Dog Care

If your dog is going to live inside the home, and in America over 90% of our pets do, you are going to have to go through the housebreaking process unless you have grossly different hygienic standards than most. It isn't hard, it needn't be messy and it needn't be a struggle. It doesn't have to take a long time. Remember that it is a training issue and you'll need to have more than casual input. It will take some of your time but the more involved you get, the shorter that span will be.

The Rules

Housebreaking Rule Number One and also The Most Important Rule – If you don't catch your puppy doing it then don't punish him for it!

Housebreaking Rule Number Two – praise them when things go right. Don't let this be a situation where your only action is saying "No" when they are caught in the midst of using the wrong area. If they do it right – let them know!

Starting Inside: There are several ways to housebreak a puppy. With the first, you can put down papers or pretreated pads, encouraging them to use these areas for going to the bathroom. The pads are scented with a chemical that attracts the puppy to use them. Whenever you see them starting into their "pre potty pattern", such as walking around and sniffing the floor, you gently pick them up without talking and carry them over to the papers/pad and then praise them when they go to the bathroom (Rule 2).

Crate Training: The second popular method of housebreaking involves the use of a crate or cage. The often stated reasoning is that the animal is placed in a cage that is just large enough to be a bed. Dogs don't like to soil their beds for they would be forced to lay in the mess. It works and while in these confines most pups will control their bladder and bowels for a longer time than we would expect. Young puppies, at 8 or 9 weeks of age can often last for 7 or 8 hours, however we would never recommend leaving then unattended in a crate for that long in most circumstances.

During housebreaking, whenever the puppy is inside the home but can't be watched, it is placed in the crate. This might be while you are cooking, reading to the children or even away from the home. The last thing you do before you put the puppy in the crate is take him outside to his favorite spot. The first thing you do when you take the animal out of the crate is another trip outside. No food or water goes in the crate, just a blanket and maybe a chew toy to occupy his time. Overnight is definitely crate time. As your faith in the puppy grows, leave him out for longer and longer periods of time.

Most people do not recognize an important advantage of crate training. It does more than just stop the animal from messing in the house. It also teaches the puppy something very important. The puppy learns that when the urge to urinate or defecate occurs, it can hold it. Just because the pup feels like it needs to relieve itself, the pup learns that it doesn’t have to. This is thought to be the main reason why puppies that have gone through crate training have fewer mistakes later on.

Make sure you buy the right size cage. You want one that has the floor space that provides just enough for the puppy to lie down. But cages are useful throughout a dog’s life and it would be nice if you didn’t have to keep buying more as it grows. That isn’t necessary. Simply purchase one that will be big enough for it as an adult but choose a model that comes with or has a divider panel as an accessory. With these you can adjust the position of the panel so that the space inside the cage available to the pet can grow as it does.

Constant Supervision:The last method involves no papers, pads or crates. Rather you chose to spend all the time necessary with the puppy. This works very well for people who live and work in their homes, retired persons or in situations where the owners are always with the animal. Whenever they see the puppy doing its "pre potty pattern" they hustle it outside. It is important that the dog is watched at all times and that no mistakes are allowed to occur. This method has less room for error as there is nothing like a cage to restrict the animal’s urges nor is there a place for it to relieve such as the papers or pad. When she is taken outside, watch the puppy closely and as soon as all goes as planned, she should be praised and then brought back inside immediately. You want the dog to understand that the purpose for going outside was to go to the bathroom. Don’t start playing, make it a trip for a reason. Verbal communications help this method and we’ll discuss them soon. For those with the time, this is a good method. We still recommend having a crate available as a backup when the owners have to be away from the animal.

Verbal Cues

Specific verbal communications will also help the two of you understand what’s desired. It’s an excellent idea to always use a word when it’s time to head to the bathroom. We like "Outside?". Remember that whenever you use a verbal command or signal, it’s important that everybody in the family always uses the same word in the same way. Think of the word "Outside" in this situation not only as a question you’re asking the pup but also as an indication that you want to go there. Some dogs may get into the habit of going to the door when they want to go outside. This is great when it happens but it isn’t as common as some believe. We’ve found that it is better to use verbal commands to initiate this sort of activity rather than waiting for the puppy to learn this behavior on its own. It seems like your consistent use of a word or phrase like "Outside" will cause the puppy to come to you rather than the door when he needs to go outside. The pup more quickly sees you as part of the overall activity of getting it where he needs to go. We believe this is much better.

One of the key issues in housebreaking is to follow Rule Number One: If you don’t catch your puppy doing it then don’t punish it for it! We don’t care what someone else may tell you or what you read, if you find a mess that was left when you weren’t there, clean it up and forget it.

Discipline won’t help because unless you catch the puppy in the act, it will have no idea what the scolding is for. Your puppy has urinated and defecated hundreds of times before it met you. Mom or the breeder always cleaned it up. Nobody made a fuss before and they will not put the punishment, regardless of its form, together with something they’ve done without incident numerous times before. Especially if they did it more than 30 seconds ago! Puppies are just like our children. Unless something was really fun (and a repetitious act like going to the bathroom isn’t), they are not thinking about what they did in the past. They’re thinking about what they can do in the future. At this point in their life a puppy’s memory is very, very poor.

Anyway, let’s face it. It was your fault not the pup's. If you had been watching, you would have noticed the puppy suddenly walking or running around in circles with his nose down smelling for the perfect spot to go to the bathroom. It’s just as consistent as the taxi cab driver behind you honking immediately when the light changes. The puppy will show the same behavior every time. It may vary a little from pup to pup but they always show their own "pre potty pattern" before the act.

