Housebreaking Your Puppy
By: Ali Prescott
Bella at two months old
As I was lying in bed at 4 a.m., I waited for it.
It was the whimper; the soft whimper from the blue crate right beside my bed. The whimper that would eventually build to a yelp and then, finally, the yelp would culminate into a bark. The whimper had been starting up about every two or three hours, and there was nothing I could do.
Finally, the whimper came. I knew I had to get up.
I opened up the crate and pulled out my 10-pound golden retriever puppy; she had to go to the bathroom. I knew if I didn’t act quickly that I would have a mess to clean up. I picked her up and she licked my cheek and I made my way for the back door. As I opened up the door, I could feel her getting antsy in my hands.
“Just a second, Bella,” I said, “We’re almost there.”
I didn’t even have time to put on boots or a coat to trek out in to the two feet of snow that blanketed my backyard. I just grabbed a pair of flip-flops left over from the summer season and opened the back door. I put her on the ground.
And for 20 minutes, she just stood there, and I froze in the 10-degree temperature. I knew she would go to the bathroom eventually, but it was always a little game when it was this cold. She would just curl up at my feet and shiver.
Finally, after I walked around on the shoveled sidewalk for 10 minutes, she did her business and I praised her. I walked into the house to find my mother standing there at the door. She looked at me, with sympathy.
“Housebreaking takes time,” she said.
There are many tips that I’ve learned from my mother, Patricia Prescott, about training golden retrievers because she used to breed golden retrievers that were registered with the American Kennel Club. She successfully bred two litters over three years with her AKC registered golden retriever female, Cearus.
Prescott said that one of the first things to remember about housebreaking any dog is that time is a key factor. If one doesn’t have the time to train a puppy, then that person should consider bringing home an adult dog or another pet. With that being said, there are many tips to help new trainers on their quest for housebreaking a puppy.
The first tip here is simple: don’t let the puppy get into any bad habits of soiling in the house. Once a puppy feels it’s ok to go in the house, it will be hard to break the habit.
To start, make sure the puppy is taken outside immediately after she awakes. Then wait. It may take awhile but even so, make sure you reinforce the good behavior by praising the puppy. Do the same after the puppy eats and drinks food. The puppy will get the idea she needs to go outside to go to the bathroom.
Now, accidents may happen, but do what you can to avoid them. If you see the puppy attempting to go to the bathroom in the house, say, “No,” and then take her outside. If she completes her business in the house, take her to the spot and point at it and tell her, “No!” Then be sure to clean the spot thoroughly because dogs naturally will go back to spots that have their scent.
Prescott said that one of the things she swears by is ‘crating’ a puppy for bed time. It allows them to stay in one area and it allows them a way to communicate that they have to go to the bathroom. The owner simply puts the puppy in the crate, which can be purchased at any pet store, and lets the puppy go to sleep. Adding some blankets and toys to the crate is helpful because the puppy will have to get used to being in the crate.
Prescott said that some people wrongly think of a crate as a punishment, because a crate is more a dog’s natural habitat than a house. When the dog whines, then the owner knows something is up and can take the dog outside. She also crates puppies whenever she has to leave the house that way she knows they can’t get into anything harmful.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have dogs that are fairly easy to train,” said Prescott, “Goldens are very eager to please; it’s in their demeanor. I’ve been doing the same thing with my dogs for over 20 years: crating and stopping the bad habits. Thankfully, it’s worked and whenever the dogs have to go out as adults, they bark at the back door.”
Prescott said that puppies really don’t have full control of their bladders until they are about six months old and that is why taking them outside in a timely manner and training them is crucial.
“It’s like having a baby. You have to get up every two or three hours when the puppy whines to take them outside,” said Prescott.
Spending time is vital to housebreaking a puppy. As an owner, you have to be willing to get through the first six to eight months. Cleaning carpets and getting up every few hours are just a few of the sacrifices that will have to be made when housebreaking a puppy. However, with time and patience, your dog will be barking at the back door to go to the bathroom.
