How to Housetrain Your Dachshund

Your adorable little dachshund is smart and active but he also has a mind of his own. This breed is intelligent but with a long history of tracking and hunting, today’s dachshunds still possess a stubborn streak. While your dog is highly trainable, patience and persistence will pay off during housetraining. Dachshunds need a firm but loving hand and a few techniques will allow you to set boundaries that your pooch will respect.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dog crate Treats Piddle Pads

1. Start housetraining your dachshund the day you bring him home. If you’ve heard that this breed is harder than other breeds to housebreak, you heard right. Not because dachshunds aren’t smart – they are very smart, but they like to set their own rules.

2. Place your dog in a crate just a bit bigger than he is to allow him to move around but not so big that he thinks it’s fine to use the bathroom at one end. Dogs do not like to soil their bedding. Place piddle pads on the floor outside your dachshund’s crate and place him on the pads immediate when you open his crate. Praise him when he eliminates on the pads. Avoid scolding your dog for mistakes. Instead, praise him for the right behavior.

3. Dig in your heels and expect prolonged training with your dachshund. Make a habit of taking him to the piddle pad as soon as he wakes from a nap and right after he eats. These are the two times when he will most surely need to eliminate.

4. Offer praise and tasty treats for using the bathroom on the piddle pads or outside. If your furry friend has an accident, use a paper towel to wipe it up and place the paper towel on a piddle pad or outside in the spot where you want him to eliminate. Your dachshund will use his nose to tell him where he should go…and when he smells the urine, it will send a signal that this is the correct spot.

5. Put a dachshund puppy on a piddle pad every one or two hours and when he holds his urine a little longer, you may place him there less frequently. It’s important that he realize the piddle pad is the place to go as soon as he leaves his crate.

6. Remove your dog’s food at least two hours before his bedtime and let him use his piddle pad just before you put him away for the night. Since a dachshund puppy can only hold his bladder for four or five hours, you must get up and let him out to avoid an accident in his crate. Do not scold him if an accident occurs. Clean the crate to make sure no scent remains and try again.

Tips & Warnings

• Relax. Dachshund owners know this is a learning process. Even an adult dachshund may have an occasional accident.
• Never physically punish a dachshund. They may come to distrust you and their long spine cannot withstand any type of physical punishment.

Resources

• The Beginner's Guide to Dog Agility
• Just Dachshund Puppies 2010 Calendar
• Doxie Moxie: Little Dog, Big Attitude