Problem Solving House Training A Dog
One of the most common themes in the many emails I get every day concern problems people have with house training their dogs. In March 2007 I wrote a 165 page ebook titled COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS TO HOUSE TRAINING PROBLEMS. We sell it for $12.00 - you can view the table of contents on the link to the eBook.
When house training goes well new pet owners assume that this is a cake walk and it should be like this all the time. These people are wrong. More often than not problems come up and when that happens people get frustrated.
The fact is there are many many reasons that puppies and older dogs develop house training problems. There is no one silver bullet that is going to fix each and every dogs problem. With this said the solution to all house training problems lies in owner education.
Before owners can solve their dog’s problem they must first have a clear picture of the correct way to house train a dog. I have written an article on House training which is on my web site.
The purpose of this article is to help pull a lot of information from my web site together so dog owners can develop a game plan on solving their own house training problems.
When problems arise pet owners almost always often fall into a common trap. They start to ask family and friends what they can do to fix these house training problems. Unfortunately most these people are unqualified and lack the experience to offer accurate advice. This results in a lot of bad information being passed out which only makes the problems worse.
Here are some of the most common problems areas:
Puppies usually can’t hold it for 8 hours until they are 16 weeks old. With this said some have problems until they are 6 to 7 months old, some are good at 8 weeks. Usually dogs on an all natural diet do better because they poop about 5 times less than commercial kibble eaters.
You have to use a dog crate, If your not prepared to do this, quit reading and move on because you are wasting your time. You are not going to reinvent the wheel by doing this without a crate.
In the beginning take your dog out a lot. The concept is to teach the dog that “if it holds it just a little longer you are going to take it outside”
The way we house train a dog in our home (both puppies and adults) is explained in detail in the article I wrote titled THE GROUNDWORK TO BECOMING A PARK LEADER
It takes a dog about 5 seconds to pee. This translates into a simple rule which is “NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF YOUR DOG – not even for 5 seconds”
Those “pee pads” that pet stores sell are the dumbest idea I have ever heard. They teach dogs to pee and poop in the house.
We don’t let our dogs have free time in the house until they are 2 to 3 years old. If a dog has an accident in the house they go right back to square one and start again. Some dogs can not be house trained to the extent that they can be left alone inside the house (out of the crate) when you are gone.
If you have a dog that’s between 8 weeks and 16 weeks of age I strongly recommend that you get my DVD titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months
If your dog is 4 to 5 months old I recommend my 4 hr DVD titled Basic Dog Obedience. Obedience training is one of the steps in teaching our dogs what are “RIGHT” and “WRONG” things to do in life. The fact is if you as a pet owner find yourself in a problem with house training you have more to learn than your dog. My 10,000 page web site, and my web discussion board with over 100,000 posts in it’s archives can help you through this process.
Here are some additional articles that I recommend to all pet owners:
- COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS
TO HOUSE TRAINING PROBLEMS $12.00
- Read the article I wrote on house
training and the Q&A section on my web site
about house training
- Read my philosophy on dog training
- Read the article I wrote titled The Theory Of Corrections in Dog Training
- Read the article I wrote titled Training
With Markers (Also on podcast)
- Training Puppies Not to Bite (Also on podcast)
I am working on a book titled Solving Problems in House
Training Your Dog. It probably will not be ready in time to help you with
your current problem.
Please don't email me with specific problems. I assure you that if you read what I have written and study my work you will not only find your answer, you will become a better dog trainer along the way.
I hope this information helps provide some direction for you and your dog.
Regards,
Ed Frawley
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