The Ultimate House Training Guide

The Ultimate House Training Guide

The Ultimate House Training Guide
What Is It?
This handy manual is a comprehensive guide to what’s arguably the most widespread, challenging and frustrating issue faced by any and all dog-owners: house training. Has any aspect of dog ownership ever been so widely misunderstood and unanimously dreaded?

Theories both unhelpful and just plain wrong positively abound on the topic.

You can find a veritable vortex of conflicting arguments almost anywhere you choose to seek information on the subject, whether it’s online (o, the staggering variation on the “The Only Way To House train Your Dog!” theme to be found here!), at your local library, through contact with dog trainers, or through the (less reputable but nevertheless prolific) ranks of “quack” dog trainers :

aka, those frustrating people sans qualifications, but with enough smugness and pseudo-savoir faire to fool the less suspicious of us into handing over our hard-earned dosh.

The Ultimate House Training Guide. What Sets This Book Apart?

After several confounding and increasingly-frustrated hours spent trawling through the virtual minefield of conflicting information on this subject, it was with a heady mixture of joy and near-tearful relief that I stumbled across an online book entitled “The Ultimate House Training Guide”, by Martin Olliver.

As the title suggests, literally all aspects of the subject are covered, and in a manner both chatty and educational – it’s kind of like having a friendly conversation with a knowledgeable canine behaviorist (with the added benefit of being able to refresh your understanding of the matter at any given time, simply by scrolling back to the relevant section!)

The tone of the book presents a welcome contrast to the illogicalities so freely available elsewhere on the Net (and, indeed, in most repositories of canine “expertise”): it’s friendly, informative, and above all, commonsensical. No gimmicky recommendations, poorly-disguised marketing ploys, or too-brief Q&A sessions here: you don’t have to be experienced in canine behavior and training to see that this guy knows what he’s talking about (and did I mention he’s a vet?)

The Ultimate House Training Guide. What’s Actually Included?
There’s a quick section on the tools of the trade (“patience, persistence, consistence, and common sense”) along with some morale-boosting advice on how to keep your cool through the training process, and then it’s straight into the meat of the matter: the nitty-gritty on how to house train, with a detailed section (one for pups, one for older dogs) on each of the three methods recommended (paper-training, crate-training, and the direct method.)

Common house training problems are dealt with next – this is particularly handy! A huge variety of issues are covered, from territorial marking to poop-eating; and on top of that, each problem comes with a case study, which helps you to put the information into context.

Next, health-related problems are covered in some depth. There’s a section on congenital problems (problems your dog was born with); a section on the disease-related problems that develop later in life; and a section on other problems related to house training, like inappropriate outdoor elimination, or lawn-burn from urination.

Finally, there’s the Top Ten Tips for hassle-free house training, which is essentially a recap of the most helpful and necessary attitude adjustments, practical tips, and useful nuggets of general knowledge which will come in most handy in your dog’s training.

The Ultimate House Training Guide. Just Because It’s Detailed Doesn’t Mean It’s Confusing

Sound like a handful? It’s actually very user-friendly. Not only is this book packed with sound practical advice, but the whole thing is laid out in a very logical and easy-to-understand format: the tone is light and non-threatening (no confusing terminology or strange gaps in logic here!) and it proceeds in a logical manner from step to step, with the assistance of helpful how-to illustrations from the book’s charming mascot (a pooch called, of all things, Spot-Less).

Troubleshooting
In my opinion, one of the best parts: a free, personalized email consultation with the team at Kingdom of Pets. If you’d like additional help with your own dog’s toilet-related vagaries, just flick them off an email and you’ll get an individualized professional opinion on how best to handle the problem - plus any additional tips and strategies necessary to get your house training under control.

The Ultimate House Training Guide. The Verdict
House training a dog is an intimidating task for most people, but the author’s depth of knowledge is pretty reassuring; and he certainly knows how to break it down for even the greenest of owners. In addition to the main sections detailed above, there are plenty of tempting extras included to make the process as easy and effective as possible: checklists, do’s and don’ts, how to appropriately deal with “accidents”, even a list of the more helpful training products available!

All in all, two thumbs up from me:

when the information on hand is as detailed, easy to absorb, and - above all – reliable as The Ultimate House Training Guide, you really can’t go wrong. May your dog’s initiation to house training proceed Spot-Lessly!

The Ultimate House Training Guide

Paper training your dog

Paper training your dog: How to do it and common problems

What’s paper training?

