Owning a dog is one of the most rewarding things in life. They are loyal, loving and always happy to see you. But owning a dog is a big responsibility, and dogs require a lot of training and attention. One of the most necessary tasks is housetraining. Because no matter how much we love them, no one wants their furniture or carpet ruined because of one of Fido’s accidents. Effectively housetraining can help to create a more amiable relationship between a dog and his humans.
Depending on your dog’s temperament and how old they were when they joined your family, however, housetraining may be a bit of a challenge.
Factors to Consider When Housetraining a Dog
If you have a new puppy, you’ll be investing a significant amount of time in the housetraining process – but it will be well worth it. You can determine how long puppies generally can hold their bladders by using this easy formula – their age in months plus one. For instance, a two-month-old pup can typically hold their bladder for three hours. Experts recommend taking a puppy out when they wake up, every two hours (regardless of the formula) and after meals. Investing time on the front end will teach them good habits, and eventually, you will see your focus on them pay off.
Here’s a Tip: Many people resort to negative reinforcement techniques when house training their dogs. Honestly, these methods rarely work, especially in puppies. Rubbing a pup’s face in it and scolding them usually has the opposite of the desired effect, putting the dog under stress and making the problem worse. Praising the pup for going outside and reinforcing their good behavior is a much more effective way to get them house trained.
One of the factors that can impact house training is age. Older dogs may experience incontinence – and no matter how well they have been trained or have behaved in the past, they just do not have the level of control they used to. The best thing to do is to keep a close eye on them. If you see them sniffing or looking around, you should get them outside quickly. You can ease their embarrassment and your need to clean up after them with pads. If the weather and your schedule allow for it, let them spend more time outdoors.
If you adopt a dog that was previously kept outside the majority of the time, they may not have been properly housetrained. With an older dog, your necessary time and investment may be increased. In these situations, you may wish to enlist the help of a professional dog trainer.
If your dog suffers from any medical conditions or anxiety, keep in mind that these can impact their potty schedule. These are things that can cause an animal to have an accident even when they are normally very well behaved. It may be a passing thing, such as an illness or reaction toa medication. Animals generally want to please their owners and accidents are just that – accidents. They don’t intend to upset you by choosing to “go” inside and may act ashamed or fearful if they think they may be punished.
House training is one of the most important and basic necessities of owning a dog. Our experts can help your dog break through past bad habits and get you on the path to a happy, well-trained pet. Our classes are designed to maximize positive outcomes and create happy families. At Gulf Coast K9 Dog Training, we have worked with dogs of all ages on a broad spectrum of obedience and training challenges – we can help yours, too.
