praise him when he "does his thing."
You also need to put him outside right before he goes to bed
at night. Keeping a schedule of no longer than four hours between
potty breaks will help immensely. (And yes, you can't expect
a puppy younger than six months to hold it for more than four
hours.)
Housetraining Don'ts
Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad advice and bad common knowledge
out there when it comes to housetraining. For example, many people
still believe that the best way to housebreak a puppy is to rub
his nose in it or whack him with a rolled-up newspaper. Such
training is barbaric at best. If people were to do that to their
kids, we would consider it child abuse.
Here are the things you shouldn't do when housetraining your
to Golden.
Don't paper-train him. It teaches him that it's okay himself
in the house.
Don't litter-box train him. Your Golden will be too big to use
the litter box when he's an adult.
Don't hit your Golden. Not even with a rolled-up newspaper,
Don't rub his nose in it. What are you trying to teach your Golden?
You're trying to teach him not to go in the house - not that
you're a mean person!
Don't scream or yell. You can't train a dog that's terrified
of you.
Don't correct if it's diarrhea. Your Golden really couldn't help
it.
Don't make your Golden hold it for more than nine hours if an
adult and no more than four hours if a puppy. This is really
unfair to your Golden. |
Housetraining Do's
Here are the things you should do when housetraining your Golden:
Put your Golden on a schedule. This will make it easier for him
to hold it.
Let your Golden out after feeding and playing.
Put your Golden in a crate when you can't watch him. This will
prevent him from going in the house behind your back until he's
housebroken. Don't leave him in there all day - no more than
four hours when younger than six months and no more than nine
hours when six months or older,
If your Golden starts circling or squats, whisk him outside.
Praise him when he goes outside.
Teach your Golden to go potty on command.
Uh-oh! What to Do with Accidents
What do you do if your Golden makes a mistake in the house? Well,
it's going to happen. What you need to do is minimize it. This
requires that you maintain a schedule of when you let him out
and watch him like a hawk when he's out of his crate. If he starts
sniffing around or circling, it's time to put him out Pronto.
When you catch your little guy in the act, you'll probably screech
loudly. That's fine-a "No! No!" will suffice. Usher
the little guy outside and praise him when he finishes his business
out there. Then come back in and clean up the mess.
What if you find a "present" for you on the floor?
Trainers are somewhat in disagreement here. Some say you shouldn't
punish him; others say you should. Some say you can punish but
only if the poop is warm. Well, I don't believe in checking the
poop so thoroughly, so I'll give you my own compromise-the straight
poop if you will.
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I show my dogs the mess and tell them how bad they are.
I don't yell or scream; I just show it to them. Then, I pick
up the mess, put it outside, and then put them outside to do
their business. This seems to work with both adults and puppies.
Use an enzymatic cleaner to clean up the mess and remove the
odor. Don't use household cleaning supplies-many contain ammonia,
which will emphasize any urine smells. I recommend Nature's Miracle,
but there are also some other effective brands.
If you're out of enzymatic cleaner-and this usually occurs at
1A.M., when the pet supply stores are closed-you can clean the
mess up with soap and water and follow it up with white vinegar
and water.
The Least You Need to Know
Crates are useful training tools that help with preventing destructive
behavior and housebreaking.
Crates are not cruel. A crate simulates a wolf or wild dog's
den and becomes a safe haven for your Golden.
Don't paper-train your Golden-that will lead to further housebreaking
problems.
Don't rub your puppy's nose in his poop. Instead, show him the
mess, tell him "bad dog," and put both him and the
mess outside.
You can housebreak your Golden by putting him on a schedule.
You can teach your Golden to relieve himself on command by giving
him a command word each time he goes, such as Go potty.
Clean up messes using a special enzymatic cleaner formulated
for cleaning up after dogs or, in a pinch, use soap and water,
followed by white vinegar and water.
The Complete Idiots Guide To Golden Retrievers by Margaret
Bonham Copyrights: Alpha Books 2004
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