Back to Basics
As we head into a new school year, it is a good time to review the basics when it comes to raising a puppy! Today we are talking about potty training, sit to say please and creating a routine!
Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. Thank you for joining me today on the podcast. I appreciate you listening and sharing this podcast with your friends and family. Your support means the world to me. I love my job - if you can call it that - it is okay to call it a job even though to me it is a dream come true.
Dogs are wonderful creatures.I thoroughly enjoy teaching others how to foster a good relationship with their dog so you can live your best life with your dog. If only they could talk. I haven’t tried teaching Baxter how to speak with the buttons yet, but may need to look into that next as it intrigues me. I often wonder what he is thinking and what he would say if he could speak English to me. He tries to communicate with his funny sounds - not growls or barks - but grumbles and howls lol! It’s pretty funny. Do your dogs do things like that? They all have their funny quirky things that make them unique! I love it.
As we get back to basics today, let’s start with housetraining. I feel like if this part goes well, families have a better experience and are happier they chose to get a dog in the first place. If this does not go well, a lot of frustration is involved which includes stress too. Let’s assess today how it is going, lay out a basic plan for you and get you started on the right pathway.
When it comes to housetraining we start with small spaces. As our dog gets better at holding it in the small space, we add a larger space. We move room by room through our home until our dog will successfully signal they need to go outside to potty no matter where they are inside. This takes time. It may take one week per room, two weeks or even a month. It depends on the dog and how often you are taking time daily to practice housetraining. This means leaving your dog out in the room with you for 1-2 hours at a time and giving them the opportunity to tell you they need to go. Inside our online puppy school we explain this process more in detail.
To help get started, we use a crate. We help our dog see this as their bedroom - a safe space where they can relax, chew on something good, sleep, etc. Within the first week we transition them from being close to us to being alone. The crate becomes a safe place for them when we are gone. In addition to a crate, we use a playpen as an additional space for our dog to practice house training in. This is a supervised space, meaning I need to know when my dog will likely need to go next or they will find a corner of the play pen and go as soon as they feel the need.
Crates and playpens not only help with housetraining but are wonderful resources when my puppy gets too excited or is tired and can’t focus. They become more and more bitey and less responsive to training or appropriate play. I can manage their day by using these smaller spaces to help them settle and entertain themselves. You can’t be on duty all day - you have a life and will need to get things done where you can’t be supervising your puppy. Please use the crate and playpen to help you be successful. We are happy to coach you on how to help your dog love their crates and playpens.
As you open up your home more and more, it is always okay to shrink your dog’s living space back down if they are regressing. Go back to basics and build up again - it goes faster the second time around. Be careful to not push too far too quickly. Every puppy is different and learns at different rates so be patient, be consistent and your dog will figure it out! Reward them well for going outside, interrupt and redirect them quickly outside if you catch them going inside and most importantly, do your best to prevent accidents by setting your dog up for success in the first place!
Next, let’s chat about manners. Sit to say please is one of my favorite things to begin teaching a new dog. A dog of any age! I teach my dog to sit for anything they want - food, attention, play, opening the door, getting out of the kennel, etc. They show me they want something by sitting to say please. This replaces jumping on me or barking at me. Does your dog bite at your ankles? Try teaching them to sit to say please instead! Realize this is a calm, quiet behavior and can easily be overlooked. If you want this to work, you need to be sure to recognize when your dog is asking nicely and reward them for it! Pet them, toss that toy, open the door, etc. They must see the behavior works in order to do it again.
Try this. The next time your puppy runs over to you, meet them 1-2 feet out in front of you, with your hand in a fist at knee level or below. Hold a treat in your fist, lure it up and over your puppy’s nose, then mark YES and give them the treat the second they sit on the ground. Try it again. Take 1-2 steps away and repeat the target hand. Repeat again, taking 3-4 steps away. Yes, you’ll need to wear a treat pouch or have pockets to keep a few food rewards in but this is worth it in the beginning! Everytime your puppy comes over to you for something, reward the sit to say please behavior.
Finally, puppies love routine. Setting up a daily schedule that works for both of you is important. Be sure to include 2-3 nap times in the crate where your puppy can get good rest. If you notice your puppy getting more bitey and less responsive, they are tired. Some have a hard time stopping themselves - they just keep going and going until they are pretty irrational. Simply feed them a food reward as you scoop them up and place them in their crate or pen for downtime. Be sure there is a chew and toy inside in case they want to entertain themselves. It helps at first if you settle down nearby with a book or a show. Dogs mirror your energy. Bringing your energy down can help them settle themselves down. Alternate naps with play and training. Part of this training can be a gated off room where you are doing your thing and your puppy is self entertaining and practicing getting to the exit to let you know they need to go. Remember to use the crate or pen anytime throughout the day to prevent accidents or unwanted behavior such as chewing furniture or barking out of windows. As your dog matures they will get more free space to roam in the house but structure and routine in the beginning pay off in huge amounts down the road! You are training your dog to settle themselves, entertain themselves in appropriate ways and go potty outside! You are off to a great start!
That’s it for the basics today. I hope you can take one thing and improve your life with your dog in some small way. Job well done on wanting to do the best you can. Your dog is super lucky to live with you! Have a great week and happy training.
