Dog Housebreaking In A Few Easy Steps
A crucial step in achieving a lasting and beneficial relationship with your best friend is the dog housebreaking process. Dogs, unlike human beings, have the tendency to just do as it pleases. They don't have long term plans and they don't have direction, unless we guide them. In other words, animals are basically not aware if what they do is right or wrong, thus they need to be corrected. They need to practice appropriate habits that are socially acceptable because even as they are animals, they live among humans. The emphasis of doing housebreaking is to prevent the dog from developing an undesirable behavior pattern. Once such a pattern if not modified or addressed at an early stage, the owner will find it more difficult to maintain a harmonious relationship with his pet. If you are the owner, you might become annoyed every time you think how you fail house training your dog accidents. This and a lot more of the essential information about dogs are a product of the long years that the experts devoted for us to have a better understanding of these barking creatures.
Contrary to what many people think, dogs observe specific sanitary requirements. They don't want to let their waste scatter near their food or near their sleeping or resting area. But the home leaves dogs a very limited space for them to soil at a farther location. This is where housebreaking a puppy comes in. Guiding your dog to do particular things at a specific location will make your home an orderly and clean place, which translates into a fulfilling relationship with your pet.
Housebreaking is not only for puppies or newborn dogs. Any newly owned dog has to undergo housebreaking too, if they have not gone through the proper housebreaking process. In this process, you should take your dog to an appropriate "bathroom" every few hours or every half an hour after it has eaten. If the dog releases waste there, try to make some gestures of praise while staying with your pet there. On the other hand if your dog does not soil there, lead the pet back inside or place in a dog crate, and observe for several minutes before taking the dog outside again. Certain signs like sniffing or circling are helpful too because if the dog circles or sniffs it means the dog is about to release waste. Doing this repeatedly will implant the designated locations at home in the memory of the dog, making the animal conditioned to follow a pattern.
The length of the housebreaking process is highly dependent on the personality of your dog, and of course on your faithfulness to the process. You should devote extra effort in monitoring your pet at night especially if you are housebreaking a puppy which is still less than four months old. Most of all, it is important that you don't give up in the daily requirements of the process. Help your pet learn to practice what is acceptable and appropriate. Rewarding the dog will also be a key here.
During housebreaking if your dog fails to follow you or meet your expectations, avoid yelling at the animal or inflicting pain on your future best friend. By employing harsh treatment, your pet may follow you. But would you delight earning the dog's obedience in such a manner? Acquiring a pet at home is mainly an obligation that you happen to like. Apply these simple house training hints and tips and you will have a housebroken puppy in no time.
Have a great "dog training" day,
Dr. Alfonso
