Hard to House Train: Practical Solutions for Dog Trainers

Hard to House Train

Practical Solutions for Dog Trainers

Peggy O. Swager

Dogwise Publishing

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© 2018 Peggy O. Swager

Photos & graphics: Peggy O. Swager

Graphic design: Lindsay Peternell

Cover design: Jesus Cordero

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty:

The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising out of, the furnishing, performance, or use of the instructions and suggestions contained in this book.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Swager, Peggy O., author.

Title: Hard to house train : practical solutions for dog trainers / Peggy O. Swager.

Description: Wenatchee, Washington : Dogwise Publishing, [2018] | Includes

bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018034130 | ISBN 9781617812262 (alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Dogs--Training.

Classification: LCC SF431 .S928 2018 | DDC 636.7/0835--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018034130

ISBN: 978-1-61781-226-2

Printed in the U.S.A.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction

1. Using the Go-To Method for House Training

2. Using Crates for House Training

3. Underlying Causes of House Training Problems

4. House Training Regression in Dogs

5. Fear-Based House Training Issues

6. Submissive Peeing Issues

7. Excitement/Greeting Peeing

8. Solving Male Marking Issues

9. The Special Challenges of Small Dogs

10. Coprophagia and Pica Problems

Concluding Thoughts

Appendix: Is It a Medical Issue?

Recommended Reading

About the Author

Index

Introduction

One thing I’ve noticed about house training is that you don’t find many people who just can’t wait to house train their dog. You do meet people who want this task done as quickly and easily as possible. Often, if a dog owner is calling a dog trainer for help, the issue is challenging or complex. Some of the problems have either defied regular techniques, or they have a psychological driving factor or an owner/dog relationship issue that needs to be addressed in order to secure success.

The goal of this book is to help dog trainers learn how to get to the heart of the problem that is preventing success with house training cases. I often provide more than one approach to solving an issue. When part of the problem is the dog and owner relationship, I’ve offered information on how to approach mending the rift between the two. When it comes to solving even the most difficult house training issues, nowhere will you find in this book a harsh or stern approach. Adversity in training, which results from harsh techniques, can create new issues. The best training results come from a solid understanding of the issue. As well, the dog trainer may need more than one technique to try. There are, of course, times when part of the solution includes medical intervention. I’ve included guidelines to help determine if there is a medical issue, as well as the best kind of medical help to seek. To enable dog trainers to better understand how techniques are best implemented, and how solutions come about, I’ve scattered case studies throughout the book. It is my goal with this book to help trainers find the techniques they need to solve even the most difficult house training issues.

Training using positive techniques is key.

Why do so many dogs have house training problems?

Over the past couple decades, more and more people are acquiring puppies and older dogs from shelters and rescue organizations. There has been a decline in the percentage of dogs being acquired from reputable breeders who strive to house train (usually, but not always, successfully) the dogs they sell. The result is that the house training history of the dogs being acquired is often sketchy. One of the reasons I wrote this book is that the need for expertise on the part of trainers is being driven by an expansion in the market in dogs and owners who need help!

Rescue organizations have unintentionally become suppliers of dogs with house training challenges. There are several reasons for this. One is some dogs are surrendered to a rescue because the previous home failed to house train the dog. New adopters maybe more determined to find success, but not know how to solve the problem, and therefore will need professional help. There is a wide gamut of rescue dogs with house training issues. Male dogs with marking issues often end up surrendered by owners who get tired of urine in the house. It isn’t unusual for a rescue dog to become stressed during the rescue process, creating a house training issue that didn’t exist before. That stress doesn’t always vanish when the dog enters a new home. In the meantime, the dog who is feeling stress can end up having accidents in the house. Educating dog owners about how to acclimate a dog into a home in a way that helps with the dog’s house training can be key.

Otis and Albert were two mill dog rescues you will hear more about.