Paper training is a specific form of house training for your dog: you’re teaching her where in the house is appropriate for her to eliminate (pee or poop).

When you paper train your dog, you teach her to only eliminate on newspapers (chosen for their absorbency, ready availability, and cheap cost) which you gather up and throw away after each use.

What options other than paper training do I have for my dog’s house training?
There are two ways of effectively, efficiently, and rapidly house training your dog. Paper training is one; the other is something called crate training.

Crate training is based on a dog’s basic dislike of soiling where she sleeps, and involves restricting the dog’s movement (by putting her in a crate, or small indoor kennel) whenever she cannot be actively supervised.

Paper training your dog. The difference between crate training and house training?

Paper training and crate training aren’t the same thing. Crate training is where you train your dog to only go outside; paper training is where you train your dog to only go on newspapers.

You cannot train your dog to do both at the same time – the two are mutually exclusive. She’ll get confused, and you’ll only prolong the training process.

You can choose to use paper training as an intermediary step for eventually only eliminating outside (although not everyone recommends this: it’s easier on the dog, and more effective all round, to choose one method and stick with it.)

Paper training your dog. Why should I choose paper training instead of crate training?

Crate training and paper training are both effective ways to house train your dog.

In general, it’s accepted (by most dog trainers and vets) that crate training is the fastest method of house training your dog; but it requires a considerable investment of time and effort, which is not an option for everyone.

Paper training is the best option for you if:

- You don’t have easy access to a yard (for example, you live in a hi-rise apartment block)

- It’s not easy for you to take your dog outside for any other reason (for example, elderly or unwell people)

- You have a full-time job, or other time-consuming commitment which can’t be got around (meaning that you’re not able to spend the large amounts of time supervising your dog that crate training requires)

- You’re planning on training your dog to go outside the house eventually, but not just yet (for example, it’s the dead of winter with four-foot snow drifts outside)

Crate training is the best option for you if:

- You have a medium to big dog

- You are able to spend a lot of time during your puppy’s first weeks of house training in actively supervising her, and are available during the day to let her out of the crate at two- or three-hour intervals

- You want to train your dog to go outside the house right from the start

Paper training isn’t suitable for all dogs: it really only works for small males and small-to-medium females, since a dog larger than these just produces too much waste for the newspaper (and you!) to handle.

How to paper train your dog?

First, pick a convenient area of the house for your dog to use as the elimination area. Because she’s going to be peeing and pooping in this area, it’s best if you can choose somewhere without carpet: most people choose a corner of the kitchen or laundry (since these rooms usually have tiled or linoleum floors, making hygiene a non-issue.)

Spread newspaper thickly in a corner of this room. At first, you’ll need to make the newspaper area pretty big, since your pup has no idea that she’s meant to go on the paper at all.

To make sure that she’s able to eliminate only on the paper, you’ll either need to restrict her movements to the papered area of the floor (which you can do by erecting barriers to keep her in – if the room you’ve chosen is large or busy, this is probably the most user-friendly option for you), or paper the whole floor (which is a viable option if the paper-room is small and there’s not much thoroughfare.)

At first, your puppy will eliminate pretty much at random on the paper. It’s important for the paper-training process that she only gets to go on the paper – you need her to form a strong association between the feeling of paper under her toes, and relieving herself.

After a week or two, you can begin to shrink the papered area of the floor, allowing her more access to unpapered surfaces (leave the barriers where they are for now so she doesn’t get the chance to eliminate anywhere else.)

Do this gradually, a couple of sheets at a time. If you’ve given her enough time to get used to the paper, she should naturally restrict her elimination areas as the papered area shrinks.

NOTE: If at any time she begins to eliminate off the paper, then increase the size of the papered floor surface to the size it was when she was still eliminating only on the paper, and give her more time to get used to it before beginning to reduce the papered area again.

There’s no need to panic: this doesn’t mean that the paper training isn’t working, it just means you’re moving a bit too fast for your puppy’s capabilities.

Most dogs take a couple of months (eight to twelve weeks) to get used to the paper training method. Until she’s reliably going on the papers only, you should restrict her access to the rest of the house unless you’re actively supervising her- which means 100% of your attention is focused on the pup.

In general, a good rule of thumb is that your puppy is confined to the papered area unless she’s sleeping, eating, or being played with/actively supervised.

Things you should do are

- Praise her effusively whenever you see her eliminating on the paper. Wait 'til she’s done (so you don’t distract her!) and praise her, pet her, and give her a treat.

