Information on Housebreaking Your New Puppy
"THE Pee Speech"
I recomend you buy a couple of beginning dog training books: See list at the end of
this article.
For newbie dog owners, I further recomend you bring in a trainer, as the
outline of some peoples homes presents a challenge as to WHAT
door you should use, plus sometimes you can change the simplist thing to
make the training so much easier.
Your New puppy is house trained, but only to my kitchen, and my potty station.
You have to train it to your house. The dog may live to be 15 to 18 years
old. Those can be pleasurable where you can trust the dog under all
circumstances or you can have a dog that is constantly causing you a
problem sneaking behind your back leaving presents you don't want.
If you have a potty station IN your kitchen this will further
confuse your puppy, you need to teach your dog, potty area is Outside and only
outside, unless you live on the top floor of an apartment. With people that Must have
a potty station,
it must be kept well away from play and eating areas.
In some areas where weather is poor, I recomend an outdoor potty station, just
outside the door,
in a covered excercise pen, or out on the deck. A puppy does not like to go out in the
wind and rain, so set up a nice outdoor voiding area.
When you take your new puppy home, you put him on the slip lead and tie the other
end to your wrist or waist.
For the next two weeks the dog is tied to you, in the excercise pen, outside either on
lead or in a fenced area, or in its crate sleeping, or cuddling on your lap, or in
your arms.
He/She is NEVER running loose on your carpet area's.
A baby gate enclosing him in your kitchen, under your eye also works,
or an excercise pen in the corner of your kitchen.
PUP goes to bed, each nite, in his crate, beside your bed.
First thing in the morning when you wake up, regardless of the weather,
and every two hours while the dog is with you during the day and
after every indoor play period or meal, you take the dog outside to the same
spot and you smile and say "pee" or "go potty". Then you wait until the dog does it's
business. When it is done you laugh and say "good PEE" and give a reward. Go
right back into the house even if he is to come back outside to play.
Peeing is not playing and the activities are not to be confused. Remember
to let the puppy Walk to the door, do not carry him, so that this
repetition, teaches him where the door is.
IF you pick him up, every day, and carry him outside, he doesn't
learn to go to the door.
Also, if you play at potty times, dogs are smart, and will prolong
going inside, as they want to extend the play time.
During the day when you cannot have the dog tied to you, place
him in his xpen under some supervision.. IF you are going out, and plan
to be gone a while, and need to leave a pee pad in the xpen, PUT THE XPEN< IN THE
UTILITY ROOM OR BACK ROOM, do not have a pee pad, in your kitchen, or main
living area.
(I recomend not using a pee pad, or potty paper, unless you must, leave the
pup for a bit too long) and then you put in the room, a crate, a pee pad,
water and food inside an x-pen. If you can't get back to him in time to
pee him outside, at least he can use the pad and still be a
"good dog.". Just set the xpen up, in a safe, back room, garage,
utility room, some room, he doesn't consider as part of the
home, as you may find off lead, he runs to that area, when he needs to
potty, so if it is a utility room or laundry room, you can just shut that
door.
At night, when you go to bed, put the dog in his crate and if you
aren't going to turn the lights out, put a towel over the crate so it is
dark inside his "cave." When he whines, tell him to stop, he just
needs assurance you are there.
Remember most pups bark and whine, the first night or two, as
they are separated from their pack. Ideally the breeder will have given the pup alone
time in a
crate, so this will be easier than a puppy never introduced to a crate.
This is the time, you give the pup the 'scent' article, ie: teddy... given to you by
the breeder.
This item smells like his littermates.
Still, most puppies will try to make you feel sorry for them, and
whine... Do not give in, do NOT put the pup on your bed, or there is no turning back. LOL
Don't let him out unless his bark is the "I have to pee" urgency
and then, put the lead on him, take him outside to his spot, pee
him, treat and back to his crate. If you have exercised him
during the day he will be tired and want to sleep anyway.
What you are trying to do is avoid him having an accident in the house
and then having to learn that going in the house is not allowed. And
you are teaching him where relieving himself is allowed.
This is why you do Not want a potty station in the house, after
the pup is 9 weeks old, if you can help it, as you are trying to teach the pup, that
relieving himself,
indoors, is Not allowed. At 9 weeks, I move the potty area to my outside deck, and
introduce a doggy door.
If your pup has an accident, it is your fault. He doesn't know
better and the reason he is tied to you is so you can keep an eye on him and
take him outside if he demonstrates behavior that indicates he is going to
relieve himself - like circling with nose to the ground.
Because our pups are not rack pen raised, or raised in a totally paper
lined pen, they KNOW there is a designated spot to eliminate, USE
THIS TO Your advantage, and watch for the demo WALK. Our pups KNOW from 4 weeks on,
that you do not potty in
your bed/house/play area. But all this can come undone in a week, if
you assume your puppy is going to just Know what to do at his new home.
Puppies do NOT come housebroken.
It is your choice. Two weeks of work now and 15 years of peace
or the alternative.
Additional info/comments from other breeders and pet owners
1. Pups have great sense of smell, so if there is a accident
in house you need to eliminate that odor with a cleaning product designed
to eliminate the odor.
2. I have also heard that dogs won't eliminate where they are
fed, so if he is stuck on a spot in your house being the elimination spot,
feed the dog there to erase that previous neural pathway.
REMEMBER Puppies CANNOT hold it for long periods of time. They physically cannot.
So you cannot expect the pup to hold it for hours while you are gone. The pup is not
being "Bad", it is
just not possible for his development stage.
Also to get the dog to understand you must catch him in the act of peeing or pooping
and then tell him, "No". No anger towards the pup, just calm and firm. If you do not
catch him, he will not understand what it was that he did wrong. You cannot correct him
a minute later, or even 15 seconds later. Whatever the dog is doing at the exact moment
you correct him is what he will think you are not approving of. If you yell about the
waste after the fact the pup will think the pee or poop is bad on the floor but will
not associate it with the "act" of peeing or pooping. You MUST catch them in the act
for them to understand.
Rubbing the pups nose in the waste will do nothing to teach the dog.
BELL training is very popular with the Havanese, just add a bell to your door, and
take your pups paw
and hit it, make it ring, EVERY time you go out the door, eventually the pup can
learn, that ringing the bell,
will make the door open. The havanese do well with this, as many havanese will not
bark to get your attention.
The EASIST way to house break a puppy, is to have an older trained dog. Often they
will do it all for you.
See a referal letter on the Testimonials Page
Recomended books:
1. How to House Break Your Dog in Seven Days by Shirlee Kalstone
http://www.amazon.com/How-Housebreak-Your-Seven-Days/dp/0553346156
2.Dog Training for Dummies by Jack and Wendy Volhard, >>
3.How to Raise a Puppy you can live with by Rutherford and Neil and Maran Illustrated Dog
Training by the Maran Family.
By MistyTrails Havanese
Email Bev for more information or see her web site at:
www.elitehavanese.com
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