Accidents In The House

Puppies are not born housebroken, and everyone knows that the owners need to train their dog not to have accidents in the house. Dogs are not like cats - they don't have a natural instinct that tells them they should go in their little kitty box. Dogs! They do it wherever and when ever they want to- That is until you train them to do it where you want them to go. Training your dog to ‘go’ on command is not difficult at all and it saves  a lot of grief - and cleaning.

What you should look for:

Puppies and smaller dogs usually have to go outside approx 15 minutes after eating. When you notice your dog sniffing around, this is a sign that he’s or she is looking for a good place to ‘go.’ If you find your dog circling around, this means you only have a few seconds before the flood gates open on your floor or carpet!

 Stay dry all night!

Dogs do not like to wet their bed. This is very uncomfortable for them, and most of the time they tend to wait until someone can take them elsewhere. If he/she is in his cage your dog should let you know  that he needs to go out by barking, and barking, and barking. But do you really want to teach them the ‘bark-at-night-and-my-owner-will-take-me-out” behavior? Try to go all night without taking him out, and see if his kennel is dry in the morning. It is most likely that it will be. If it is not, clean it up and start over. When you wake up with your dog barking, wait until he/she is quiet and go see about him/her. Wait 15 minutes longer the next night, then 30 minutes the next night, and so on. In a couple of weeks your dog will be sleeping through the night without having to get up.

Ring the Bell

This is how to teach your dog to ring the bell when he/she needs to go outside: Tie a large jingle bell to your doorknob. Ring the bell yourself whenever you take him/her out. Do this for several days, until he/she will realize that the door magically opens when the bell rings.

Park!

This term means to eliminate on command. This is very useful on cold windy days, or dark sleepy nights. This simple, one-syllable word will trigger the important behavior to eliminate, so you can go back inside. Here’s how you do it: Get your clicker and treats handy and take him out. Wait until after he goes to click and treat his behavior. Be careful - it is important that you do not click/treat too soon, because he will not be finished and will feel like stopping the behavior to get his treat. Likewise, clicking and treating too late will not enforce the behavior you want. So as soon as he is done, click and treat. Do this for several days until he understands that ‘Park’ means to ‘Go.’ As soon as you say, “Park,” you should see your dog sniffing around. That means he’s looking for a spot to go. Just let him know that when he’s there, it’s time to ‘do his duty.’

Tips on cleaning up your dog’s messes

There is a four step process for effectively cleaning up messes. This can be applied for other types of messes in the house as well as messes made by fido. This process goes as follows:

Eliminate

Pick up any big, solid piece of garbage first. It is a good idea to buy some latex rubber gloves, and while wearing those, turn a trashbag inside out to scoop up the mess. That way, you and any clothes, garments, etc. will not come into contact with the mess.

Saturate

Using a degreaser, completly saturate the affected area with a liberal amount of fluid. A good type of degreaser would be 409, or an equivilant. Make sure you use a anti-bacterial agent if there isn't one already in your cleaner solution.

Dissolve

Now, wait for your degreaser fluid to work its magic. Normally you will only have to wait a minute or so for the solution to effectivly run its course.

Remove

Using paper towels, wipe up the cleaner solution until no trace can be found, repeat if neccesary. If you feel like using a mop and bucket after that, be my guest.

For A Carpet: Use the same method mentioned above, but I highly suggest using a Brissel Little-green, or some form of wet vac. Carpet is easily stained, and there's nothing worse than a urine stained carpet.

Tips:

• Take your dog to the same spot each time you take him outside. This can be behind the shed, in the woods, or in a leaf pile. Just let him know that when he’s there, it’s time to ‘do his duty.’
• Reward if he ‘Parks’ quickly by giving Jackpots.
• If you have taken your dog out recently and he/she is ringing the bell, he/she may only want to go out to play. Dogs can wait at least an hour before going again.
• Dogs can get annoying, especially when they make horrible messes in the floor. If your dog is throwing up, or is experiencing diarrhea, chances are it will usually go away in a day or two. But if it persists, talk to your dog’s veterinarian and seek help.
• Try not to get frustrated with your dog if he won't park. Dogs can sense your frustration and get frustrated themselves - not knowing what to do.
• Rain, Snow, and other forms of Persipitation may interfere with your dog's ability to find its "spot" so allow some extra time in taking him out.