- If you catch her in the act of eliminating off-paper, this is actually a great opportunity for training development. Interrupt her with a clap, loud verbalization (“Ah-ah-aaaah!”), or slap your open palm loudly on the wall.

This will startle her – in most cases, she’ll actually stop mid-toilet and hunch down. Scoop her up immediately and put her on the paper. When she finishes, praise her hugely and give her a treat.

- If you come across an accident after the fact (a wet spot or pile on the unpapered floor), you’ve missed your window of opportunity to teach her not to do this. You can’t tell her off in this case, because she won’t understand what she’s done wrong; all you can do is clean it up and supervise her more carefully.

If this is happening a lot, you’ve given her too much freedom in the house and not enough supervision: restrict her access to the unpapered floor, and step up the supervision.

- Feed her at specific, scheduled times (for example, a meal at 8 am, 1 pm, and 7 pm) to encourage her to develop an “elimination timetable”.

Paper training your dog.

For further information on house training your dog, including a detailed look at paper training and crate training, check out The Ultimate House Training Guide.

It’s the complete dog-house-training guide. The Ultimate House Training Guide and comes highly recommended.

You can visit the The Ultimate House Training Guide site by clicking this link:
The Ultimate House Training Guide

Common house training problems

Common house training problems

House training is one of the areas of dog ownership that’s most subject to misunderstanding, confusion, and just plain dread!

Today’s article is going to deal with two of the most common problems surrounding the issue of house training:

- Submissive/excited urination

- Scent marking

Common house training problem #1: Submissive / excited urination

Common house training problems. What is it?

A ‘submissive urinator’ is a dog that urinates on the floor and himself (and sometimes on you and any guests you may have!) in situations of extreme excitement or stress - like when you return home at the end of the day, or when he’s being told off.

Why does it happen?

Puppies are the usual candidates for submissive/excited urination, but it’s not uncommon to see adult dogs with the problem as well: usually, these are highly sensitive and timid dogs, and/or ones from a shelter/with a history of abuse (often these last two go hand-in-hand.)

When does it happen?
Situations when an excited/fearful dog is likely to urinate:
- Greeting time after a prolonged absence
- Play time
- The arrival of guests
- Stressful situations at home, eg arguments
- During a correction (you’re telling him off)
- Sudden loud noises (thunder, fireworks)

Common house training problems. What can I do about it?

Fortunately, it’s not difficult to “cure” your dog of his submissive/excited urination.

First of all, you should take him to the vet to make sure there’s no medical reason for the issue (like diabetes or a bladder infection.)

Next, it’s time to take control of the problem:

- Limit his intake of water to help him control his bladder more effectively. Don’t restrict his water intake over a prolonged period of time, but if you know there’s a situation coming which would normally result in urination – for example, you have guests coming over, or are planning on a play session soon – take his water bowl away for a period of time (maybe half an hour to an hour) before the event.

- When greeting your dog, keep it calm and mellow. The more excited he is, the harder it is for him to control his bladder, so don’t encourage him to get worked up: ignore him for the first few moments, or give him a neutral “hello”, a quick pat, and then go about making yourself at home.

- It’s important that you DO NOT punish or harshly correct your dog for this behavior. It’s not something that he can easily control, and he’s certainly not doing it on purpose. When you catch him in the act, you can interrupt him (a firm “No!” followed by praise when he stops should suffice) but don’t punish him. Keep your cool, and try to be sympathetic: he doesn’t mean to do it, after all!

- If he urinates out of fear (submissiveness) when scolding him for another offense, try to take the stress levels down a notch by keeping a firm, authoritative, but not angry tone. Remember, you’re dealing with a sensitive, highly-strung dog: if you get angry or worry him further, the problem will worsen.

Common house training problems #2: Scent marking

Scent marking - where a dog “marks” his or her territory with urine – is technically not actually a house training problem, since it’s based on issues of dominance and territoriality rather than insufficient house training (a dog can be perfectly house trained but still mark inside the house.)

However, because – since the problem centers around the unwanted presence of urine in the house – it seems logical, in a way, to link this problem with house training: and since this is one of the most widespread problems among dog owners, we thought it worthwhile to include some practical advice.