Mill dog is a term I use for dogs who are commercially raised in a large-scale breeding operation, also known as a puppy mill. (Note: There are also smaller-scale breeders who are unscrupulous in their raising of puppies, resulting in dogs with similar issues.) These dogs can have more unique house training challenges because they typically live in unsanitary conditions, have no experience living in a home environment, and suffer from poor medical care. Many have never had an opportunity to eliminate anywhere other than in a cage. Mill dogs are kept for the sole purpose of mass producing puppies for sale to the general public. At one time, when these dogs could no longer have litters, they were destroyed. In more recent years, rescues have stepped in to salvage the dogs and re-home them. According to the National Mill Dog Rescue, the average age of these overused breeding dogs is 7 years, although younger dogs are sometimes surrendered. Although some rescued mill dog are put into foster homes to acclimate the dog to life outside of cages, others are adopted as mature dogs who have never lived in a regular home, and never had any kind of house training. Even organizations that strive to do some house training in their facilities are limited by the lack of a homelike environment to acclimate these dogs to. Many dog owners who have a record of success house training other dogs may not succeed at house training a mill dog. When working with mill dogs, the dog trainer needs to have a diverse toolbox of techniques for house training, and often needs to learn how to reduce fear in the dog to allow the dog to find success.

Some of your clients will need help with more difficult-to-train puppies.

Not all house training issues come from rescues. Some dog owners just never seem to get their puppy correctly trained, leaving them with a dog who still has accidents in the house. The dog trainer is often the last hope a dog has of remaining in the home. With other dogs acquired as a puppy, the dog owner may be a step away from success, only to have the dog regress. Dog trainers need to learn the common issues that drive house training regression, as well as how to reverse the regression.

There are some behaviors seen by dog owners as house training issues that do not quite fit this category. Trainers may be called in for pica and coprophagia because dog owners associate the issues with elimination. For that reason, I’ve included information on how to approach a resolution for both pica and coprophagia in this book.

Some dog trainers are called in to resolve issues with submissive peeing and greeting or excitement peeing. These are not issues with the dog failing to understand house training rules, but are relationship issues. When working with relationship issues, the dog trainer often needs to work equally hard educating and retraining the owner before the dog can overcome this problem.

How this book is organized

This book is organized into three major sections:

A review of the two most widely accepted methods of house training, including what I term the go-to method and, secondly, crate training.

An overview of the underlying causes of house training problems. This includes (1) the kinds of dogs who frequently enter new homes not fully house trained or who may regress over time, and (2) the environmental, behavioral and physical/medical conditions that can lead to house training problems.

Strategies and training techniques to solve these difficult house training problems including:

Working with dogs who have regressed in their training

Fear-based house training issues

Submissive urination

Excitement/greeting urination

Male marking

Challenges of small dogs

Coprophagia and pica problems

I have also included an appendix to help you determine if the source of the problem is medical in nature.

1

Using the Go-To Method for House Training

At the end of a talk I gave for AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Days, an elderly woman marched up to the front of the room to ask a specific question about an issue she had with her dog. Patches, a miniature schnauzer, had failed to be house trained and was almost a year old. I asked her what technique she used to which she answered, The normal technique. I then asked her if that included shoving the dog’s nose into any messes in the house and putting the dog outside. She said, Of course.

Patches needed the right kind of training techniques.

I explained that although people have had some success with that kind of an approach in the past, we now have better ways of house training a dog. I then told her about a house training procedure that in this book I refer to as my go-to method. Although there is no one technique that will work for house training all dogs, this has become my first approach when working with clients, especially those who have never secured success with their dog’s house training. In this chapter, you will find my go-to method discussed in detail. This technique will be referred to throughout the book. Since this chapter’s goal is to offer techniques to secure initial house training, the go-to method is not the only one offered. A case study will provide another option for succeeding with dog owners who have more persistent difficulties during the initial house training attempts.

There are much better solutions than punishment-based house training.

Overview of the go-to technique

In its essence, the go-to method is simple. However, there are some parts of the process that need attention or may need to be modified for specific dogs. For that reason, I am including a brief outline of the technique here followed by specific details of its various components.

Attach a leash to the dog. Take the dog outside at a time the dog is likely to eliminate. Go to a place far away from the door, such as the back fence of the yard. Or, if you plan on training the dog to a specific area, go to that location. Walk the dog in the area where you want him to relieve himself. It is better to walk in a smaller area, repeating your pattern, than to walk over a larger area. Dogs often like to sniff and explore. If you walk a large area, this can add to the time it takes for the dog to get down to business. At the beginning of the training, allow time to walk the dog for at least half an hour. When the dog eliminates, reward the dog with a high-value treat and some praise for each kind of elimination. Be aware that dogs often go pee and poop within a short period of time, but may need as much as 15 minutes in between. It is a good idea to bring two treats and to be patient. Expect to complete this process for several days or even a week until the dog becomes efficient at eliminating right away when you go outside. Once the dog begins to eliminate right away when let outside, you can transition to having the dog cue you inside the house, and then let the dog outside to do his or her business without your company.

