Crate Training

Unless your dog has impeccable house manners, even when your back is turned, crate training is something that’s important to both your dog’s safety and your sanity.  Without teaching your dog to stay in his crate when you can’t supervise him, you risk a plethora of disastrous situations.  I’ve heard horror stories of all kinds, from something as simple as “my dog went to the bathroom everywhere” to dogs that have chewed up hundreds of dollars worth of personal belongings or have gotten into dangerous substances.

The first step in crate training your dog is picking out an appropriately sized crate.  Your dog needs to have enough room to stand up, stretch out, and turn around in, but really doesn’t need (and shouldn’t have) much more than that.  If you have a young puppy and don’t want to be buying new crates every time he grows a few inches, you may want to invest with a wire crate that comes with a divider.  You can move the dividers around in the crate as your puppy grows, and take it out when he reaches maturity. 

Although wire crates are great (and cost effective if you have a growing pup and need that divider), I do recommend a plastic type kennel, such as a Vari.  First and foremost, it creates a den like atmosphere, which will help comfort your dog in dealing with your absence.   On top of that, they are airline approved, so if you ever need to take your dog on a plane, you already have the kennel to do so.  Mesh, or collapsible crates are made only to be used under your supervision, so, for the purpose of this post, let’s forget about them.

After you’ve brought home your kennel, you can begin the training process.  Let your dog get used to the look and feel of the crate.  Entice her to take a step in, by placing treats in there.  Be sure to make this a happy experience for her.  Don’t just throw her in there and walk away.

Now that your dog is becoming accustomed to the crate, you can start leaving him in there.  Always start small.  Place a favorite toy in the crate to offer distraction (a hollow bone or Kong toy filled with peanut butter is always a favorite in this house).  Close the crate door and stand there for a few seconds.  Open the door, and reward with a “good dog” and a few treats.  When he leaves the crate, take that toy away.  Leave the good stuff for when he is in his crate.  Repeat four or five times. 

Your dog is now beginning to associate crate time with that special goody.   Next time you put him in there and close the door, step away for a few minutes.  Remember to start small, so five minutes will be sufficient.  Come back, reward, and take away the crate toy.  Repeat this step a few times, gradually increasing the amount of time you’re gone.   In no time, you can leave for work without worrying about your dog hurting himself or your favorite possessions.  

Keep in mind, though, that the crate is never to be used as punishment.  However, it can be used as a time out if your dog is becoming too rowdy, or needs a break from play after a potty training accident.  Always make it a good experience and leave him that special crate toy.

House Breaking

Everything you know about potty training your dog is wrong. 

Okay, that may be a bit overdramatic, but there are a lot of myths going around on the topic of house breaking.  Before you begin, there are a few supplies that you will need.  The first, and most important is an appropriately sized crate.  That means the crate fits your puppy, NOT the size of your dog when he’s an adult.  This is very important, because if your pup has too much space in the crate, it will learn to use the bathroom on one end, and sleep on the other.  I probably should have covered crate training first, but that will be featured in my next post.  Have some patience.  The second thing you will need, and I highly recommend using, is a set of bells for your door knob.

Okay, now that you have your crate, and have accustomed your new dog to using it and sleeping in it (covered in the next post), you can begin the house breaking process.  House breaking consists of two steps: Establishing where your dog can and can’t go to the bathroom, and teaching her how to ask.

So how do you teach your dog where to go to the bathroom?  Well for one, you have to predict when your dog will go.  Young puppies will go to the bathroom when they first wake up in the morning, first thing after a nap, fifteen minutes after eating and drinking, directly after play, and every hour in between.  Start in the mornings, by waking your pup up in her crate.  Pick her up, and don’t let her little paws touch ground until she is outside, in a designated potty place.  It helps if you take her to the same spot every time you take her out.  It also helps if you keep play time separate from potty time (i.e. try not to play with your pup outside until she knows that outside is for potty).

