
EXCITING News
For Those Who Have to Work During the Day and Are Gone For Several
Hours or ....
Those Who Are Not Wanting To Do All the Extensive Work it
Takes With the Crate Method Above!!
Like ME~!
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