It was the whimper; the soft whimper from the blue crate right beside my bed. The whimper that would eventually build to a yelp and then, finally, the yelp would culminate into a bark. The whimper had been starting up about every two or three hours, and there was nothing I could do.
Finally, the whimper came. I knew I had to get up.
I opened up the crate and pulled out my 10-pound golden retriever puppy; she had to go to the bathroom. I knew if I didn’t act quickly that I would have a mess to clean up. I picked her up and she licked my cheek and I made my way for the back door. As I opened up the door, I could feel her getting antsy in my hands.
“Just a second, Bella,” I said, “We’re almost there.”
I didn’t even have time to put on boots or a coat to trek out in to the two feet of snow that blanketed my backyard. I just grabbed a pair of flip-flops left over from the summer season and opened the back door. I put her on the ground.
And for 20 minutes, she just stood there, and I froze in the 10-degree temperature. I knew she would go to the bathroom eventually, but it was always a little game when it was this cold. She would just curl up at my feet and shiver.
Finally, after I walked around on the shoveled sidewalk for 10 minutes, she did her business and I praised her. I walked into the house to find my mother standing there at the door. She looked at me, with sympathy.
“Housebreaking takes time,” she said.
There are many tips that I’ve learned from my mother, Patricia Prescott, about training golden retrievers because she used to breed golden retrievers that were registered with the American Kennel Club. She successfully bred two litters over three years with her AKC registered golden retriever female, Cearus.
Prescott said that one of the first things to remember about housebreaking any dog is that time is a key factor. If one doesn’t have the time to train a puppy, then that person should consider bringing home an adult dog or another pet. With that being said, there are many tips to help new trainers on their quest for housebreaking a puppy.
The first tip here is simple: don’t let the puppy get into any bad habits of soiling in the house. Once a puppy feels it’s ok to go in the house, it will be hard to break the habit.
To start, make sure the puppy is taken outside immediately after she awakes. Then wait. It may take awhile but even so, make sure you reinforce the good behavior by praising the puppy. Do the same after the puppy eats and drinks food. The puppy will get the idea she needs to go outside to go to the bathroom.
Now, accidents may happen, but do what you can to avoid them. If you see the puppy attempting to go to the bathroom in the house, say, “No,” and then take her outside. If she completes her business in the house, take her to the spot and point at it and tell her, “No!” Then be sure to clean the spot thoroughly because dogs naturally will go back to spots that have their scent.
Prescott said that one of the things she swears by is ‘crating’ a puppy for bed time. It allows them to stay in one area and it allows them a way to communicate that they have to go to the bathroom. The owner simply puts the puppy in the crate, which can be purchased at any pet store, and lets the puppy go to sleep. Adding some blankets and toys to the crate is helpful because the puppy will have to get used to being in the crate.
Prescott said that some people wrongly think of a crate as a punishment, because a crate is more a dog’s natural habitat than a house. When the dog whines, then the owner knows something is up and can take the dog outside. She also crates puppies whenever she has to leave the house that way she knows they can’t get into anything harmful.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have dogs that are fairly easy to train,” said Prescott, “Goldens are very eager to please; it’s in their demeanor. I’ve been doing the same thing with my dogs for over 20 years: crating and stopping the bad habits. Thankfully, it’s worked and whenever the dogs have to go out as adults, they bark at the back door.”
Prescott said that puppies really don’t have full control of their bladders until they are about six months old and that is why taking them outside in a timely manner and training them is crucial.
“It’s like having a baby. You have to get up every two or three hours when the puppy whines to take them outside,” said Prescott.
Spending time is vital to housebreaking a puppy. As an owner, you have to be willing to get through the first six to eight months. Cleaning carpets and getting up every few hours are just a few of the sacrifices that will have to be made when housebreaking a puppy. However, with time and patience, your dog will be barking at the back door to go to the bathroom.