house breaking versus house training a puppy
or, "give me a break, I'm a puppy"
Many people think of training a puppy to control urges to pee or poop inside the house as "breaking" the puppy of innate animal tendencies. However, for the same reasons that we speak of "teaching" and "training" kids -- and we don't speak in terms of "breaking" a toddler of his tendency to just pee when and where he wants and we don't speak of "breaking" a kindergartener of his tendency to be out of his seat -- it is best to think in terms of "training" and "teaching" when working with a puppy. It affords a more benign mind-set. Puppies are very much like pre-verbal children. They are so similar in emotions and learning to humans that scientists routinely use dogs of various ages to study human learning and emotion rather than using actual humans.
"I don't like you" vs. "I don't like that behavior"
or, "please let me feel secure, I'm a puppy"
A puppy who does something wrong can be told "no" without communicating a total sense of not being liked. It is most effective if your puppy understands he is loved and that he can make a mistake and not lose your love and affection. Providing a sense of stable support and unconditional love, as you may have heard, is very good for little ones and insures they grow up to be self-confident and happy. Your home will be safer, you will feel more personally supported and loved and you will feel like you have a housemate if you have an adult dog that is self-confident and generally happy.
1) To assure your dog understands that he did something wrong and not that he is something wrong, apply consequences that are a) harsh enough to be paid attention to, b) not be mistaken for affection and c) not so harsh that the dog comes away from the experience with a greater concern for being around you than he has for engaging in that behavior again.
2) To assure your dog understands that he did something wrong and not that he is something wrong, make sure you give him attention that is at least benign if not outright affectionate within a brief length of time (e.g., 20 minutes) of having given him some aversive consequence (lecture, swat, harsh words, etc.). You want to make certain that
one at a time, please
or, beware the dynamic duo of distraction
If you haven't picked out a puppy and you are just reading this in advance of the new addition to your world, and you are considering getting one OR two puppies, I have a strong recommendation: just get one. One puppy alone is like an only child -- it gets a lot of attention and no distraction. One puppy with older dogs is an apprentice -- watchful of the older others to cue behavior. One puppy with another puppy of about the same age is one half of a dynamic duo of distraction for each other. Again and again, one will try to do the right thing and the other will think that calls for a wrestling match. Whichever puppy wants to behave, Murphy's Law intercedes and the other distracts any thoughts of following directions from the human. This makes training very difficult and prolonged beyond what a single puppy would require. It is your life. It is so very different to work on training two puppies at once as compared to only one, that I can't even begin to address those important issues in this article. If you must adopt two dogs, it would benefit you and the dogs to consider adopting one puppy and training it to be well-behaved and well adjusted before you adopt the second puppy. The first puppy can then be a role model rather than an accomplice. (My most recent experience in this arena is that two puppies from the same litter seems to be about 400% harder work than one puppy. And that estimate may be a bit on the conservative side.)
the challenges of the chewies
or, beware the eve of destruction
Probably the number one difference between starting with a puppy and starting with a full grown dog is the issue of what the dog has already learned. This is especially important with respect to what the dog chews on. Though a puppy has more interest in chewing in general because of the development of teeth, it is generally the case that if you stop a puppy from chewing on something the very first time he chews on it, he won't chew on that again. If you can keep a puppy under strict supervision -- watching his every move when not in his kennel -- so that you catch him the first time he chews the carpet and then make it clear that is improper behavior, it is very unlikely that he will chew the carpet again. If you catch him the first time he tries to chew up a shoe, making it clear that is a no-no, there won't be a problem with those shoes again. If you catch him the first time he chews the legs of your coffee table, it will be unlikely to happen again. If you can keep a very close eye on your puppy so you catch him the first time he tries each chewable item in your home -- and if you make certain you have a number of things for the pup to chew on (nylon bones are fabulous, leather chews are very crappy and potentially dangerous) -- you will find that your puppy has very few problems with chewing.
On the other hand, if you don't discover that a puppy has been enjoying a particular delicacy -- like shoelaces or stuffed animals or Kleenex or whatever -- until he has gotten away with the act on several occasions, it will be very difficult to get your dog to give up the habit.
sleep, aloness and the kennel
or, how a puppy learns it is safe in the night
Some people like the idea of a dog sleeping outside the house, alone. I think this is about as humane as making an infant sleep outside in the elements by him- or herself. If it has to happen then at least put some very soft material in there and make sure there is some sound -- like a radio. It seems a terrible idea to traumatize a puppy that you hope one day will grow up to be a forgiving, helpful, non-threatening, level-headed friend, companion and house guard. (Again, dogs are like people in how they react to things and with respect to feelings and emotions. Scientists use dogs in experiments to understand human emotion because dogs are so similar to humans. If you were going to expect a child to grow up to protect you, would you make it spend its nights alone outside in a kennel?)