Go-to technique summary for clients:

Take the dog out at appropriate times when success is likely.

Realize dogs new to the household and puppies will need to go out more frequently at first.

Walk the dog, expecting at least half an hour at first. If the dog doesn’t have success, repeat the walk in half an hour to an hour. Keep an eye on the dog while in the house or crate.

For some dogs, limiting the outside walking area, at least at first, is more likely to encourage the dog to get down to business as opposed to becoming distracted.

Reward the dog for success. Make sure you don’t interrupt the dog while the dog is doing his business.

After the dog begins to do his business fairly readily when outside it is time to transition into a more normal schedule. For some that means the dog goes outside first thing in the morning, after an owner comes home from work or in the late afternoon, and just before going to bed at night a minimum.

Begin to add cue words before the dog is taken outside. The owner may say something like time to go out.

The dog can be encouraged to ask to go outside at appropriate times using the cue word. When the dog responds by going to the appropriate door, let the dog out by himself.

Watch to make sure the dog has success.

Reward the dog.

After a successful pattern is established, the owner can fade the reward.

With owners who are not picking up on cues from the dog to go outside, consider having them use a door bell and training the dog to ring the bell to go out.

Take the dog out at appropriate times and walk in a limited area.

Don’t interrupt while the dog is doing her business.

Reward success immediately afterwards.

When to take the dog outside

Selecting times when the dog is more likely to eliminate makes training the dog go much more quickly. Explain to the dog owner that good times to take the dog outside include first thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed. In addition, some dogs will eliminate more readily after a meal. It also makes sense to take the dog out after a long period of rest or confinement, or when there is an unusual amount of excitement in the house. With newly adopted dogs, there is often value in following the times and suggestions made for younger dogs, which you can find below. The extra outings are helpful because dogs newer to the household may feel more stressed for the first few weeks, and stress can increase the frequency of elimination.

There is an added advantage to planning a walk a few times during the day in hopes of having the dog eliminate so he can be rewarded for the correct behavior. The walking process helps a dog who is feeling uncertain in a new home to not only relax more, but also to bond more with the new owner.

Elimination schedules for younger dogs

If your client has a younger dog, below are some guidelines to help with elimination schedules typically seen in younger dogs. One resource states that a puppy can control her bladder for about an hour for every month of age. For example, if your puppy is 2 months old, the puppy can hold urine for about two hours. However, these guidelines are general and don’t take into account the activity level of the puppy. Another factor is that some dogs will have better bladders than others, even within a specific breed. I knew one Jack Russell who could hold urine for long periods of time when very young, while I’ve seen other Jack Russells take up to almost a year to be able to hold urine for up to eight hours. A young dog likely will not need to defecate as often as he needs to urinate.

Bladder challenges in some younger dogs

Some younger dogs will have bladder challenges, meaning that it’s hard for these dogs to hold urine for very long until they are over a year old. This more often plagues smaller breeds. Often, if the dog owner is dealing with this issue, you will need to encourage the owner to be patient. This is not something the dog has a lot of control over, and anger, punishment or scolding is counterproductive. If the dog owner has already used punishment for unwanted bladder eliminations, some of the information in later chapters on submissive peeing and greeting peeing can help resolve the issue.

The dog owner may need to take note of how long the younger dog can engage in active play before the dog needs to stop and pee. If they notice a pattern, the dog owner can interrupt the play and take the dog outside. Often young dogs who are playing will suddenly stop and pee. By working to take the dog out before this kind of accident, the owner may help the dog to learn an association between the urge to go and the ability to signal the owner to ask to go outside. I once saw an experienced dog owner/trainer named Linda employ a technique that seemed to work very well. Linda’s terrier was actively playing when he suddenly stopped and began to pee. Linda quickly grabbed a treat and in a chirpy, bright voice called the dog to come. Using the treat, she lured the puppy outside.

Two good things can be accomplished with this