Liz wrote to me with a question about how to correct a puppy accident: She writes: “As I’m reading about housebreaking, I notice you say to give a “Strong Correction.” What exactly do you mean by strong? I have a Toy Schnoodle who is a 10 week-old puppy. He is doing pretty well as far as going outside, I do watch him like a “Hawk” but, ya know… he does have an accident or two.” How To Correct A Puppy Accident Is Different Than How You Would Correct An Adult Dog I replied: “I’m glad you Read more [...]
I received a letter from a reader about what to do when your dog urinates while sleeping: Her Dog Urinates While Sleeping Dear Mr. Adam and friends: There are no words to thank you enough for your site and all benefits I have from it. I have 14 months old Brittany girl. She was neutered when 9 months-old. Two months after such operation she started to pee while sleeping. I asked our vet and he explained that it is possible after such operation. One of 10 dog girls might have such nuss effects. Read more [...]
For housebreaking a dog, you’ll need to know these five things: I call them the, “Five keys to housebreaking a dog (or puppy) in a hurry.” If you want to get the most bang for your buck with the least amount of hassle and effort then you must use all five of these house training techniques together, in tandem. 1.) When housebreaking a dog, correct your dog every time he has an accident in the house. Keep him confined to either a crate, or a dog run outside when you can’t supervise him. 2.) Read more [...]
Elizabeth writes: I have to thank you for all the help you have given me with your advice about training but I have one follow-up question about house training a husky. (I really appreciate it, by the way!) Things have changed a bunch for me and my dog. To answer a few dog behavior questions from before regarding Siberian Husky training: I was feeding her two meals and her elimination times were always fluctuating quite a lot and so there was never a set amount of time we would see when Read more [...]
She asked me about an article I wrote on how to potty train your dog in 7 days. She wanted to know if it was true or not… and it is, but you must know the secrets that I’m about to reveal to you, here. But first: Why 7 days? I’m not exactly sure. Not six days? Or eight days? I think somebody wrote a book that said you can potty train a dog in 7 days, and it’s true: You can. Although the techniques in that book are incomplete. Here’s what you really need to know: How To Potty Train Read more [...]
Adam explains where to put your dog crate, for fast house training success.
How to train your dog where to potty in the yard is a frequent question we receive at our dog training discussion forum. Master dog trainer Adam G. Katz shows you how to do it.
Ayla writes to us about getting her dog to use a designated potty area: “I have a 6 1/2 month old Labrador/chow mix puppy. She will only use the potty area [gravel section] when I have her on a leash, but goes where she wants to [outside] off the leash. When I take her on the leash she will go straight to the correct area to pee, but only after I walk her for long periods of time before having a bowel movement. It seems as if she does not really know that she is outside to go potty. I have been Read more [...]
Bruce asked us: “I have 2 Papillons who are about 5 and 4 years old. They have been house trained but have now starting going in our sun room even after they were just outside. I don’t know which one it is or maybe its both of them. This problem seems to be escalating for some reason. I just downloaded your Secrets book and will start reading it… but where should I start or what should I do so the problem can be “nipped in the bud.” Thank you for your help Bruce Adam replies: Hi, Bruce: Definitely Read more [...]
I am 12 days into housebreaking the new puppy who is about 13 weeks old. He is still not really showing me any signs that he needs to go out. We go out first thing in the morning and after each nap, and i just try to watch for signals after feedings and throughout the day. I am home with him almost all the time. When he does have an accident, I run to him saying his name and “No!” repeatedly and promptly put him outside and then praise him when he goes outside. Is there something I am missing Read more [...]
Teaching your dog to defecate or urinate on command is actually just a process of creating an association. The command I use is, “Get Busy.” But you can use any word or phrase that you please. You’re probably wondering why anyone would want to teach their dog an elimination command. And probably the best answer to this question is that it enables you to establish both a time and a place for your dog to eliminate. For example, if you decide to go to bed early, and you don’t want your dog to Read more [...]
First, read through the section I’ve already written, on Housebreaking in a Hurry, so that you’ve got all the other elements working in your favor. Second, make sure you ritually take him out of the house to the same door. Third, if you’ve followed step one and two, he’ll be anxious about eliminating in the house, and try to “drive” a behavior, which means he’ll start going over to the door where you usually take him out. But this can take a couple of weeks. You can tie a bell on a string Read more [...]
A local veterinarian referred a client to me earlier this morning. She called to tell me that her dog was urinating in the house. First, it was obvious that this woman may have been a little unbalanced… or maybe she’d just forgotten to take her medication… because the nature of her dog problem took a good 20 minutes to explain, when it should have only taken 2 minutes. And after 20 minutes, I still couldn’t understand her well enough to tell if she had: 1.) A housebreaking issue or . . Read more [...]