Getting the puppy comfortable in the kennel. And along the lines of non-traumatizing, you want to get the puppy used to his kennel. You do this gradually. Put him in it and stay around where he can see you. He will want to feel safe and he will want to get out when he wants out. You want him to feel safe but you want him to know that when you say "no, settle" or something similar, he knows there is no discussion that will get him out. If you let him think it is negotiable even one time, he will want to negotiate for many nights thereafter, hoping you might give in. If you are firm, he will learn to settle when you say to.
The first few times he whines or yaps, reassure him vocally or with a touch. After that, ignore his whining and yapping completely, or, if you think he might quiet down if you do, tell him again now and then to quiet down. The first few times you do this, let him out after a minute or two. Then, while he is in the kennel, walk out of the room and out of his sight. Come right back. Do this a few times, some of the times taking him out of the kennel and sometimes leaving him in. Get him used to this with slowly lengthening periods of time each time. If you do this several times he will begin to get used to the kennel and he will get used to you leaving and then returning. It will help to toss a little treat into the kennel now and then. You want him to be comfortable with being in the kennel and you want him to feel like you will be returning soon. (You also want him to feel safe in there when you are not around, so try to make sure nobody comes banging on your door or ringing the doorbell while he is in his kennel in the first weeks of getting used to it. If appropriate, put a do not disturb sign on your door.)
Little by little, your puppy will learn to be okay in his kennel. Do not use it as a punishment (at least not during his first nine months -- after which you might use it by having him go in there as a time out -type punishment, like you would use with a child). You want it to be a relaxing, quiet place where he will go in, give a big sigh and then settle down and sleep. You want him comfortable in his kennel so that he can be in it whenever you don't have the ability to keep an eye on him to catch him with each transgression. Take him out and keep him with you constantly, watching him and playing with him and returning him to his kennel whenever you can't watch him carefully. If you have friends or kids living with you, make it clear that they should leave him alone when in the kennel and not remove him if they cannot be expected to do as focused a supervision job as you. It probably wouldn't hurt for kids to give the puppy attention in there but you will need to "play this by ear."
Increase how nice the kennel is for the puppy by giving him treats in there and making certain he has a few toys and a very comfortable blanket or whatever to cushion little bones.
Making sleep time, alone time comfortable. What we know about how little ones develop best is that they need to feel secure. When deciding on sleep arrangements and the position of the kennel, especially during the puppies first weeks in his new, unfamiliar home, I like to make sure he can see me and hear me -- and if possible feel me -- when in the kennel as much as possible. This, for me, means a small platform built of an end table or boxes with the kennel firmly, STABLE atop, where the puppy can be just a foot or three from my head as I lay in bed so I can hear him, reach over and put my fingers into the kennel so he can touch me and so I can hear him very clearly when he wakes up and whines. For some people this is not practical but as close as is practical is the best I can suggest.
A friend with a high loft asked about making a little subloft for her pup so she was close as possible and could hear her and so the pup could hear her mistress. The bed loft would be dangerously high. This seems like exactly the thing to do -- having the puppy's kennel either very close beneath sounds good or having the kennel across the room a bit where there is more visual contact -- whatever affords the most reassurance-ability. Like it would with a child -- or an adult for that matter -- feeling protected is easiest when you can see, feel and/or hear that your protector is near you in the night and when you can discover through a few tests that your protector is responsive (at least to the extent that you hear a comforting word or two) when you cry or whimper.
Bedtime with baby. As with infants of the human type, your little one will feel safest if you actually sleep with him. If you can't have the puppy's bed close to your bed in the night, it can help with bonding to modify your own sleeping arrangements for the first few nights so that you sleep near the puppy. (Note: Even if you are sleeping with the puppy very, very near, though, the basic rule of thumb for raising your pup is that he have no closely supervised free reign. If you cannot closely watch him, he should be in his kennel whether at night or in the day, whether you are doing dishes, working at your computer or fast asleep.) If you sleep with the puppy the first few nights, he will not be happy with you moving back to your bed or with moving his bed to some more distant place. Expect it to be a bit of a concern to him and expect to give him reasurance -- maybe by petting but mostly via words -- for a little while as he gets used to the idea. This may be the first fifteen minutes or the first hour but it won't be every night. If the puppy does gripe, wine and make noises during the first few nights, give him reassurance during the first little while but then it is okay to indicate you are losing your patience and okay to be stern about settling down and going to sleep. After the first few nights, you should have a target of no more than a minute of griping and trying to get you to change your mind about bedtime before he settles and stays quiet.
