PUPPIES, FOR NEW OWNERS
Part 3
How do I housebreak my new puppy, before the puppy breaks me?
Housebreaking begins when your puppy enters the home. Length of training depends on the puppy and you. Some pups learn faster than others. Some owners are smarter than others. Your pup wants to please you. A puppy's memory is short, patience is important to establish a long love story. Any home with a poorly trained puppy is not a happy home.
A puppy's bed may be a crate or a box open at one end and slightly larger than the puppy. We need to match size and comfort for training purposed. If a crate or bed is too large, a puppy may defecate or urinate in a corner rather than go outside. If the bed is smaller, the puppy will take its "business end" outside rather than soil its bed. The concept is most puppies are reluctant to use their bedroom as a bathroom if given the chance to eliminate in a preferred area.
Where to place the bed / crate is a good question. Some people like to have the pup in their bedroom. Other owners may choose to enclose the bed in a small area like a laundry room. The floor in open area beds may be covered with newspapers. I am not sure if this for editorial emphasis or hopefully ease of cleaning. Papers may be used at night, or when your pup is left alone for extended time frames. There is a hazard in "paper training", dogs do become location and texture trained. My preference is not to use paper for training, but I am not the one cleaning up. It also means you now have to retrain "elimination" aspects, put up with wet Sunday funnies or live 15 years with clean up duties. Purina has developed an indoor litter for dogs. It has modest success for dogs needing long time frames confined to the house. Work is the four letter word most usually causing the long time intervals.
A scent post is some times used as a housebreaking technique is creating. A scent post or locus is created when your puppy has an "accident". Every time there is an accident it reinforces the concept this is my "indoor restroom". The problem becomes one of either relocating the scent post in the place you want it or trying to establish the outside restroom in the mind of the pup. To create this spot leave a smear of stool from the last "accident" or wet paper on the clean paper or the location you want the pup to use. You will coax or scoot the puppy to this area or outside area. Outside try to locate elimination relief station in an out of the way place in the yard. This will solve the "mine-field" problem from being disseminated all over the yard.
There are three times a puppy should be observed closely for impending elimination. After eating, playing hard, and waking up from sleep. If you understand young things, that means all the time. There is more time and effort involved until you understand the pup. Time spent actively engaged with the pup is a good bonding and housetraining time.
The first thing in the morning, a puppy should be directly moved to an approved elimination spot. The pup needs to learn the route to the bathroom. Let pup sniff about on the way to the door. Some people advocate hanging a bell of some sorts on the exit door. The pup may learn to ring it when it needs to go out. When the pup has finished eliminating it is time to praise and pet the puppy. Then bring it into the house. Do not let the puppy play at this time. You need to establish the toilet period and play period are definitely separate in the puppy's routine.
Now we may feed the puppy. In a short time after eating a puppy will become uneasy, walk in circles, and sniff the floor. This clue is of an impending blowout. The puppy should be scooted and coaxed to the elimination area as quickly as possible.
Repeat this routine every hour or two throughout the day, especially after meals, playing hard and naps. Focusing on this will give a quicker end to house training.
When taken out to play, if possible, leave the house by another door and avoid taking pup near the elimination area. Do not play with your pup until after it has been taken out and has eliminated. The thought process in a young dog only processes one idea at a time. Play or poop is such a tough choice for a puppy.
There will be "accidents" in the house. If you observe an "oops" do not let one of these slip by. Praise and punishment need to happen at a receivable believable moment for the pup. This really is "in the act" either reinforcing a good sit or trying to prevent reinforcing a bad habit. Any punishment or praise five minutes after the issue is too late. Scold but do not spank the puppy and rush it to the elimination area. You need to scrub the mishap area thoroughly until all elimination odors are gone. This is at the level of the dog's ability to smell. Dogs can smell a jigger of vermouth in a rail road tanker. Products with a masking or perfume based odor are for us humans. There are cleaning products available to break down and neutralize the scent from urination or defecation.
Positive reinforcement of proper urine and bowel habits is just as important as properly applied discipline. When your puppy urinates or defecates in the correct place, spend several minutes stroking and praising him. Besides treats, the greatest reward a dog gets is personal contact from its owner. What gets paid gets done.
How do I insure my puppy is well socialized?
The prime socialization period for dogs is between four and twelve weeks of age. Puppies are very impressionable to social influences during this time. We take advantage of this by getting new puppies during this time slot. This is what allows our new dog buds to transfer the litter bond to us humans. The window of opportunity is there and it needs to be used before it closes for ever. After the early imprinting period the pup becomes part of a "closed pack" society. If a pup has good experiences with men, women, children, cats, and other dogs it is more likely to accept them throughout life. When social experiences are absent or unpleasant, a pup may become apprehensive or adverse to any of them. You need to expose your dog to different types of social events and influences during this opportunity for socialization. From a vaccination and immunity standpoint there is a dichotomy. This is before enough full time immunity is established. You need both to raise a well balanced dog.
For more information about puppy issues, consult your veterinarian.