House Training Tips

Above all, remember that supervision and consistency are the keys to house training success. Here are some house training tips!

Vet Checkup

If your dog has continuing problems, or has a relapse after having been successfully housetrained, your first step should be a trip to the vet. Ask your vet to check for a urinary tract infection, an intestinal parasite, a congenital deformity or another medical problem that could contribute to difficulty in controlling bowels and bladder. Also, be aware that some medications can affect elimination patterns; your vet can provide more information.

Supervise, Supervise, Supervise

Supervision means just that—your incompletely housetrained dog must be under constant observation between potty trips. Potty breaks should occur every 1-2 hours until accidents decrease. In between potty breaks, your dog should be in a crate, on a leash attached to you, or in the same room and within a few feet of your location. Otherwise you won’t be able to detect those signs of immanent elimination like circling or sniffing and respond promptly. And every event that you miss makes your task more difficult.

Diet and Exercise

Be sure that you are feeding your dog a high quality food, preferably one with natural and organic ingredients. Some dogs have sensitivities to particular foods or to chemicals used as preservatives or as color or flavor enhancers. These sensitivities can affect the dog’s digestive system and contribute to housetraining problems. Also, ensure that your dog gets plenty of healthy exercise—at least half an hour of vigorous activity each day—to keep it physically fit.

Record Keeping

Start to keep a housetraining journal. This has two purposes:

1) to discern patterns in the dog’s elimination activities related to time of day, meals and water, exercise, location and other factors. Knowing the patterns can help to head off problems.

2) to evaluate progress. Housetraining problems are rarely solved instantly, but good records will help you to find trends that can be reassuring.

Crate Modification

Some dogs will eliminate in the crate if it is too large. A rule of thumb is that the crate should be big enough for the dog to stand and turn around, but not much larger. You can partition a large crate to make it smaller, and move the partition as your dog grows. If your dog has eliminated in its crate, you will need to remove and thoroughly clean any padding; it’s often useful to do away with all padding until your dog is keeping the crate clean. You may also want to invest in a new crate of a different type to give your dog a new, clean den.

Housetraining Weekend

It can be helpful to take a long weekend to devote to housetraining. Stay home with your dog and go out every hour, generously rewarding each success. If you can keep it up for 3 or 4 days, progress is often very rapid.

Substrate Management

Dogs can develop a preference for eliminating on certain types of surfaces. If this has occurred in your home, you may be able to obtain a sample of that surface—say, a carpet—and put it outside so that your dog learns to go there. You can then gradually reduce the size of the sample.

Seeding

Because dogs return to eliminate in the same area, you may find it useful to take some of your dog’s feces or urine and use it to “seed” an outside area. Then take your dog out and encourage it to go in that place.

Avoid Inadvertent Reinforcement

Elimination is an inherently reinforcing behavior, because it reduces the physical discomfort that your dog feels. Be sure not to add to that reinforcement by giving the dog attention after an accident. Even negative attention can be reinforcing, so don’t yell at your dog; just try to interrupt if possible and relocate outside.

But Reinforce On Purpose

When you take your dog outside for a walk, wait until it eliminates and then use the walk as a reward, not the other way around. And be sure to have other high value reinforcers for your dog like treats or favorite toys available after, and only after, proper pottying.

Pee on Cue?

You may find it very helpful to put elimination on a verbal cue, uttered calmly and quietly just as the dog is beginning to eliminate. Once the cue is paired with a good reward history, it often helps to keep the dog focused on the task at hand.

Poop is Precious

People sometimes get the idea that dogs leave droppings for them out of spite. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Dogs, unlike people, find smelly stuff very attractive. And they know you do too, because they see you pick it up and take it away. So it sometimes helps to ensure your dog is elsewhere when you are cleaning up accidents.

Be a Crime Scene Investigator

If there have been a lot of accidents in your home, you may need to go to great lengths to find and clean up the entire residue. To do this, buy an ultraviolet light bulb, put it in a small lamp and plug into a long extension cord. Wait until nighttime, turn off all of the other lights and close the shades. Carefully inspect your entire home with the black light. Thoroughly clean any areas that glow, always using an enzyme-based cleaner, until there is no more sign of stains. (Be sure to consistently use an enzyme cleaner; standard household or carpet cleaners will not completely remove odor and may attract dogs back to the same area.)

Housetraining Aids

Some dog owners have had success with pads or litter boxes, even when their dogs didn’t get the knack of going outside. Even so, dogs must be trained to use these aids, using sound management and reinforcement. As a last resort, you can try doggy diapers!

About Brian Markowich

Brian Markowich, CCPDT, FFCP is the owner of Dog Boy Positive Training, LLC in Leonardtown, St. Mary’s County, Maryland. He provides zoom consultations and in-person private lessons.