After your dog goes out in the morning, it’s time to offer him food and water.  As stated previously, fifteen minutes after he finishes eating, it’s time to take him out again.  Remember to take him to his potty spot.  It will help if there’s a special cue for him to go, like “go potty”, or “relieve yourself”.  As soon as he begins to go, reward him with praise.  Don’t get him so excited that he interrupts himself, though.  A simple “good potty” will do, followed by a few pats and an ear rub when he is finished.  I highly recommend avoiding using a food reward for house breaking, because it will only cause distraction.  If you carry treats in your pockets outside, your pup is just going to dance around and try to impress you for a treat, and isn’t going to be thinking about his bathroom break.  If you give your dog a treat for going outside, your dog will learn to ask to go outside, only to come back in and get a treat without doing his business. 

So now that your dog has eaten and went to the bathroom outside, it’s time to start your day.  Remember, if you can’t supervise your pal, crate him until you can (but don’t leave him in there too long!)  When you are watching your pal, remember to take him out every hour for potty breaks.  It’s alright if he doesn’t go every time, but it’s a good idea to give him the opportunity to try.  After a week or two with no accidents, you can push breaks back to every hour and a half, and two weeks after that, two hours.  Keep pushing them back a half hour every two weeks until he is going every three to four hours and is learning to ask how to go outside.

The fastest way to house break your pup is to prevent an accident.  So, while your pup is playing in the house, or exploring, or chewing your new shoes (I will cover that in a later post, don’t worry!), there are certain signs to watch for.  If she is sniffing in the same area, or walking in circles, take her out immediately.  Again, take her to her potty spot, give her the command, and reward her.  Good dog.  However, if she does have an accident in the house, don’t make a big deal out of it.  All puppies will have a few slip ups.  Yelling at her, chasing her, or hitting her will only result in a shy, fearful dog, which could, in turn, cause more accidents.  Instead of scaring your dog, if you catch her in the act, in a calm voice tell her “no”.  Interrupt the behavior and take puppy outside to the potty spot and give your command.  If puppy goes outside, reward her and allow her to continue to play inside.  If she fails to go outside, pick her up and put her in her crate for twenty minutes, taking her directly outside when her “time out” is up.

If you have found an accident after the fact, then again, don’t over react.  Chances are, he has forgotten about it already, so correcting him will just lead to confusion and frustration.  Don’t rub his nose in it to show him.  That will also lead to nervous and fearful behaviors later in your dog’s life.  Instead, simply clean it up and keep a closer eye on your dog.  You could try placing a blockade, such as a baby gate, in the room that you and your dog are hanging out to keep him close by. 

I’ve talked about teaching your dog how to ask to go to the bathroom.  I’ve tried a few different methods, and I’ve found the bell method to be the simplest solution.  You can either purchase a set of bells to hang from your door knob (the one you use to take your dog out) from your neighborhood dog boutique, or make them yourself from a few sleigh-type bells and some ribbon. 

First, you must teach your dog to get excited about going outside.  This requires you to use that embarrassing, high pitch voice that only comes out when you talk to your pup and nobody else is around.  Don’t be ashamed, we all do it, too.  Walk to the door with your dog (after pup is established in using the bathroom outside) and ask your dog if he wants to go out.  You want him to get excited enough about it that he jumps around a bit.  When he does that, put your hand over the bells and give him a command (I use “ring the bells”, but “bells”, or “door” will work just fine, as long as you’re consistent).  When your dog rings the bells, either with his nose or his paw, either the door should immediately open, or if you use a leash to take your dog out, immediately connect that to his collar, followed by the open door.  It’s imperative that you don’t use a food reward for this training, as your dog’s reward for ringing the bells is going outside.  He needs to clearly understand that the bells mean that he gets to go out, not that they mean treats, or praise.

Every time you take your dog out, tell her to ring the bells, and once she does, take her to go potty.  Eventually (and it really shouldn’t take long at all) your dog will start to ring them when she needs to go out, without to asking her to.  When this happens, you have a fully potty trained pup!  Congratulations.