We all want our dogs to spend as much time around us inside the house but this is only possible if they undergo the proper training. It ensures that they won’t damage anything and keep the premises clean at all times.
In order to be successful with this, you need to understand their natural behaviors and use these to get the results you want.
It is a matter of fact that dogs like to keep themselves and their surroundings clean. They will try their best to maintain the tidiness of the places where they eat and sleep. They also tend to stick to their habits. If they have picked a spot to defecate on, they will likely come here often to do so or find a similar area. Teach them to eliminate waste on a grassy surface and they will look for such every single time.
How to Set Things Up
Prepare the training area before starting. Choose one that is small with definite boundaries to simplify matters. For instance, hold the session inside a bathroom with only you and the dog. If this isn’t possible, try the garage or the kitchen. If you are training a puppy, then you may use a crate for it. Larger animals will need something that is more spacious.
Set your expectations to avoid frustration. This can take a long while so don’t worry if progress is slow. You have to get the dog comfortable in this confined space by spending a lot of time in it and creating positive experiences.
Play around with it here. Give it plenty of food and create a nice bed for it to sleep in. You can cobble things up or buy a bed from stores. It won’t be perfect right away. The dog might even pee or poop on this bed but this will stop when it realizes that this is where it will sleep.
It will form a close attachment to this bed and seek it every time it feels sleepy. You can then try to move it around the house and it will use it the same way outside the training area.
The Toilet Area
Locate a viable toilet area that is accessible 24 hours a day. It should ideally be outside the house but this may not be possible in certain places. Just create a nice spot for this activity and teach the dog to use it for the intended purpose. Follow it around and be sure to give it some rewards to reinforce the behavior until it becomes a habit.
Make things easier by following a schedule. Feed them at definite hours every single day so that their digestive system will get used to the rhythm. They will also feel the urge to go to the toilet at roughly the same times which will make it easier for you to guide them, especially at the start.
Be sure that the area is directly accessible to them so that they don’t try to look for alternatives and make a mess where they shouldn’t.
Moving on from Here
Observe the progress of your dog. If it becomes comfortable sleeping in its bed and peeing where it should, then you gradually let it roam to more areas around the house. Don’t overwhelm it by expanding its reach in one go. Introduce it to different rooms one at a time, getting it used to the current area before moving on to another.
Monitor its control of its bowels and bladder. There is no need to rush. Let it gain control and confidence before making a jump. If you are not around to guide it, place it back into the training area where it is unlikely to make a mess.
Accelerate the Process
It is possible to hasten the progress of house training but be careful when doing so as it can backfire and create additional problems. Going slowly but surely is a better approach.
In case you didn’t see it: Here’s an online dog training program that can STOP your dog unwanted behaviors!
Pin that post!