Scent marking and lack of house training: how to differentiate between the two

Your dog’s probably scent marking, rather than genuinely relieving himself, if:

- The amount of urine produced is relatively small, and tends to be directed against vertical surfaces (walls, doors, etc)

- He’s male, unneutered, and at least five or six months old. Unneutered dogs are much more territorial than neutered ones –if you have an unneutered dog in the house, you can pretty much expect a certain amount of scent marking. (Unspayed females also mark, but it’s less common; spayed and neutered dogs can also exhibit marking behavior, but it’s relatively infrequent)

- It makes little difference how often he’s taken outside for a toilet break

- He frequently targets items that are new to the house: new possessions, guest clothing/footwear, etc

- You live in a multi-dog household and there is conflict between two or more of the dogs

- There are other, unneutered or unspayed pets in the house

Common house training problems. What to do about the problem?

First things first: spay or neuter your dog(s) as soon as you possibly can. If you can do this early enough – ideally, at six months of age - this often halts marking altogether; but if your dog’s been marking for a prolonged period of time, he or she may continue to do so after being spayed or neutered, since a pattern of behavior will have been established.

Clean soiled areas thoroughly. Use a non-ammonia based cleaner (because it smells just like pee) and stay away from vinegar too (it smells similar to pee.) Oxi-Clean mixed with warm water is particularly effective; there are also plenty of commercial cleaners designed specifically to lift pet stains and odors, which you can buy from pet stores and some supermarkets.

Because dogs tend to re-mark the same places, you’ll need to redefine the places that you know he’s marked to prevent repeat offending.

Common house training problems. You can do this in a number of ways:

- Feed him next to or on top of the spot
- Play with him there
- Groom him there
- Put his bed over or next to it
- Spend time there yourself: hang out with a book or sit down and work

If there is rivalry between dogs in the household, you’ll need to take steps to resolve it. Any conflict is likely to be hierarchical in nature (a “power struggle”), which means that all you have to do to stop the tension is pay attention to which dog seems to be more dominant than the other one (which one eats first, gets the toys he/she wants, “stares down” another dog), and reinforce this position.

How to do this: feed the dominant dog first. Pet him/her first. Give him/her a toy before anyone else gets one. This makes it clear to all dogs in the house which one really is the dominant dog – and when this hierarchy’s been recognizably established, territorial/dominant behaviors like scent marking often vanish overnight.

For more information on how to successfully house train your dog (as well as a whole bunch of in-depth information on house training troubleshooting and related issues) you’ll probably want to check out The Ultimate House Training Guide.

Common house training problems.

It’s the complete dog-house-training guide. The Ultimate House Training Guide and comes highly recommended.

You can visit the The Ultimate House Training Guide site by clicking this link:
The Ultimate House Training Guide




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House training tips for a new puppy

House training your dog Explained

House training tips for a new puppy

When a new puppy arrives in the house, it’s an exciting time for everyone. In order for the homecoming to proceed as smoothly as possible, it’s a good idea to spend a little bit of time in preparation.

One of the major challenges of dog ownership (particularly for first-time owners) is the issue of house training. If you equip yourself with some rudimentary knowledge and a positive attitude, though, it’s a lot easier than most people make it out to be.

House training tips for a new puppy. The New Arrival

As soon as you bring the puppy home, take her outside. The excitement of the car journey coupled with the unfamiliar faces, sights, and sounds will have her needing to go anyway – and if you can orchestrate her first toilet break so that it occurs outside, instead of inside, then so much the better.

And not just from the perspective of short-term hygiene, either – the more your puppy relieves herself inside, the more likely she is to do it again.

House training tips for a new puppy. The homecoming is a great opportunity for you to set a precedent for toilet behavior!

- Take her to your designated toilet area, and put her down on the grass.

- Wait while she sniffs around – refrain from petting her or playing with her just yet, because you don’t want her to forge an association between this area and games. She has to learn that this part of the yard is for toilet breaks only.

- When she begins to relieve herself, say the phrase you want her to associate with toilet breaks: “Go pee” or “potty time” or whatever works for you. It’s best if that phrase is short and easily recognizable – and use the same voice inflection each time, too (so that your dog can easily memorize the meaning of the phrase.)

- When she’s done, make a big fuss over her: shower her in praise and affection, and give her a little treat.

When you take her inside the house, the house training regime you’ve decided upon should start immediately.

As far as house training goes, crate training is generally accepted to be the most effective and efficient means of house training a puppy in a short space of time.

House training tips for a new puppy. What is crate training?

Crate-training is essentially the use of a small indoor kennel (the crate) to confine your young puppy when you’re not actively supervising her.

How does it work?

