Kathy Diamond Davis is the canine behavior expert who answered reader questions at www.veterinarypartner.com as MrsGoodPuppy. She always joked that she should change her name to MrsHousetraining because the vast majority of training questions she received were about housetraining. It’s something we expect to happen quickly and naturally, but that’s not always the case; poor housetraining is a leading cause of people giving up dogs. If your dog is having difficulty with the concept, first get a veterinary exam to rule out any medical issues that could cause difficulty, and then redouble your efforts. It sometimes boils down to paying close attention to a dog during the process.

1.    How do you think your training philosophy differs from other dog trainers?

I’m not sure this differs much, but I believe dogs are different from each other. You have to get on the wavelength of the particular dog you’re dealing with. You have to understand the dog, know the dog, and let the dog know you. There aren’t going to be any that are exactly alike so that’s going to affect how you train them.

Always praise what you like first, and try to interrupt what you don’t like with the least amount of correction and no correction if possible – just change him to something else. Watch and get to know him. If you’re going to correct the dog for something, do it just once, not more than once a session. The correction needs to be a surprise. Never cause pain or fear when giving a correction. One good way to surprise a dog is for you to change direction while you’re walking the dog on a leash; you walk fast and turn around and the dog has to follow you. Without a warning, it’s less of a correction. Get to know the dog and evaluate and determine how much warning to give. Maybe you just need to say come on and go and give the verbal intervention, and the dog can avoid the correction by listening to you and responding quickly.

2.    What are the most typical problems you see in housetraining?

Not taking the dog out often enough, not clearing the scent of an accident, and giving punishment. Start out housetraining for a dog of any age by taking the dog outside at least once per hour when you’re home and awake, plus any time you see dog looking for a spot. Then as you get to know the dog and see how often dog needs to go, you may be able to decrease the frequency. But if you’re gone for hours, the dog’s body will have to catch up and he’ll need to go out more often when you’re home.

The only thing that I know of that you can be sure to eliminate odor of accident is a bacterial enzyme odor eliminator product, and you have to use it long enough. If you catch an indoor accident while it‘s still wet, using profuse amounts of undiluted clear vinegar will work, although you will smell vinegar for a couple of days. Punishment does not work and it creates complications; it creates submissive urination, it causes the dog to hide from you when he needs to go. He then won’t show you that he has to go. Dogs don’t understand what they’re being punished for when they go inside. If a dog starts to go inside, hustle him outside, but don’t punish him. If you can get him to finish outside and then praise him, you have victory! Praise is what can get the message across.

3. Adult dogs usually live at the shelter in kennels with cement floors on which they are supposed to do their business. What housetraining issues do these adult dogs tend to have?

The first thing to do with an adult shelter dog is to start with the dog outside before you even set foot in the house for the first time, or right after. Get the dog outside and encourage her to relieve and praise her for it. Do it often, more often than once an hour. Her scent will be out there, and you will reinforce her with praise. Try to rush her outside, and then praise, praise, praise. I think it’s true that some dogs have spent their whole lives outdoors and that may ruin them for housetraining, although it may be more genetic than just the experience. That’s especially true for an adult dog who had a home before going to the shelter. They may already have housetraining that just needs to be refreshed.

4. How do you get puppies off on the right foot for housetraining when they’re first brought home?
There are windows of opportunity to develop good housetraining habits in a puppy. If you fail to housetrain the puppy starting the minute the puppy arrives, it puts the puppy at a disadvantage that will continue to grow. Most dogs are not capable of adequate bowel and bladder control until they are about 4 months old. Complete housetraining is rarely accomplished in a weekend. The first and most important element is a good routine, a regular schedule. Commit to taking your puppy outside at regularly scheduled times so the puppy can count on those opportunities. Don’t let a puppy go without a potty break during the day for longer than the number of hours equaling the pup’s age in months plus one. An 8-week old puppy needs to go at least every three hours. Most people work for a full day, which can make housetraining difficult. Also, keep puppies in small areas, and don’t give them run of the whole house. Do this for any puppy or dog. A dog will use corners of the less frequently used rooms, so close off those areas

5. Toy breeds are notorious for having difficulty housetraining. How can you set them up for success?

If you don’t neuter a tiny male toy breed, you may never be able to housetrain him. You may never be able to leave some dogs alone in the whole house.  It’s ideal to neuter by one year of age. Some small dogs, particularly males, can be more difficult to housetrain because their concept of space is smaller. For a really small dog, the denning area, which they prefer not to soil, is large; for toy breeds even a small area is big enough and considered okay to go outside that area. They don’t feel the need to go far away to potty. A dog will happily use corners of less frequently used rooms, so close off those areas. Get the young puppy outside often, even more than once an hour, and encourage him to relieve and then praise him to the skies for it. Keep the puppy really close to you physically, in a positive way. This is your support to form good relationship with your dog. Housetraining is one of the first things you’ll do together, and you want to be really positive. Some people feel that they have to punish a dog for indoor accidents, but that doesn’t work; you have to teach the dog the right thing to do.
Kathy Diamond Davis is author of the Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinarypartner.com, the client education website of the Veterinary Information Network.