My practice is to let the puppy out of the kennel at night when a) he has shown for a week or two that he now routinely sleeps through the night and b) has shown for a few weeks that he asks to go out if he needs to go out. If you are a heavy sleeper, you should probably get a longer exhibition of sleeping and control and at least a few weeks exhibition of not chewing on anything he is not supposed to when he has the chance. For some people, a larger kennel and a routine kenneling every night is the best tactic. For myself, I like to have my dogs sleep on my bed with me. So in my bedroom, when the puppy graduates from the kennel, he is expected to stay on the bed -- without chewing the bedding -- through the night. I immediately wake up when I feel the bed move near my feet where the puppy sleeps and I hear puppy feet hit the floor, so my only real worry is a quietly gnawing puppy keeping himself busy by chewing up the bedspread while waiting for me to wake up.
If you are not a light sleeper and you do not have the sleeping puppy near or with you, you need to be comfortable with how he will behave without your monitoring -- probably not till he is a year old or even older -- before you can let him be on his own. Basically, if you get to the point where you are certain he is not misbehaving if not monitored during the day, he will probably be able to choose his sleeping area and activity at night.
piddling, papering & pooping outside
or, watch where you step till your pup is adept
Some people like the idea of a dog using a certain area in some room where papers are layed for the purpose of avoiding taking the puppy outside. This smells up a house terribly and is basically silly. My preference and what I will describe here is a program of managing bodily functions outside the house or apartment.
The youngest of puppies cannot be expected to hold their bowels and bladders for long but the time gets longer and longer between need for trips outside as the pup ages. All dogs, all ages, will go a lot longer without peeing or pooping if they are in their kennel and they cannot move to an area they won't have to lay down in. This is why you want the kennel just a size bigger than the dog. Dogs naturally, innately, do not want to pee or poop where they lay, though they will have limits related to their age (the younger can't last as long).
The puppy cannot be expected to stay in the kennel for long periods of time without needing to pee and probably poop. He will need to pee and poop about ten minutes or so after eating but if he hasn't eaten or had anything to drink for awhile, he may be able to last several hours. You have to figure this out by experimentation. Your puppy will try not to pee or poop in his kennel if it is small enough. If he does have an accident, keep track of how long that was that he went without going out. Clean him up and clean up the kennel, replacing the material in it after cleaning it thoroughly so there is no lingering scent of pee. With a ten or twelve week old puppy, you should be able to expect him to sleep in his kennel through a six hour period. You may get more and he may need to mature to get even this.
My preference is to have the kennel in my bedroom on the side of my bed, elevated so that the puppy can see me and so I can hear him whimper and whine when he wakes. I take him out whenever he wakes up (I wake up when he whines and whimpers) and this keeps the idea of peeing and pooping outside consistent.
Peeing and pooping outside. During daytime, during the first week, as often as possible, take the puppy out of his kennel and carry him outdoors. Little by little you will begin to figure out how often he needs to pee. Put him on the grass and walk around with him. He will not want to walk around without you and will not pee unless he is walking around. After eating, watch him for a little bit until he begins to walk around sniffing for somewhere to pee and poop. Go to him and say something like, "do you want to go out?" and then take him out, carrying him. (Carry your puppy whenever you think he may need to pee until he is at least two months and seems to be able to run to the door without having to stop and pee.) You want to be getting him used to peeing and pooping outside. You want him to get used to you saying, "do you want to go outside?" or similar right before he gets to go outside and taks care of his business. You want to get a feel for how often he needs to pee or poop.
Once he does pee or poop outside, make a big deal of it with a lot of praise and excitement about how good a puppy he is to produce for you so well. Puppies love to be told they are good and they love it in excited, happy, histrionic fashion.
When you and the puppy get used to this routine, start letting him walk a little on the way to outside. Start letting him have some time walking around and playing with things while you watch over him. Play with him with toys and whatnot. And begin to let him have enough time to want to pee or poop without predicting him. When you see him sniffing around for a spot to pee or poop -- which is a very different sort of sniffing around than when he is just checking things out but it takes a bit of familiarity to learn to distinguish between the two -- or when he goes to the door and looks out like he would like to be out there, then ask him if he would like to go out. Ask the same way every time until he learns to respond to that way of speaking and then you can add other ways of saying it. At first, whether he yaps, jumps, spins, whines or whatever, go ahead and take him out. This gets him used to the idea that going out is connected to the question. With a little time -- a few days or weeks, begin to hesitate, waiting to have him make some sort of indication that he does want to go out. What you want to be doing is getting him to tell you when he needs to go out.
