House or Heart Broken

Sometimes it seems as though your new pup will never get the hang of eliminating outside. Or you may have an adult dog that still has accidents in the house. Housebreaking a dog is not impossible. It takes patience, a good carpet cleaner, odor neutralizer and time. Just like every human child eventually becomes potty trained, every dog can come to realize that you don't relieve yourself on the carpet.

One of the first steps in training your pup is not allowing it to have free roam of the house. Your home, no matter how small it may seem to you, is a huge space to a small dog. Going in the corner, seems quite acceptable to a young canine that is having a good time playing and doesn't want to take a break and head outdoors. Use child gates or other barriers to restrict your pets’ movements.

Housebreaking a dog is not impossible. It takes patience, a good carpet cleaner, odor neutralizer and time.

Get to know when your pup needs to be let out. Typically waking up, finishing eating, or playing should be your signal to venture out. And go out with your dog each time. Yes, each time, that even means in the middle of the night. Being outdoors can be very distracting. Try to eliminate some of the elements that can side track your pet from its appointed duties by taking it to one spot. Once the pet start to even sniff or start to squat, praise it for being a good kid. Once it does eliminate, make a bug fuss and reward it with a small tasty treat. Pretty soon your pup realizes that instead of the typical NO that it gets for everything else it does, this act, that it needed to do anyway, elicits a ‘good boy’ and a treat. Your dog will think this is pretty cool and will want to please you again.

Accidents do happen. Remember, it does you or your dog no good to take it to the scene of the crime and reprimand it. In actuality, it is really your fault because you allowed it to occur. Take the pet outside, clean up the area, and do a very thorough job. Just spraying the surface of the carpet may get rid of the overt scent to you but your pup has a much more sensitive sniffer. There are numerous good quality odor neutralizers on the market. An inexpensive, very effective neutralizer is baking soda.

If your older, once fully housebroken pets starts to have soiling accidents, there can be a medical reasons for the faux pais. One of the most recognized signs of sugar diabetes is an excessive thirst and increased urination. Intestinal upsets from a change in diet can result in diarrhea. If the diarrhea persists for several days or if weight loss is seen, it may represent a more serious abdominal disorder. It could range from organ dysfunction to even something as serious as cancer. It could also represent canine senility.

If you are having a difficult time with convincing your pup to use the outside ‘plumbing’ or if your older pet seems to have forgotten his manners, see your veterinarian because it is "Your Pet.Health Matters."