The most important thing to realize about house breaking your pet is that house breaking is just like training them to do anything else. Just as when you train your puppy to sit, stay, or lie down, house breaking requires lots of praise, and a little patience. The best way to explain house breaking is with the following example. Remember Max the Jack Russell who helped us explain "Talk Dog"? Well, here he is again to help clarify house breaking.

     The first thing you do is choose a word for the behavior. Max's owners chose "Pee" and "Poop". These words work well for Max because both are one syllable and neither one sound like his name. If Max's name had been Lee, his owners couldn't have used "Pee" and would have had to chosen another word, such as "Pot" (short for "going potty").

     Next, Max needs an opportunity to perform, which will give his parents an opportunity to praise him. The best way for them to do that is to stack the deck in their favor. They do that by taking him to his toilet area at a time when he is likely to pee or poop. Good times for this are after Max wakes up from sleeping, after eating, after being crated, or after he is excited. Max's owners like to take him out to the back yard first thing in the morning. When Max pees and poops, Max's owners make a huge fuss, saying "Good Pee!!!" and "Good Poop!!!" They also clean up after Max immediately. Having a celebration each time your puppy goes to the bathroom correctly is very important, because it lets them know exactly how and where you want them to go.

     When Max has an accident, as puppies are prone to do, Max's owners do not make a big deal about it. If Max's owners see him going to the bathroom in the house, or about to go to the bathroom in the house, they tell him firmly "No Pee" or "No Poop." Then they take Max outside to finish. When Max finishes outside they celebrate. If not, Max stays outside on a time out. If Max's parents come home and find that Max has had an accident in the house, they don't draw a lot of attention to it. First they bring Max over and tell him "No Pee" or "No Poop," then they put Max on timeout in his crate or outside. While Max is on time out he receives no attention from anyone. When they clean up Max's accident they make sure Max does not see them do it, because this calls attention to Max's accident.

     Many owners make the mistake of cleaning up accidents in the house immediately, but leave messes in the yard for weeks. When owners do that, their puppy thinks "Gee, in the house I get room service, but out in the yard it's a mess." The result is that they actually train their puppy to poop in the house rather than in the yard.

     Small dogs can be particularly hard to house break for exactly that reason- they are small. Whether they will admit it or not, small dogs know they are small, and that they could be eaten by larger dogs. Small dogs are often afraid to go outside to use the bathroom, because each time they do, they leave the equivalent of a big neon sign for other dogs that says "LITTLE DOG LIVES HERE." If their owner doesn't clean their toilet area often, they may choose to go in a safer area that gets cleaned up regularly. Unfortunately, that's often the living room floor or under the kitchen table. This is why it is very important to clean up a small dog's toilet area often- once a day or more is recommended, and that you celebrate each time your small dog goes outside. It is equally important that you not draw attention to accidents inside, and that the dog does not see you clean them up.

Happy Trails
Dr. Mark W. Ford