The same should be said as to your first reaction when you actually catch them in the act of urinating or defecating. It’s your fault, you weren’t watching for or paying attention to the signals. Don’t get mad. Quickly, but calmly pick them up and without raising your voice sternly say "No". Carry them outside or to their papers. It will help to push their tail down while you are carrying them as this will often help them to stop urinating or defecating any more.

In the disciplining of dogs, just like in physics, every action has a reaction and for training purposes these may not be beneficial! If you overreact and severely scold or scare the heck out of a puppy for making what is in your mind a mistake, your training is probably going backwards. With housebreaking this is especially difficult for them to understand as they are carrying out a natural body function. Carried one step farther is the idea of rubbing a puppy’s nose into a mistake it made, whether you caught it or not. In the limits of a puppy’s intelligence, please explain to us the difference of rubbing its nose in its mess it left in your kitchen an hour ao versus the one the neighbor’s dog left in the park two weeks ago. If the dog were smart enough to figure all of this out, the only logical choice would be to permanently quit going to the bathroom. Punishment rarely speeds up housebreaking. Often it makes the dog nervous or afraid every time it needs to go to the bathroom.

If you want housebreaking to go quickly, regardless of the method you use, spend as much time as possible with your puppy.

Feeding and Housebreaking

The feeding schedule you use can help or hinder housebreaking. You’ll soon notice that puppies will need to go outside soon after they wake and also within 30 to 40 minutes after eating. Be consistent when you feed the animal so you can predict when they need to relieve themselves. Plan your trips outside around these patterns.

All of this may seem simple and it really is. The keys are that it will take time and you must be consistent. And, of course, you must never lose your temper or even get excited.

Spontaneous Urination

Puppies may spontaneously urinate when excited. This may be when they first see you, at meeting a new dog or when they are scared. It’s is often referred to as submissive or excitement urination . Do not discipline the puppy for this, as it is something they cannot control. Simply ignore it and clean up the mess. If you don’t overreact, they will usually outgrow this between 4 and 7 months of age.

Summary

Choose a veterinarian that your like and trust with your dog. Check with friends first if you are a new pet owner. If you go to an office that has several veterinarians, then try to make an appointment with the same doctor each visit so he becomes familiar with your dog. Make sure you come to the visits prepared and don't be reluctant to ask for information about your dog and potential problems your should look out for.

Prepare for the Veterinarian Visit:
- Stool sample for examination of intestinal parasites.
- Inoculation records.
- Ask about flea and tick prevention and control programs.
- Heart worm tests records and ask about types of preventives.
- Ask about Parvo Virus and symptoms to look for, also ask about any illnesses common to your breed.
- Ask about minor injuries and how to treat them.
Let them recommend a good antiseptic cream.

Liquid
- Use a syringe (without the needle) to give liquid medication. Be careful not to stab the back of the dog's throat. It is recommended to insert the syringe while the dogs mouth is closed directly behind his canine teeth. Inject the medication slowly.
Pills
- Position the dog upright sitting down, tilt the dog's head back, lift the lips away from his teeth and hold his upper jaw by the gums directly behind his canine teeth and push down on his lower jaw with your other hand to open the mouth. Place the pill in the very back of his throat, close his mouth and keep it shut.
Stroke his throat softly until pill is swallowed.

A dog may show signs of distress in many different ways. You want to be familiar with the most common signs of distress because they indicate your dog could have a problem that may need immediate attention. This is a general list below that shows signs of distress and the possible problems they may indicate. These same signs could indicate problems other than those listed so be sure to consult your veterinarian.

• Dog choking, gagging, drooling or pawing at the mouth.
• Possible foreign item stuck in throat or mouth.

• Hot ears. Hot to the touch.
• Possible fever, but dog could have fever and not have hot ears.

• Straining but not having a bowel movement.
• Possible constipation or an obstruction of the bowels or diarrhea.

• Dog cries, crouches or tenses, trembles, heavy breathing.
• Possible poison, bloat, pain from swallowing sharp object. Intense pain usually abdominal.

• Convulsions, thrashing about on the floor, glassy eyed, foaming, rigid.
• Possible epilepsy or poison, hypoglycemia.

• Nervous panting and pacing.
• Possible pain or discomfort of some sort. Watch carefully.

• Squatting numerous times but not urinating or just dribbling.
• Possible bladder or kidney infection.

• Scooting across floor on rear.
• Possible blocked anal glands or caked stool in hair around rectum.

• Skin inside of ears is bright pink instead of pale. Bad odor from ears or constant scratching of ears.
• Possible ear infection or ear mites.

• Pale mucus membranes, heavy breathing and extremities cold.
• Possible shock.

If you do not plan on breeding your dog, consider the advisability of spaying or neutering.

• Removing the chance of accidental breeding.
• Eliminating two three-week-long sessions per year of her being in season.
• Eliminating the problem of vaginal discharge during her season.
• Preventing false pregnancies and infections of the uterus.
• Reducing the chance of mammary tumors.
• Eliminating the nuisance of male dogs in the neighborhood congregating at your home during season.

• Removing the chance of his accidentally siring a litter of puppies.
• Eliminating the desire to roam from home if there is a female dog in season in the neighborhood.
• Eliminating the need to mark his territory with urine if he scents a female dog in season.
• Decreasing, in some cases, aggressive behavior towards other male dogs.

• Dog's normal breathing rate - 15 to 20 per minute.

• Dog's normal heartbeat - 100 to 150 beats per minute. Take pulse under chest or under rear leg where it joins the body.

• Dog's normal temperature - 101 to 102 degrees.

• Color of mucus membranes ( includes the gums, tongue, inside of eyelids) should be a nice healthy pink. Memorize the color of your dog's membranes when he is well (color varies from dog to dog), so that you will know when there is a change in the color.