Housetraining aka Potty Training

Training your dog to eliminate where you want him to can be a very frustrating experience. I get calls all the time saying that "my dog is not potty trained." Dogs know how to pee and poop -- you don't need to teach them to do that. What they don't know is *where* you want them to go, and they do have to be taught. Remember, you didn't pop out of your mother's womb knowing to use the toilet in the bathroom!!!

Dogs pee and poop where you don't want for several reasons. We need to determine why your dog is having elimination problems in order to help both him and you. So if you are doing "everything the books say to do" and it's still not having an effect, then the reason may not be simply incomplete housetraining.

House soiling, as with any behavior problem, may have a physiological basis. Make sure your vet has thoroughly examined your dog (including a full blood panel, fecal exam, and urinalysis) to rule out anything physically wrong with him.

For dogs to be reliably potty trained, they have to have two things: muscle control and mental control. Puppies do not have either, and they usually take longer to train than adult dogs.

Here's a quick summary of how to house train your dog – Take him where you want him to go when he has to go and then reward him when he goes there.

I offer two programs for housetraining -- the first is a two-hour session where I come to your house. Before we meet, you fill out a questionnaire which gives a history of what you have done and also asks other questions.

During our meeting, we discuss your answers in more detail, and I ask follow-up questions. We also talk about your specific situation, and then I personalize a housetraining program specifically for you and your dog. The fee for this is $295. If you take my private obedience lessons or the combination program, then we incorporate the housetraining program into the private session at no extra charge.

The second program is where I train your dog at my home. It is an intensive and therefore expensive program -- $150/day -- and generally takes three weeks. Before I begin, you fill out a questionnaire, and then we talk about your schedule, where you want your dog to eliminate, and any factors which may impact how and where you want your dog to eliminate. Then it's up to you to follow through!

Please call 1-877-7-DOGGIE for more information.

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