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Most owners don't let
their dogs do their "business" indoors and so the dogs learn to designate
specific signals, such as scratching on a closed door that leads
outside, that let the owner know when nature's calling. When starting
out with this process of getting your dog to understand that outside
is the only place they are permitted to urinate or poop, as soon as your dog starts smelling the ground,
or for some sudden reason starts wriggling while you're holding him
(that's obviously not because you're holding him... especially if the
dog was comfortable beforehand) try putting him outside and closing
the door. Your dog should usually run for the grassy area of your
yard. He should not feel like you're trying to abandon him at that
moment - he'd just be concentrating on the fact he's "busting" to pass
solids! Obviously, you should let him back in when he's done.
If you
do catch him urinating or even worse defecating inside, you
should reprimand him and say "NO" with a forceful voice at
the site of the excretion and while they're in the act. This way, the
dogs will associate getting into trouble when they're going to the
toilet outside the designated area.
You MUST do this when you catch him in the act. Some people say
rubbing their noses in their own "business" is a good way to teach
them .... it's NOT! If they've gone to the toilet and you reprimand
them WHILE they're doing it, you will find they will associate this
bad attention with what they're doing at the time. The short term
learning retention is different for dogs as it is with people (plus we
can actually understand exactly what each other are saying - same
language). Within a habitual amount of time he will get to a point
where he'll think about urinating on your favorite rug but then he'll
think about what reaction he got from you, and think twice. This will
show your house training is working.
Most cases, if you take your dog
outside, using the same door, he will scratch his paw up against the
door and usually whimper a little too. And especially if he's
"intelligent" enough to turn around and stare at you, then at the
door. This is a sign they'll want to get outside so they can relieve
themselves. Sometimes, when you cannot get to the door because you're
not home or some other reason, the dog will either hold it in (yep,
they can do it too) or have an "accident". Reprimanding them for this
"accident" would not be recommended as your timing would most likely
be off by a few hours - the dog will not recognize WHY you're yelling
at him. Placing
newspaper down in one area of a room or outside will in a lot of cases
automatically have your dog passing waste on the paper. This is
based on the popularity that most breeders put newspaper sheets over
the floor in the area that the new born puppies experience and explore
around. They "poop" on the paper as young puppies and by habit
and familiarity they should do the same for you when they come to
their new home! |
