Secrets of Successful Housebreaking

The Well-Tempered Pet, Madison Pet Gazette, December 1998

By Sharon Savage, M.S. and Vesna Kovach

I recently heard from a family who was having a problem with housebreaking their 10-week-old Bichon Frise. The puppy was "using" the living room rug instead of the layer of newspaper provided on the bathroom floor. Seems puppy thought the newspaper was only for shredding into tiny bits, not for...well, serious business.

The hapless owners tried--unsuccessfully--to follow advice they'd read to "show him what he did, say 'no', and bring him to the area where he's supposed to go." A fine-sounding theory, but in practice, pup would flee the scene. When brought back, he wouldn't look at the "lesson," and, worst of all, he'd bite--not playfully, either.

Meantime, they were afraid to take the dog outdoors for "potty walks", because they had also read that they should keep him indoors until he had all his shots. This precaution was unnecessary, though. Nursing provides puppies with a few months of natural immunities. In addition, the typical 8-week-old puppy has already had two of its four puppy boosters.

Till it's had all its shots, it's prudent to keep a puppy away from environments densely populated with dogs, like a boarding kennel, a dog show, or a dog exercise park. But strolls around the block are harmless--and indeed, essential for a puppy's social development. Refusing to let this poor puppy outdoors in his own yard or neighborhood would make him severely under-socialized--and potentially fear-aggressive towards people. Also, it would be just about impossible to ever housebreak him.

Most vets agree that it's better to take the teensy risk of exposure than to set him up for a lifetime of house-soiling and fear biting! The decision is even easier now that cures exists for virtually all communicable puppy diseases.

To housebreak a puppy, confine him to a small area where you don't want him to go (e.g. a crate), and then carry him outdoors every hour or two. During the daytime, a puppy can "hold it"--at most--for the amount of time equal to its age in months plus one hour.

For example, the little Bichon Frise puppy was 10 weeks old, or 2½ months. By this handy formula, therefore, he should be able to "hold it" for 3½ hours max. So his family can take him out every couple of hours or so. But if they let several hours go by, they'll be undermining their training efforts!

The owner should walk with the puppy--not wait indoors--and should be prepared with praise and/or treats to dole out within seconds of the potty action. A little bit of outside play is in order now, to complete the perfectly harmonious potty trip..

Afterwards, the pup can come inside and play with supervision for a half hour or so. Then, he should have another potty walk before returning to the crate for a rest.

Many owners just shove the pup out the door, then give him a treat for coming back in the house--effectively training their puppies to skip the potty part and just rush back in for the treat! The situation was similar with the little Bichon pup. He just wanted to get out of that boring bathroom, because all the play was happening in the rest of the house. But, once out of the bathroom, he still had to go. So he just used the nice, absorbent, grass-like carpeting.

The Bichon's biting was caused by fear of the owner's anger--which the puppy didn't understand. The puppy became afraid for his life, when all he wanted was bladder relief and a little play time!

Regarding accidents in the house, the only rule is: never punish mistakes. Puppies don't know why the heck you're mad, even if you take them to the scene of the crime.

The only thing they'll learn is that it's dangerous to be near the owner if there are "waste products" around. Therefore, they'll become afraid to potty near the owner--including on walks! They learn to "hold it" until they return home and the owner leaves the room.

Taking puppies outdoors after accidents is also useless. Many an owner will just march the pup around yelling at him. The inevitable result? Puppy becomes even more afraid to go on walks outside.

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