Dog and Toilet Training
Do you constantly face unpleasant accidents that exhaust, worry, and make you ponder? Situations that push you out of your comfort zone? Why doesn’t he listen? Is he doing it on purpose? Is he too young to learn? What should we do?
The dog and his toilet are probably one of the biggest problems that modern caretakers face. Let’s take them one by one.
Why does he do it?
There are several reasons such as:
• Health issues
• Territory marking
• Anxiety
• Fear
• Excitement
However, most of the time, the main reason is one: he doesn’t know!
What is the appropriate age to learn?
With the right stimuli from his mother, a puppy starts to move away from the den to relieve himself from the 3rd week of his life onwards. This proves that this behavior can be learned from a very young age (3rd – 4th week). However, at this age, he needs frequent visits to the toilet (every hour, perhaps even more), and his ability to hold it is only a few seconds. Toilet training can be taught at any age. However, at ages over 5-6 months, I would advise seeking help from a specialist.
Why does a puppy soil the place where he sleeps?
Since their mother teaches them not to soil their “home,” why do they do it when we take them into our own? A puppy defines his “home” as the place where he sleeps. To define it as home, the space we desire, special training is needed. Additionally, some puppies are separated from their parents before they learn the essentials of toilet training. If he behaves this way often, it means he’s confused, and we need to restart toilet training from scratch.
How can we toilet train a puppy?
A balanced puppy, i.e., one without health problems or fears and hasn’t been separated from his family before 2 months of age, will learn toilet training very quickly. All he needs to do is recognize our entire house as his “den.”
To achieve this, we limit his den (the space where he sleeps) to a small area, such as a playpen or a small room (e.g., kitchen or bathroom). From there, we take him to the designated toilet area quite often (every hour, maybe even more frequently). Ideally, this area should be outside the house, safe, secluded, and cornered. We stay with him for 5-10 minutes calmly and relaxed, without drawing his attention. If he tries to engage with us, we ignore him. If he relieves himself during this time, we reward him with a treat, maybe even play with him or take him for a walk. If he doesn’t do anything, we return home calmly and relaxingly and put him back in his den. We repeat the process after 10 to 15 minutes.
What do we do if he soils inside the house during training?
Under no circumstances do we shout at him, scold him, or punish him. We clean up his mess and sanitize the accident spot with specialized odor-neutralizing cleaner or diluted vinegar. Then:
If he soils inside his “den,” it means either the space we’ve designated as his “den” is too large or we need to take him to the toilet more frequently.
If he soils on the way to the toilet, it means we need to take him to the toilet more often and not delay in the intermediate space.
Useful information
• Do not use any form of violence; it will only make things worse.
• While waiting for the puppy to relieve himself, observe his behavior. Look for body language cues that you can later recognize as signs that he needs to go to the toilet.
Classic signs that he needs to go to the toilet
• He’s restless.
• He sniffs the ground.
• He whines and moves around.
• He makes circles sniffing the ground.
• He takes a posture as if trying to sit with his tail up.
How often should we take a puppy to the toilet?
• As soon as he wakes up (morning or any other time).
• After play or other intense activity.
• After every meal.
• Every hour, maybe even sooner in the beginning.
What should we keep in mind during training?
• It’s not the dog’s fault.
• Punishment makes things worse.
• It requires patience.
• Don’t jump to conclusions.
I hope this article helps you overcome some difficulties. For more information, do not hesitate to contact us…
Ilias Raymondis, Specialist in dog-human communication
