If you are looking for the greatest gold-mine of easy to use "change your dog's behavior" advice ever crammed into a newsletter series then read on!
Also, make sure that you check out our 100% authentic testimonials from people who have bought Secrets to Dog Training and find out the massive difference it has made to their owner-dog relationship!
"Daniel, Secrets to Dog Training has helped us bond with and train our challenging beagle-terrier mix. We got Watson from a rescue organization that knew very little about him because he was so undernourished. As his health improved under our care, many behavior problems surfaced including biting, digging inside and out, barking, and jumping on people. SitStayFetch taught us so much about the psyche of a dog. Especially important for us was to learn about the Alpha dog. Once we got our family order rearranged how we wanted it, living together has become much more pleasant. Advanced training has been a joy for all of us. Thanks."
--Amy Schaum (Ohio, USA)
Dear Daniel & company,
I have a male 8 month 50lb neutered "puppy" and am babysitting my daughter's 23lb spayed 4 year old female dog until January. While they get along pretty well, (they play extremely roughly) they are both suddenly having potty problems. They are both urinating in their room, even though they have a doggy door, and insist on peeing and pooping on our large back patio, even though they have free access to a nice yard. They will go in the yard from time to time, and I almost can never catch them in the act of going on the patio. I have used boundary sprays, vinegar, chlorox and anti smell sprays. I am at wits end and I am cleaning off the porch 3- 4 times a day and the laundry room as well. Separately they both are pretty well behaved.
Any suggestions?
Caroline
Dear Caroline,
Thank you for your email regarding your housetraining problems. Housetraining can be very time consuming and frustrating! It sounds as though your dogs have forgotten their housetraining rules. This may be because your daughter’s dog did not realize that pooping on the patio or inside was not allowed in your home, which in turn meant that your puppy also decided that using the patio as a bathroom area was OK. My 4 month old puppy knows that she is not allowed to pee or poop inside our house, but we still have to be very careful with her in other people’s homes – she does not yet realize that she is not allowed to eliminate indoors anywhere!
The key to fixing this behavior will be spending the next few days or weeks watching the dogs every move, and determining when they will go outside to relieve themselves.
Prevent the dogs from moving about the house – you want to keep a very close eye on them so that they never have the opportunity to sneak off and relieve themselves where they are not supposed to. It may not be easy watching them all day, but do your best. When you have to leave them, say to have a shower, you should shut them in a room that you know they would not normally relieve themselves in.
Take your dogs outside once every couple of hours for a supervised bathroom break. Praise them for relieving themselves to help reinforce the good behavior. If they know they are doing the right thing because you have made a big fuss of them, they are more likely to keep doing it. It will not be so effective if you do not accompany them – they need that extra reinforcement!
If they have not gone to the bathroom within 5 minutes, bring them back inside and keep a very close eye on them. Some dogs will sneak off to do their business, and you may not even realize that they have gone until you smell it!
Try to time their bathroom breaks so that the dogs get a chance to eliminate after eating, and waking from a nap, as well as in between times. You can eventually start making them wait longer for a chance to go outside, so that they learn to hold their bladders.
You should also ensure that you thoroughly clean any accident spots, and use a good quality odor neutralizer to remove any residual smells of poop or urine.
One good way to teach a dog to stop relieving themselves on a particular spot is to start feeding them there. A dog will not usually eliminate in a feeding or sleeping area, so this can be quite effective. Try feeding them in their rooms or on the patio for the next week.
If the dogs do manage to slink off and toilet in a place they shouldn’t, you should avoid reprimanding them unless you have caught them in the act, or have found the accident within a minute of it happening. If your dog poops and 30 minutes later you drag them back to the spot to tell them off, they will have no idea why they are being scolded. So, as frustrating as it might be for you to be cleaning up another mess, keep in mind that any late reprimands will only be serving to make YOU feel better, but will not actually have the right effect on your dog.
I sincerely believe that if you do the above, that you will start to see a slow realization from your dogs that they need to go outside to use the bathroom. I strongly recommend that you take your dogs to the same spot every time you go outside. They are more likely to go if they know they have used that spot before. This will make things easier and hopefully quicker for you.
Once you feel that the message is starting to get through, you can start allowing them free reign of the house again.
I hope this helps Caroline.
Good luck and please let me know how you progress.
Kind regards,
Daniel Stevens and the Secrets to Dog Training Team
"Secrets to Dog Training - STOP Dog Behavior Problems!"
I've been a professional dog trainer for well over 20 years, and in that time I've helped thousands of dog owners just like you to get the friendly, well behaved, slipper fetching, best pal they always wanted.
But it didn't start out that way. I've always loved dogs, some things never change. But when I first started my professional dog training career I relied on the so-called 'best practices' when it came to dog behavior training. It was only when I heard people tell me over and over again that they just weren't seeing results that I started to question the old accepted wisdom. So I started a journey, a quest to search out the best, most effective, techniques, tips, and tricks that really work.
And that's how I came up with Secrets to Dog Training. Year after year I found new techniques that achieved the results I wanted. Eventually I had a whole book worth of great resources: Secrets to Dog training...
So, if you want to:
Then Secrets to Dog Training is just what you've been looking for!
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