A puppy must first learn that it should not get loose in the house.
Housetraining means: a dog only loosens up outdoors and announces when it needs to go outside. But also adult quadrupeds can become unclean under certain circumstances. Learn below how to housebreak dogs and puppies and what the reasons for uncleanliness can be.
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What you need to pay attention to in order to get puppies housebroken
Getting puppies housebroken is time consuming and can test your patience. With puppies the cleanliness education succeeds best, if you bring your young quadruped regularly outside and wait, until it is loosened there.
How often should I go out with my puppy?
Especially in the first months it is important to go outside with your dog as much as possible. This is the only way to get your puppy housebroken.
This means that in the early days, take the puppy outside every time it sleeps, eats, or plays, and give it a chance to get loose there. Carry the puppy quietly in your arms until it goes outside.
Up to three months of age, this may well be every hour or two. ÄOlder puppies, on the other hand, should be given the opportunity to go outside every three to four hours.
Be attentive also in between. You will soon develop a sense of the signs. Then you can take your puppy immediately but without hectic- take him outside, where you praise him extensively and in a friendly voice after he has done his business. The more obliquely you are looked at on the street, the better you have succeeded in doing so!
How can I tell that my dog needs to get loose?
Puppies by nature do not like to urinate or defecate near their lair. In this respect, it is also in line with their tendency to become housebroken only at some distance from their own home.
Still, it can sometimes take weeks, even months, to get your puppy housebroken- even when everything is going smoothly. So you must remain patient in any case.
But you can tell from these signs if your puppy might "need" to go again:
- Discomfort
- Increased sniffing
- Walk to the door
- Puppy turns in a circle
If your puppy does his business on the grass, praise him extensively for it.
Other obstacles to housetraining
It can also be difficult if the puppy only urinated on a certain surface at the breeder’s home. Then he must first learn to relieve himself also on grass or forest paths.
Also, keep in mind: puppies are just discovering the world. They are interested in everything and are quickly distracted, especially in nature. Some puppies forget about their needs. Then a mishap is quickly happened at home.
Optimally, there is initially a fixed place where the puppy does its business. Go to this place before and after each walk, so that the puppy can get loose in peace.
Housebreaking puppies: What to do at night?
Problems can arise if you do not take your puppy out at night. He will probably look for a far corner in your home and relieve his bladder there by necessity.
To prevent this from happening, you can set the alarm clock at night and go outside briefly at the usual rhythm. Another option is to let your puppy sleep in a dog crate next to your bed. If the dog wants to get loose at night, he will now make himself known to you and you can take him outside.
In the box he should be able to stand comfortably. Keep in mind how fast a puppy grows and therefore buy them in an appropriate size. But beware: one too big chosen box can lead to using one corner as a sleeping place and another corner as a toilet place.
So, in order to housebreak a puppy, it is important to take him outside regularly at night as well. A puppy that is housetrained at all times of the day learns much faster to do his business exclusively outside.
Three tips on how to housebreak your puppy
You follow the measures mentioned so far and still you do not manage to housebreak your puppy? Then we have for you three more tricks that can be helpful for difficult cases.
Dog toilet as an aid
A dog toilet can help you to get your dog or puppy house-trained. However, keep in mind the following point: your puppy will quickly get used to getting loose on the bottom of the toilet. But if he only gets to know this, it will be difficult to get him used to the grass outside later on.
Use special cleaning products
If a mishap does happen to your puppy, it is best to clean the contaminated area immediately with a special cleaner. Otherwise, your dog will quickly consider the toilet place as a suitable solution place again.
By the way, a special cleaning agent is necessary because dogs’ noses are able to detect odors even when we humans have long since stopped smelling them.
Learn more about this topic in our article Remove dog urine.
Important: Never scold the puppy
Speaking of mishaps: ignore any mishaps and do not scold them. A puppy does not have its bladder under control any more than a toddler with a diaper. Often the puppy doesn’t realize he has to until it’s already happened.
If you scold him at this time, he will not be able to associate this with getting loose. In the worst case you destroy thereby the straight only developed confidence relationship. Instead, the puppy learns to relieve itself secretly in unused corners of your home in the future.
If your puppy is repeatedly loose in the house, you should stay outside with him in the future until he has to do his business there. Praise him afterwards extensively.
Patience will pay off: Because once you have gotten your dog or puppy housebroken, you will be able to rely on it at all times.
Even adult dogs can suddenly become unclean. In most cases there is an underlying disease.
Impurity in the adult dog
When it comes to uncleanliness in dogs, a distinction is made between two forms. On the one hand there are not yet house-trained puppies and actually house-trained quadrupeds, which suddenly become unclean again. In the latter, physical causes are often the trigger for the uncleanliness.
A normally house-trained dog that gradually or suddenly does its business in your home may be showing symptoms of an illness. For example, bladder infections and intestinal infections, but also digestive problems due to a different food or an allergy can cause sudden uncleanliness.
In addition, older dogs can- caused by a sphincter weakness- and especially spayed bitches will have incontinence problems. So if an adult dog suddenly shows uncleanliness, you should definitely consult a veterinarian.
Misattachment as a further cause
Diseases are not always the reason why a dog is not housebroken. As with puppies, adult animals may have faulty mating habits that can lead to a pronounced lack of cleanliness. These occur especially with former kennel dogs, with faulty cleanliness training or with a difficult trust relationship.
Here again the hint: The uncleanliness may wear on your nerves, but do not scold your darling under any circumstances! Remove the droppings quietly and without comment. Especially for anxious dogs urinating can become a pure torture, if they associate it with bad experiences.
Work parallel on a positive connection to your quadruped and praise him extensively, if he does his business under free sky. With a lot of patience, you can also manage to housebreak an adult dog.
Tip: In tricky cases, the advice of a dog school or dog trainer can help. He can look for the causes together with you and work out a solution.