For years, housetraining was referred to as "housebreaking," the implication being you are breaking a dog in on the rules or breaking down their resistance to being told not to toilet in the house. Dog owners were told to put newspaper down on the floor for their dog to use to relieve themselves; basically teaching dogs to toilet indoors! And then they were supposed to roll up a newspaper and swat their dogs for toileting mistakes, drag the dog over to the house soiling mistake and rub their nose in it, etc. Must have made those newspapers a bit confusing! We've learned a lot since then. We now know that swatting the dog or rubbing their nose in their own excrement only makes them stop trusting us AND just get better at hiding where they toilet in the house for fear of getting caught in the act and punished for simply relieving themselves. When dog owners began crate training, using pens to confine their dogs, etc., house training made a move in a more positive direction. By capitalizing on a dog's natural tendency to keep their den or sleeping area soil-free, crate or pen training resulted in puppies having fewer indoor accidents when their owners weren't watching them. But crates and pens aren't everything, you still have to show your puppy where you DO want them to toilet, take them there frequently, and reward them after the job is done, not mid-stream/mid-squat. Setting up a designated toilet area in your yard means a puppy that understands where to toilet, even in the greater outdoors. And if you have one of those puppies who gets sidetracked on those bathroom breaks, you can set up an exercise pen outdoors to use as a designated toilet area; leave them there to toilet and go back inside yourself and watch them. Once they toilet, and only then, can they come out of the pen and explore the yard, supervised, of course.
A big piece of the housetraining puzzle is learning the cues that your particular puppy needs to relieve himself. Some puppies sniff around, circle, whine, or even approach a door or window when they need to go. Others will give no apparent sign and just drop and go wherever they happen to be. Some puppies have to toilet seconds after they finish eating while others don't need to go for 30 minutes or more. All puppies need the opportunity to toilet when they wake up in the morning, before and after naps during the day, after play, any time they get startled, scared, or excited, after eating and/or drinking, and before bed. That's a lot of trips outside! If you break that down time-wise, your puppy should have the opportunity to toilet outdoors every 30-45 minutes that he is awake. I'm always asked if I can write up a sample schedule for a puppy to help new or first time puppy owners get the hang of this, so here goes. And, again, individual schedules will vary depending on the humans' schedule, breed of dog, and their individual metabolism.
6 a.m. Let your puppy out of their crate and take them outside to toilet.
6-8 a.m. Feed your puppy breakfast, offer them water, play with them, train them, etc. Let them outside every 30 minutes, so 4 total trips outside if they are awake for 2 hours.
8 a.m. Bathroom break then down for a nap
8-10 a.m. Nap time in their crate (don't wake them up if they are still sleeping at 10 though!)
10 a.m. Let your puppy out of their crate and take them outside to toilet.
10-noon Feed your puppy lunch, offer them water, play with them, train them, etc. Let them outside every 30 minutes, so 4 total trips outside if they are awake for 2 hours.
Noon Bathroom break then down for a nap
Noon-2 p.m. Nap time in their crate (don't wake them up if they are still sleeping at 2 though!)
2 p.m. Let your puppy out of their crate and take them outside to toilet.
2-4 p.m. Feed your puppy a snack, offer them water, play with them, train them, etc. Let them outside every 30 minutes, so 4 total trips outside if they are awake for 2 hours.
4 p.m. Bathroom break then down for a nap
4-6 p.m. Nap time in their crate (don't wake them up if they are still sleeping at 6 though!)
6 p.m. Let your puppy out of their crate and take them outside to toilet.
6-8 p.m. Feed your puppy dinner, offer them water, play with them, train them, etc. Let them outside every 30 minutes, so 4 total trips outside if they are awake for 2 hours.
8 p.m. Do a quiet activity with your puppy to get them ready for bed. Brush them, handle them, pet them, let them chew on a bone or toy on your lap or near you.
8:30 p.m. Bathroom break then off to bed for the night.
8:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.: Your puppy should sleep most of this time, but many will have to go outside at least once during the night. These nighttime bathroom breaks are just for relieving themselves. Do not give your puppy tons of attention in the middle of the night, and don't give them a treat either. You want those middle-of-the-night bathroom breaks to go away as soon as possible for your own sanity!
You will notice from this schedule that I've built in naps in the crate, training time, play, and handling time for teaching cooperative care. These are all important, foundational activities that need to happen for a puppy to be well rested, mentally and physically stimulated, and socialized. Don't let your puppies play so hard that they pass out on the floor, and don't let them just sleep wherever they happen to lay down for a moment. Schedule those naps and put them in their crates. Puppies sleep more soundly and wake up more rested if they sleep in their crates. It's a fact that well-rested puppies are less mouthy and have fewer housetraining accidents, and frankly, who doesn't want that for their puppies?
You will also notice from this schedule that I've built in 3 meals and a snack. This is ideal for most puppies as those meals are small and less likely to make them feel bloated or too full to function. Some puppies need more meals than this, and others fewer. Talk to your veterinarian about the best feeding schedule for your individual puppy. And remember that those are mealtimes, meaning you put the food down for a set period of time and pick up the bowl whether they've eaten everything or not. I like to give puppies 15-20 minutes to eat. Anything not eaten is tossed. Having established meal times and not allowing puppies to free-feed means that the humans will have a fighting chance of knowing when their puppy needs to toilet.
One last note on that schedule. Where you see "play time" please note that this doesn't necessarily mean that you need to actively play one-on-one with your puppy. This can mean offering your puppy a puzzle to work on such as a Kong, Busy Buddy, etc. It can also mean giving your puppy a Nylabone to chew on or a rope toy to play with by themselves. You don't want your puppy to think that every waking moment they will have your undivided attention; that is unrealistic and impossible to maintain long term. Puppies need to build confidence and learn to occupy themselves when the humans are busy. Just remember that your puppy needs to be confined to an area that you can control and that is safe for them if you aren't watching them directly. Or, alternatively, you can attach a leash to your puppy's collar or harness and tether that leash to you as you work. That way, your puppy gets some passive leash training while also learning to occupy themselves when you are around but busy, AND you know that if they start to fuss or pull away from you on that leash, it's time for one of those bathroom breaks!
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
Here is Ozzie as a puppy, working on training in our backyard. Once he toileted outdoors, we would work on basics like come, sit, down, and stay. Ozzie was a quick study, lucky for us!
This was so so helpful. This will be my first time crate training. And I tthink I will be able to keep my sanity with this schedule. Thank you for laying it out so clearly
ReplyDeleteYou are so.very welcome!
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