Accidents inside. There are going to be accidents. There are some good odor removers and such that can get odors and stains out. It is part of the cost of having a puppy. It isn't difficult at all to teach the dog to want to go out to pee and poop. The hard part is getting him to ask clearly and then hold on till he is taken out. So you want strategies for telling him that you are not pleased if he doesn't hold on till you take him out. (Remember: You want him to learn. You don't want to break him.)
If you can catch him as he begins to squat to pee or poop indoors and yell loudly "NO!" and run to him and pick him up holding his back legs together, then hustling him outside as quickly as possible, you will have vastly increased his tendency to want to hold his bladder and bowels until he gets out. When he does his business outside -- which will take much longer because you will have somewhat unnerved him with your yelling and swooping him up -- make a big deal of it as noted at the end of the paragraph above. (When the puppy gets too large to swoop up in your arms to hold his hind legs together you just need to rush him out.)
If you find a pile or a puddle it is a bit late but you still may make an impression. (The best time to catch a bad behavior is just as it is about to begin. Long after is the worst time to catch it.) I find that it does help to ask the puppy to come over to the spot or I bring him over by pulling the collar. I direct his attention to the spot and, using as voice tone and body language, I tell him that this was "bad." I tell him that this kind of thing is done "outside." Using those two terms consistently is helpful for the dog to connect the negative act with the idea of outside. The smarter the dog, the easier the connection will be made. If I feel that he isn't getting the message after a few times, I pull him over and push his nose down to within half an inch of the puddle or pile and emphasize, "bad." Dogs, even puppies, get the idea that you are not pleased but they do not always understand that the very nice feeling activity they engaged in some time before is connected to the offending pile or puddle. The harsher you are, the more the puppy will try to stay hidden from you whenever he smells those odors in the room. Puppies that look guilty may actually be understanding and may actually feel guilty -- but it is more likely that they know that the tone means there was a bad thing and there is going to be some unhappiness coming. They don't necessarily have insight into the fact that it was their act that got this reaction, much less that they should avoid the act in the house in the future. House training pooping and peeing behaviors relies least of all by far on being scolded for accidents that have already happened.
First nights. When I first get a puppy at six or ten weeks, I expect to take the puppy out every hour or so for the first couple of days until he calms down a bit with the newness of his home. I keep the kennel right by me where I sleep and I wake up when the puppy whines. I take him out each time he whines which begins his awareness that this will get him taken outside. Typically by the second or third night I am being awakened about half as often and by the fourh, fifth or sixth night I am being awakened two or three times.
Generally (I have raised a couple dozen puppies) I find the puppy letting me sleep through the night when he relaxes and can himself sleep through the night.
Early months. When a puppy lets you sleep through the night you can bet he will need to pee as soon as he starts walking. For the first three or four months, a puppy will tend to need to pee as soon as he starts moving. I carry them out until they get so large that I can't easily manage and then I pull them out of their kennel and run them to the door. A walking puppy is much more likely to stop to pee than a running puppy is. After six or so months, most puppies can walk to the door to go out without peeing. Most can also go outside and do their business without any particular company (e.g., you may be able to open the door and just let the dog out if you have a fenced in yard, though this is something that is different for different pups.
Get the puppy used to the idea that he has no freedom. He gets to be out of the kennel but he must stay close to you. If he cannot stay close, he goes back into the kennel. Give him treats and get him used to being left in the kennel with you out of sight by giving him the experience of only a few seconds, then another experience of just a few more seconds, etc., increasing until he is used to being in there for hours. Make sure you don't have him in there more than you have to -- he needs exercise and fun and training to stay close, laying at your feet.
You can give up reliance on the kennel when the puppy shows he knows he must wait till he gets outside to pee or poop. I teach my dogs to lay on my bed at my feet as the stage after the kennel stage. They are told to get onto the bed and not get off of it until I say so in the morning. As a routine, I have them used to staying on the bed until I have fixed myself a cup of coffee. Then I call them and let them out into the yard.
biting issues
or, lets avoid having strangers and children bit
A lot of people get bit by dogs. It is a nightmare for the owners. Nothing is a perfect solution and a lot depends on breeds of dog but generally one of the things that will help a great deal with respect to the bite-likelihood of any dog is how much exposure to others -- other people besides his masters, other dogs, cats, etc. -- he gets while he is a pup.
