-
Step 1
Prevent mistakes.
This is the most important part of the entire housebreaking process, and also the most common step for people to miss.
So many owners rely on punishment and completely ignore prevention, which only leads to frustration for them and fear and confusion for their dogs.
Prevention of housebreaking accidents is easy – keep the dog under close observation at all times that he is loose in the house, or use his leash to tether him to you so that he cannot wander off and make a mistake, or teach him to stay on a dog bed in the same room with you. Sometimes, you will be busy or distracted, and that’s when you want to put the dog in a crate or small enclosure until you are once again ready to keep an eye on him or keep him tethered to you. -
Step 2
Go outside with the dog.
Another common problem is owners who push the dog out the door, come back twenty minutes later and let the dog back in, and have no idea whether the dog relieved himself outside or not.
You will need to go outside with the dog until the housebreaking process is complete and completely reliable (note: this can take literally months with some dogs, even if you are doing everything right). You will need to go outside with the dog even if you are in a hurry, dressed in nice clothes, and if it’s raining or snowing.
While outside with the dog, wait patiently. Don’t play with the dog or talk to him much, let him start to get a little bored and use his nose and start sniffing around.
When the dog is in the process of urinating or defecating, calmly praise him and add a command at that point, like “go potty”. When he is finished, you can give him a treat. Eventually, he will understand “go potty” as what you want him to do, and you can start giving him the command as soon as you step outside with him. -
Step 3
Correct mistakes – carefully.
The first thing to understand about housebreaking mistakes is they are your fault, not your dog’s. You have failed to observe him or confine him to prevent a mistake, and you have set back his training.
This doesn’t make you a horrible person, but it does place the responsibility for the mistake right where it should be.
So – don’t yell at the dog. Don’t freak out. And for goodness sake don’t do anything disgusting like rub his nose in it.
If your dog begins to relieve himself somewhere he shouldn’t, immediately let out a startled (but not angry) “no!” and rush the dog outside. If he finishes out there, he gets praised and a treat just as normal.
If you find a mess in the house and you didn’t see the dog do it, do nothing except clean it up and resolve to do better watching him or confining him. Correcting or punishing him after the fact is rarely helpful, and can sometimes confuse the dog and set back his training. -
Step 4
Begin to give the dog a chance to show what he’s learned.
Once the dog is making no housebreaking mistakes while you are watching him, and he understands and obeys the “go potty” command reliably, you can start to “test” him to see if he is reliably housebroken.
Start by giving the dog just a few minutes of house freedom and see how he does. If you find messes, you’ll know you need to spend more time on the basics.
If and when he starts to do well with these few minutes, extend it.
Different dogs will have different timelines on when they become completely reliable about their housebreaking. Some dogs will rush through the process and be reliable in a matter of weeks, some will take months, and a few will have to mature into it over a period of years.
