Video:How to House Train a Dog

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Transcript:How to House Train a Dog

Hi. I’m Andrea Arden. Here at Amndrea Arden Dog Training in New York City for About.com, and I’m going to tell you about how to house train your puppy.

House Train Immediately

House training is probably every dog owner’s top concern. And, I think you really can begin as soon as possible. That is the very first day your dog comes into your home. If you let them come into your home and spend a week, two weeks, three months in the home without helping them achieve success in regards to training then they’re gonna set a precedent that you now are going to have to change. So focus on prevention rather than cure. House training comes down to one very simple skill which is being a good doggie time manager. And that means managing your doggie’s time so that you give them as few opportunities as possible to make house training mistakes.

Leash Supervision

Number one is on leash supervision and that means you keep your dog on a leash at all times to supervise them. Until you’re confident that they’re house trained. You can either hold the leash in your hand. Step on it with your foot or tie it to something stable near you while you’re there watching TV, on your computer, reading a book. And at all times make sure your dog has access to a food stuffable food toy so they’re kept busy. If your dogs on leash and you’re supervising them, that means they can’t run around the house and make mistakes.

Crate Training

Number two is if you're out of the home or out of the home for short periods of time. You can confine them to a short term confinement area which is a crate. But only for as long as you are confident that your dog can hold it. So, if you’re willing to bet a hundred dollars that your dog can hold it for an hour in the crate and not go to the bathroom. Then confine him there for an hour.

What the crate does is it keeps your dog safe from making house training mistakes, from chewing inappropriate items, from basically doing anything that you wouldn’t want them to do in the home. But it also gives you a way of accurately predicting when the dog needs to eliminate. Because after an hour or two in the crate you know when you take your dog out it’s going to need to go potty.

Long Term Confinement

If you need to leave your dog for longer then you think at that point in their training, then they can hold it in the crate, then you leave them in what’s called a long term confinement area. And that is an area that is setup so that your dog has access to a potty, or pea pads, or a doggie litter box, and therefore can eliminate in what is a short period of time the right area inside of your home. But you need to use that long term confinement area as infrequently as possible so that your dog is not learning the habit of going inside consistently. Unless that’s something you want in the future.

Reviewing House Training Steps

I think a lot of times that people forget that there’s a physical part to house training. The dog has to be able to physically learn how to hold it. The steps to house training are being a great doggie time manager, and using the following tools. Number one is on leash supervision. So, when you’re there keep an eye on your dog, keep an eye on your leash, either hold it or tether it to something stable, and give your dog a food stuffable chew toy.

Two is a short term confinement area. You can confine your dog in that space, for only as long as you’re confident that they can reasonably hold it. And then when you take them out you know that they need to go. So you can take them to the right spot and reward them for going there.

Three is a long term confinement area. If you need to leave your dog for longer then you think they can hold it in the crate then you leave them in an area such as an x pen, a kitchen or a bathroom that has pads or a litter box, so they have access to a doggie toilet.

And four is a food and water schedule. Making sure you keep your dog on a schedule so you can accurately predict when they need to eliminate.

And the last lone, number five, is giving your dog plenty of food stuffable chew toys to keep them busy. So that they’re occupied with their chew toys and not wandering around your house potentially making mistakes.

Thanks for watching to learn more visit us on the web at About.com.