More dogs are given away every year due to housebreaking problems than any other behavior problem. Housebreaking a dog is fairly easy if you follow a few simple steps. Whenever I get a new dog, or when I advise my clients on issues pertaining to housebreaking, I generally follow five simple rules: Housebreaking A Dog — Rule 1: Anytime your dog is in the house with you, he needs to be watched like a hawk. What this means is that, regardless of what I may be doing, I need to keep one eye on Read more [...]
Preventing Unwanted Urination. There are a number of reasons why dogs have problems with inappropriate urination and in some cases defecation. Unfortunately most dog owners don’t understand why this happens and are unsure what to do. It can even happen to dogs that have been trained and housebroken. Many dog owners who are unable to address the problem simply take their dog to the pound as they assume there is no alternative to the problem that they are unable to solve. Unwanted urination is Read more [...]
One of the most common methods of house training a Golden Retriever puppy is paper training. [Which Adam doesn't recommend.] The puppy is taught to go to the bathroom on a piece of newspaper inside of the house and then is later retrained to go outside. While this is a common method, it usually is not the best as it teaches the puppy to relieve himself inside the house. Instead of paper training, teach your Golden Retriever puppy what you really want him to know. Take him outside to the area Read more [...]
There are many ways in life to achieve the same desired results. Of them, there are hard ways and easy ways, right ways and wrong ways. The best course is to combine the easy way with the right way and get the best results. This requires a lot of supervision and positive reinforcement. Let’s see how best to achieve what we want in order to housetrain our Chow Chow. Where to begin: To get the kind of behavior you desire, you must: Allocate an area for elimination outside the house Show him Read more [...]
My dog is seven months-old. He hasn’t destroyed anything in the house in several months. Is he old enough to be left alone, unsupervised? Thanks, Kay Dear Kay: It’s an issue of maturity. At seven months, he’s still too immature. And he’s still got his second teething phase to go through, which can be from 7 to 9 months of age. I recommend waiting until the dog is between 1 and 1.5 years of age. If he’s still a perfect gentleman, then start leaving him for short periods of time and gradually walk Read more [...]
Are you stressed about people coming over to your house for the holidays and your dog not behaving? Take advantage of this opportunity and use it to improve your dog’s performance. Many visitors means that your dog will be confronted with many distractions. With my approach to dog training, new and different distractions are a welcome occurence. It means that you’ll get to proof your dog around all kinds of things that aren’t part of his normal routine. (Or part of your regular training regimen). Read more [...]
I have two cocker spaniels that are one year apart. The red and white female (Cassie)is almost two and spayed. The buff male (Peanut) is just one 1 years old and neutered. Peanut was rescued from a cocker shelter in October of 1999. He is incredibly devoted, a very good listener and quick learner. He is the ideal dog as he is very eager to please. Cassie on the other hand is the most independent and stubborn dog I have ever encountered (you’ve probably seen worse). She used to only listen to commands Read more [...]
Dear Adam: We have a house training issue:We got an English bulldog in Dec 2003. We received her as a gift from my in-laws. She is 2 ½ yrs old. Since we got her, she pees and poops in the house. When she goes outside, we praise her, and sometimes it does wonders but she will only go when she feels like it. She pees in her crate almost everyday. It is getting to the point that my husband is ready to get rid of her. She has the best temperament and is a great dog. We have another dog, a 1 ½ Read more [...]
Dear Adam: We adopted a one year old cocker poo from a shelter about 3 weeks ago. Our main concern with him right now is getting him housebroken. He has had 6-7 accidents on the carpet so far. We keep him in a crate at night and when we are away from home (no more than 4 hours at a time). We have been trying to take him to the same spot in the yard to “potty” and then praise him when he goes. We feed and water him in the morning and evening, but he shows no regularity. It is noon today and he Read more [...]
Michael wrote to tell me, “The problem is that we have three pups that need house training. I have successfully housebroken a number of dogs, one at a time, but all the methods I’m aware of require you to show the dog the mistake. Indicate in whatever manner preferred that the mistake is unacceptable & place the dog outside. Certain methods involve placing newsprint on certain spots on the floor as an interim step. However these methods don’t seem applicable in this case, because unless you Read more [...]
House Training A Dog or Puppy In A Hurry — Five Things You Must Dog: Every professional dog trainer knows that there are five keys to successfully housebreaking your dog. Ignore any of these five keys and you’ll be dooming yourself to many extra months of housebreaking misery. 1.) Correct the dog every time (100%) that he has an accident in the house. Keep him confined to either a crate, or a dog run outside when you can’t supervise him. 2.) Praise the dog anytime he eliminates outside. 3.) Read more [...]