Crate training is based on all dogs’ inherent dislike of soiling the area where they sleep. Because you’re restricting your puppy’s movement to her sleeping space, she’ll instinctively “hold it in” until she’s let out of the crate (provided you don’t leave her in there too long, of course!)

This is why it’s important that the crate is sized properly: if it’s too big, she’ll be able to use one end as a bed and one end as a toilet, which defeats the whole purpose!

House training tips for a new puppy. How do I choose a crate?

As a general guideline, it’s more cost-effective for you to choose a crate that’s big enough for her to grow into. It should be big enough for the adult dog to stand up comfortably without crouching, turn around in, and stretch out – but no bigger (so that she doesn’t choose one part as her bed, and one part as her toilet!)

Because the adult dog is likely to be considerably larger than the puppy, it’ll most likely be necessary for you to use a barrier to reduce the internal size of the crate. A wire grille or board will do just fine.

Alternatively, you can use a cheap crate (or even make one yourself) and replace it with a larger model as your puppy grows.

Using the crate for house training

Crate training works like this: your puppy is in that crate at all times unless she’s sleeping, eating, outside with you going to the toilet, or being played with (active supervision.)

You’ll need to be consistent, or else it won’t work: you can’t let your puppy wander off through the house unless you’re focusing your complete attention on her.

If you allow her access to the house before she’s thoroughly house trained, you’re basically encouraging her to relieve herself inside – and remember, each time she does this, it’ll be easier for her to do it again (and again … and again …)

House training tips for a new puppy. Sample schedule of a morning's crate training

7am: Wake up. Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
7.25: Breakfast time.
7.45: Back outside for another toilet break (accompanied by you, of course.)
7.50 – 8.45: Play-time! Puppy is out of the crate being actively played with, cuddled, etc.
8.45: Outside for another toilet break.
8.50 – 11: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap
11 am: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
11.05 – 12.30: Playtime! Puppy is out of the crate being played with and petted.
12:30: Lunch time.
12.45: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
1 – 3.30: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap.

… and so on throughout the day.

Crate training generally takes one to two months (depending on the breed of your dog and how much time you spend on the training process.) As the puppy grows older, you can begin to reduce the amount of time spent in the crate – but beware of doing this too soon!

Other crate training rules

- Your puppy probably won’t be too happy to go in the crate the first couple of times she uses it. She wants to be outside, being showered with affection and attention, and hanging out with you (of course!)

But it really is for her own good – in a surprisingly short time, she’ll come to accept the crate as her own personal haven where she can go to relax and get a couple hours’ uninterrupted sleep. It’s important to persevere: do not respond to any whining or crying.

- The best place for the crate to be is the hub of the household: usually the den or the kitchen, anywhere where people tend to congregate. Just because she’s in the crate doesn’t mean she can’t still feel like part of the household; it’s important for her not to feel isolated or excluded.

- The crate should be a welcoming, inviting place for her to go. Lay a couple of thick blankets or towels on the floor, and place a few toys and a chew or two inside it as well. The door should be invitingly open at all times (unless she’s in there, of course, in which case it should be securely shut.)

House training tips for a new puppy Some toilet facts about puppies that will come in handy

- Puppies’ bladders and bowels are so small and weak that they have only a very small window of opportunity between knowing that they need to go, and having that need become an immediate reality.

Because of this, it’s imperative that you take her outside as soon as she wakes up (she’ll let you know she needs to go out by pawing the door and whining), and within ten minutes of eating or playing.

- Behaviors that indicate she needs to go outside include sniffing the ground and circling. Again, because she’s only little, she won’t exhibit these warning signs for very long – so as soon as she starts, take her out straight away.

House training tips for a new puppy. Better an unnecessary trip to the yard than an unnecessary wet patch (or pile) on the carpet!

- The maximum amount of time that a puppy can be crated at one time is figured out using the following equation: her age in months, plus one. So, a three-month old puppy can be crated for a maximum of four hours.

However, this is likely to be physically pretty uncomfortable for her (not to mention hard on her emotionally and psychologically: it’s tough being cramped up with nothing to do), so you should really take her out at least once every two hours during the day. If she’s sleeping, of course, just let her sleep until she wakes up naturally.

For a more indepth look at house training, as well as a great deal of useful information on canine behavioral problems and the most effective training techniques, check out The Ultimate House Training Guide. It’s the complete dog-house-training guide..

You can visit the The Ultimate House Training Guide site by clicking on this link:
House training tips for a new puppy