common dog training

Housetraining a puppy is important for both the puppy and the owner. Problems with housetraining and similar issues are the main reason that dogs are surrendered to shelters. So proper housetraining can literally save its life and make it easier on both of you. It is important to establish proper toilet habits when the puppy is still young. After all, it will be very difficult to break once they are established. In most cases, true housetraining cannot begin until the puppy is 6 months old. Puppies younger than 6 months generally lack the bowel and bladder control that is needed for true housetraining.
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The best housetraining program uses the dog’s own instincts to avoid soiling its bed and the places it shouldn’t do its “business”. That’s the basis behind crate training. Crate training is where the dog is confined to its crate in the owner’s absence. Den training is where the dog is confined to a small area in the home. Dogs are naturally clean animals and will try their best not to use the dens as toilets.
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This type of training usually works well for puppies or older dogs. The common problems from this type of toilet training are usually stem from not understanding the signals the dog is sending, inconsistent feeding times or trying to rush the process.

Do not rush!
Some dogs cannot be rushed through the housetraining process and you should consistently praise your dog for eliminating at the right place. It’s always better to housetrain your dog properly the first time than having the trouble of retraining your dog.

If your dog continues to soil the den area after house training, this may be because the owner has left the dog in the den for too long and the dog has an “accident”. Another reason may be because the den area is too large. In this case, you can either make the den area smaller or take the dog to the toilet area more frequently. Another reason could be that the dog has yet to adopt the area as the bed.

Urinary tract infections and other medical conditions could also cause dogs to soil their beds. Please do a thorough check-up by a veterinarian to rule out any medical conditions.

Even the most good-natured and ’submissive’ of dogs can present training challenges at some point in your relationship with them. The key to overcoming these obstacles successfully is to understand, in a sense, what your dog "is thinking."

The first thing to realize is that dogs possess not only instincts, but emotions. They may not feel with as much clarity or self-awareness as we do, but dogs do experience love, hate, fear, jealousy and more.

It is, therefore, up to you to be aware of your dog’s ’state of mind’ and work with it. Compassion and patience are necessary. The responsibility is is on you to provide comfort and correction without shaming or traumatizing your dog.

Problem #1: House-Training Issues

If you’re dog is relieving himself at inappropriate times and places, he is most likely confused or frightened about some aspect of the process.

Dogs need routine and consistency, so the first question to ask is whether you are taking your out to use the restroom at the same times each day. If not, try to create a regular schedule and stick to it. This will train your dog to expect relief, lessen his anxiety, and learn to hold his movements.

The second question to ask if whether you are noticing your dog’s "I need to go out" gestures. Dogs don’t come to you knowing automatically how to scratch at the door. In puppy’s, the most common sign of needing to use the restroom is ’sniffing around’ behavior.

Yes, puppies seem to sniff everything anyways, but there is a difference when they need to go out. A puppy looking for a place to go will have his nose to the floor, as if searching for something, as he paces from one place to the next. This is the time to grab him and take him outside.

Finally, consider what you’ve been doing so far when your dog goes in the house. Do you hit, yell or otherwise punish him? If this is the case, stop immediately! This type of punishment is not effective and will only make your dog fearful of you.

Instead, work on praising your dog for a good job each time you take him out to use the restroom. If you catch him on the verge of going in the house, simply pick him up while saying "No!", take him outdoors to finish, then praise him.

If it is too late to get him outside, take him anyways for a few minutes, but let the ‘offense’ go. You can not punish him after the fact, and he will not make the connection between your displeasure and his using the restroom indoors 5 minutes ago.
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Problem #2: Aggressive (and "passive") Dominance Behavior

Some dogs express dominance through obvious means: a growl, an ignored command, a snap at another dog too close to his own toys and food. Other dogs, particularly smaller breeds, tend to dominate by manipulation . They’ll whine or beg to be picked up, let onto the couch or given a table scrap.

In both cases, however, the remedy is the same: You need to show your dog that you are ‘alpha’, but do so in a way that helps him maintain a healthy sense of self-esteem.