It is a wonderful idea to take your puppy with you if you can, wherever you might go. The more exposure to other people and other animals he gets, the less anxious he will be when adult. It is best to use a gradual-getting-used-to strategy in the car like the one recommended with the kennel. A puppy or a dog that is nervous will want to chew on things.
As the dog grows up, it is very important to be aware of the politics of dogness. Dogs have a strong rank awareness in their packs. It is built into the DNA. When first meeting children as an adolescent (e.g., 9 months or so) puppy, teach the children to order the dog to do a few things like lay down or stay. You want to impress your dog with the idea that children have a higher rank in the scheme of things than he does. It is also very helpful if the child(ren) have food in their hands so that you can very watchfully catch the dog trying to sneak a lick or a bite -- at which point you can impress upon the dog the fact that he should not be stealing from kids' hands.
You can avoid accidents along these lines, too, by making it part of your dog's routine at meal time that his meal may be moved, taken back up, generally messed with. Any growling or evidence that he is unhappy with you messing with his food should be dealt with immediately and harshly. He needs to understand that his food may indeed be messed with and that he had best not do anything to indicate he doesn't like it but that overall he will still eat. It is often the case that a biting incident has a food stuff at the center of the incident -- a food and a dog that doesn't think it should have to put up with humans messing with its food.
"Putting your dog down." There are two basic uses of the expression "putting your dog down." One refers to having him put to sleep when too ill and aged to continue. The other refers to pushing your dog to the ground and holding him down -- especially his head -- as a means of indicating you are dominant and he is going to listen and do what you tell him. This is a political move -- showing the dog where the politics lie. He is the underling. You are the master. What you say goes.
If you have a situation where a new puppy growls -- which typically won't happen until a few months old and maybe not even the first year -- at someone or at another animal (e.g., the cat living with you), you tell the dog "no" and he doesn't comply by halting the growling... or, worse, you have the situation where he snaps at someone... you can very firmly enforce your will and displeasure by pushing the dog to the ground, holding his collar firmly in your hand in case he thinks he should "correct" you with a snap (it is very hard for a dog to bit when you hold his collar) and you hold him down, telling him you are displeased and keep him held down until he quits struggling and twisting and lays compliant and docile. (nd if you have not heard that dogs have different eye contact rules, know it now -- if he is staring you in the eye, that is not respect. Respect is shown by looking away. Many people misinterpret a dog looking away as guilt or disrespect but it is not.) When he has complied by being docile, let him up and give him some affection, telling him you do love him. Love is not contradicted by enforcing your will. Love and will enforcement makes dogs and kids and everyone else feel safe. Anger and will enforcement makes everyone anxious. (Believe it. If someone was to hold you down until you recognized that you were hopeless and helpless when it came to enforcing your will over them, you would feel way better if they then held you and reassured you that they love you very, very much.)
barking issues
or, lets avoid having the neighbors complain
Barking is an issue with many dogs. It takes firm and patient redirection to fine tune your puppy so that it grows up understanding it is supposed to let you know of anything you need to look into. I usually cue my dogs to stop barking with a polite, "thank you." If they keep barking, I reinforce my polite thank you with an abrupt, angry response that gets their attention.
To deal with chronic barking problems, there is a gizmo available that emits a high pitched unpleasant noise in response to the dog's bark. They are widely available and fit like a collar that the dog wears for a month or two. It doesn't stop barking altogether -- just repeated barking.
being a pest issues
or, lets avoid making problems to deal with
I include these few thoughts on being a pest as an important little reminder to all who would have puppies become fine, thoughtful, confident adult dogs.
Most of the pet issues I have seen in my time dealing with people, animals and people with animals are the issues that are products of indulgences. Owners who do not watch out for problem behaviors and nip them in the bud -- stopping them the first time seen and not rewarding them, especially, because they're cute -- are asking for trouble. It is very important that puppies not be taught to expect to eat when humans are eating. It is very important that they not be permitted to do things that they will get in trouble for when they are adults. This is very hard to do if they're being cute but it is important.
Humans and dogs have a wonderful connection. We most of us love dogs and dogs love us. But it is important to understand that we humans are responsible for their socialization and their attitudes. We are always learning and, even though we humans are responsible for the teaching, learning and teaching actually goes both ways.
There are exceptions to all rules in life and sometimes everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Just as it is with our children, sometimes there can be a wiring or other health problem that will defy any effort to train. However, with a loving, compassionate attitude in most cases you will find that a puppy is and becomes the most nurturing, loving, rewarding companion that you could ever have imagined.
Contribution of article made possible through Dr. Glenn Johnson PhD
@ http://www.head-cleaners.com
More articles, Hypnosis CD's, Tapes and MP3's are available through Dr. J's website.
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