petorama

Ask Yvette

Dear Yvette,

Our puppy is having a hard time getting house broken. Can you please help? He is 13 weeks old and still having accidents.

Joyce

House training dogs is not usually difficult. People do need to be consistent to achieve results.

This means that owners have to supervise or confine. Some puppies receive far too much freedom. When people let their puppy run unattended they are often surprised with an accident. There isn’t much one can do at that point. Although I suppose if a person really needed to vent they could go look in a mirror and chant, “I will supervise better…I will supervise better….”

Most puppies will keep a small confined area clean. That is why crate training is particularly useful. A crate gives you the ability to leave your puppy alone for an appropriate length of time.

When your puppy is outside, physically go with them. Reward him with a treat, as he is finishing up. Let your puppy know they have done the best thing in the whole world.

If you supervise closely and stay on top of things, there really shouldn’t be any accidents. If one or two do happen, you can gently interrupt your puppy and take them outside. Don’t scold or otherwise punishing a puppy for an accident. It can backfire. Puppies can learn to go behind your back, or some will refuse to go in the presence of a person. Those are problems you do not want.

Your puppy is 13 weeks old. This means that he likely doesn’t have full physical control of his bladder. But most people should expect housetraining to be going smoothly around the 16-week stage. Some puppies seem to learn earlier. But I personally think those puppies have extremely diligent families. If you are going in the right direction at 13 weeks, then you are almost there. Stay consistent until your puppy’s body catches up with their brain.

If your puppy has a hard time despite consistent supervision and rewarding appropriate behaviour, then you might have other issues creeping into play. Medical issues such as bladder infections are one common cause. Dogs with bladder infections can have extreme difficulty holding urine. They may also need to go frequently. If in doubt, talk to your veterinarian to rule out infections and other contributing medical factors.

Finally, it is very common for puppy mill and pet shop dogs to have a very hard time with house training. Dogs that are kept in a kennel and given no other option will learn to soil in the cage. Potential puppy owners should avoid supporting these types of establishments. If you already have a dog that you feel may have been raised in a kennel, then all you can do is roll up your sleeves and work the issue with 100% dedication. It might take a little longer, but you can get there if you stay on top of things. Full step-by-step instructions are free at www.awesomedogs.ca under articles.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

Previous Questions

• Dear Yvette Why are dogs made to look the way ...
• Dear Yvette I read a study that said that Vita...
• Dear Yvette: Our two-year-old Beagle and Borde...
• A little bit of Hollywood glamour came London's wa...
• Dear Yvette, Our dog barks a lot. Someone sug...
• View All Questions