Potty training

It is important to set your dog up for success! Whether you are training a new puppy or an older dog who didn’t quite grasp potty training the first time around. This success will come from management. You’ll need to look ahead in your day and set up a schedule that is realistic. A very young puppy shouldn’t have to hold it longer than a few hours at a time, their body is just not ready for that; and even though an adult dog can hold it longer, you still want to stay ahead of their needs to avoid any accidents.

When an accident occurs at any point during training, just clean it up with an enzyme-based solution to get rid of the smell completely. If the smell is not removed completely, your pup will continue to recognize the spot as an “ok” place to go.

Reprimanding your dog for an accident will NOT speed up the process.

Creating an environment of anxiety can lead your dog to hide or even eat their poop, thus making it a much bigger behavioral problem than it needs to be.

Take into account that you will need to take your dog to their potty spot after they’ve been playing and running around, after waking up and right after eating.

Begin by selecting the appropriate place for your dog to go potty in. If you are choosing an outdoor area, remember the outside can be very distracting, some puppies and dogs might be over stimulated to go pee or poop outside at the beginning. But this can easily be addressed with a bit of boring outside time.

If you are thinking of using newspaper or weewee pads to train your dog, choose a spot that can be closed-off from the rest of the house, people usually choose either a laundry room or bathroom where flooring can be easily cleaned. Begin by covering the entire area with the newspaper so that wherever your dog “goes”, they will be successful. As you move along in the training, you’ll be able to reduce the area more and more until you have a small spot.

Either inside on the pads or outside, give them enough time to sniff around and find a spot, but keep it short so they don’t think they are out for entertainment, or that the pad is for them to play with. When they do “go”, say “go potty” or whatever your word choice is, in a nice upbeat voice. Allow them to finish, and as soon as they’re done, give them lots of praise and maybe even a treat. If they don’t go potty, go back inside and try again after an hour or so.

At the beginning, you should be going out or taking them to the proper spot about every two hours. When they do go potty, they should be able to wait about 3 or 4 hours until they need to go out again.

As you and your dog start communicating better, you’ll be able to leave them longer and they may even start letting you know when they need to go.

Until your dog is potty trained, don’t leave them loose or unsupervised in your home. It is better to keep them confined in a safe spot where, if an accident occurs, it can be easily cleaned. Plus, it’s in your dog’s nature to try and keep their sleeping and eating quarters clean, so they will try to hold it as long as they can.

Dogs do what works!

Over the past few years, I’ve been telling my clients to pay attention to what their dog is learning during their interactions together. I always remind them that dogs are excellent at figuring out what works for them. A dog jumps-up on you and your hands come down to say “off” but in fact, the dog, is getting the attention they wanted. Or the dog counter surfs and gets a whole chicken before you realize it’s gone.

Here is my favorite example:

One night I‘m watching a movie on TV, it’s a good movie I’ve never seen before. Lola, our black lab, comes over wagging her tail with a ball in her mouth. I look over and know she wants to play fetch. But, I’m watching my movie, I don’t want to toss the ball. Maybe when it’s over, we can play fetch, I pat her a little so she knows I still love her and she leaves.

Lola comes back after about half a minute and drops her ball at my feet. I ignore the ball but still give her a pat. She leaves.

This time Lola comes back and drops the ball on my lap, she even sits and waits a little. But I still don’t feel like playing, the movie is getting really really good. She leaves again.

Now she comes over and nudges my arm as she drops the ball in my lap. I think “Wow, she really wants to play fetch. I’ll definitely play with her a little once the movie ends.” A very sad Lola leaves once again.

Just as I’m about to find out who the killer in the movie is, Lola comes over, drops the ball in my lap, waits a second and starts barking.

Jeez, I can’t enjoy my movie with a barking dog! So I toss the ball so she’ll be quiet.

Now I ask you….

What did Lola learn during this interaction?

A) I must not bug mother while she watches TV.

B) I will get to play ball when the movie ends.

C) If I bark, I get what I want.

D) I must remain quiet while the TV is on.

The correct answer, sadly, is C. While we wish Lola had learnt A, B and D, she actually learnt how to make me throw the ball, even when I don’t want to. She was very polite about her desires at the beginning of the story, at some point she even sat which usually gets her what she wants. Lola pushed and pushed until I gave into her demands. My dog learnt that barking works! Barking, which I really don’t like (for a dog trainer), got my dog what she wanted.

Now, don’t you think it would be better to have played with Lola before the movie started so she was nice and tired while we watched the movie? Or perhaps I could have prepared a long-lasting treat so Lola would also be entertained throughout the duration of my feature. If nothing more, I could have thrown the ball at the very beginning and she would have been rewarded for a calm request.

The important lesson here is that there is an opportunity for you to teach your dog something you like instead of something you don’t like – I like to play fetch and I don’t like barking.

The next time you are interacting with your dog, stop to think, what is my dog learning during this interaction?