House Training

Puppies have a strong natural instinct to avoid soiling their own area. If you are consistent and patient, this natural urge for cleanliness makes house training fairly easy. You can begin training any time after five weeks of age. A little extra effort and patience in puppyhood will make the difference later on between a happy, cooperative pet and one that causes problems for you.

Establish a teacher-learner relationship Use two types of rewards-praise and petting. When your puppy asks for attention, you probably respond by petting, which is only natural. Begin using these requests to show that you are the teacher and your puppy is the learner. It may sound silly but it's important to establish this relationship early in puppyhood. Each time your puppy asks to be petted, respond by holding your hand about a foot above his nose and saying, "Rover (substitute your dog's name), sit." Move your hand back over his ears as you speak. This makes him look up, which is the first part of sitting. Keep repeating "good sit" until he sits. Then pet him on the throat and chest with your other hand for a few seconds as you repeat the praise. If not successful at first, repeat the procedure. When your dog sits from five to ten seconds, release him from the command by saying "OK", then pet and praise him again. Gradually increase the sitting time until you have reached one or two minutes before you say "OK". Be sure everyone who lives with the pet follows this procedure. Consistent treatment from the whole family makes for a better adjusted, happier pet. Insist that your pet earn praise.

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Where and when to go

At first, feed at least three times a day. All dogs do not have the same digestive rates-you may need to feed your puppy as often as five times a day in order to avoid overloading his system and causing loose, difficult-to-control bowel movements. When you find the right schedule, the result is a dog that eats and then has a bowel movement within a few minutes. Feed indoors. Remember, dogs do not like to eliminate where they eat. If your dog is urinating or defecating in a certain area, try feeding him right at that spot (after clean up, of course.) Right after your dog finishes eating, chase him out good naturedly to his toilet area, ahead of you if possible. Then let him sniff around for a good spot. Do not confuse things by urging him to go. After he goes to the bathroom, crouch down and point at the urine or fecal matter and say "good boy". Look right at the stuff, not at the dog. If your dog sniffs it, praise and pet him enthusiastically. Take your pitbull puppy outside after waking up, even from a nap after extreme excitement, after drinking water, after prolonged chewing on a toy, etc. If he starts sniffing around the house for a good spot In about four days your pup should automatically head for his proper place after meals or whenever the urge strikes. If it takes longer, be patient. After this stage of house training, your puppy knows where to go, but not when to go.

Do not try to teach self control (the "when" part) until you can be sure he will always head for the door when it's time to go. Teaching when to go To teach self control, you must keep feeding times consistent. Don't feed at 7:30 a.m. on week days and then sleep in on Sunday-you'll ruin the whole program. Dogs can control their urine for as long as thirteen hours when they need to. To teach self control, you should try to let your dog outdoors only at times when you are ordinarily home to do so. Whenever you see signs that your puppy wants to go to the bathroom during the forbidden hours, try to distract him by tossing a ball, playing with a toy or doing any activity that will take his mind off the urge. If possible, have your puppy sleep in a room with people. Because he will be inclined to tune into your sleeping times, there will be fewer accidents and less night time disturbance. Given a little blanket as a bed, most puppies soon learn to sleep through the entire night.

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Mistakes do happen

Old fashioned house training methods tell us to grab the puppy, show him the mess and punish him. This is not necessary and probably harmful. Instead, if you discover an accident, just say "ugh" disgustedly and whisk puppy out to his proper toilet area. Leave him there while you clean up the mess. Make sure he cannot see you cleaning up. Strangely, many dogs find it rewarding to watch their owner picking up stools or cleaning urine, and often leave another such gift as soon as they can.

Because puppies seem to enjoy this game, it is a good idea to have them watch you clean up after they go to the bathroom in the correct place. To discourage repeat visits, accidents must be cleaned up well enough to completely eliminate odor. After blotting and cleaning as best you can with paper towels, soak the stained area with an enzymatic cleaner. Let it remain on the stain 30 minutes or longer, blot up the liquid, and if still necessary, use regular rug cleaner afterwards. To work properly, the enzyme cleaner must be used before using regular rug cleaner.

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Puppy's part in the new family

The reason dogs are such good pets and fit so well into human society is that they are social animals by nature. Their greatest psychological need is to be part of a group. Whether it's a family of just you and puppy, or a boisterous household full of children and pets, in order to be happy your new puppy must feel secure about her place in the group. If you watch puppies at play, you will see a lot of growling and tussling. There is more to this play fighting than meets the eye. Those little guys are already deciding who is going to be "top dog". Whether you realize it or not, something very much like this play fighting is happening at home between your puppy and the rest of the family. To be confident and secure what puppies need most is a master they can depend on.

For your dog to have a happy life and be a pleasure to own, at least one person in the family must become such a master. Dogs have no mental concept of "friends and equals". Somebody has to be boss. Assertive puppies will grow up trying to be boss, which won't make either one of you happy. A submissive puppy may spend its entire life fretting and worrying, never sure what is expected. Everything usually works out just fine automatically--puppies find their place in the family without much trouble and everyone is happy with the arrangement. If, on the other hand, you have a strongly assertive or unusually submissive pet there are some things you should keep in mind:

Assertive puppies tend to immediately investigate new people and objects. They are quick to begin play fighting activities with people. When they want to be petted or fed, they are insistent and demanding. These puppies fall easily into the role of family protector because they think the people belong to them. This is well and good, but because dogs cannot really understand human society, there is soon trouble. They may try to defend you from everyone, and biting the UPS man because he invades your yard is not ok. Biting the children is not ok. The most serious problems happen when grandchildren are involved. Perceived either as an outside threat or a competitor, it is not unusual for grandchildren to be badly injured by big assertive dogs. The training techniques used to establish your teacher-learner relationship are especially important. Remember that your dog will be much happier in the long run if he earns praise and pleasure by obeying you, not by demanding it. It is especially important for you to be master. Do not allow your dog to nip or bite at you in a friendly way. Do not stimulate your puppy by waving your arms and acting excited or by playing tug of war. Do not become what your puppy perceives to be an equal and competitive playmate.

Submissive puppies tend to "shy away" from new people or things, either by lying down or actually running away. It is normal for most puppies to be slightly submissive. They wish for nothing more than to please you and this makes them easy to train. Teach shy puppies things they can do that will earn your calm, reassuring praise. Try to provide a peaceful environment and a dependable schedule that includes exercise, a daily obedience session, and reliable feeding times.