Have You Reverse House Trained your Dog

Does your dog refuse to go to the bathroom outside when you are present? Does your dog play outside and then come back inside and go to the bathroom in your absence? Does your dog look guilty if you see them going to the bathroom inside?

If you can answer yes to one of these then you may have house trained your dog the wrong way round.  Housetraining is a huge issue for dogs, why? Because many dogs that are not housetrained are relinquished to shelters and if they are unlucky enough to end up in a kill facility then they may loose their life over it.

As a Dog Trainer and Canine Behaviorist I take house training dogs very seriously. I am often called out to a consultation on housetraining behaviors to find that the dog also has other problems such as chewing inappropriately, growling and resource guarding problems. Often owners will say “oh they are not problems but this urination, defecation issue has got to be solved”. As a member and a consultant to  several Animal Rescue Facilities I see the statistics and know that many dogs are truly relinquished because of this one issue so lets talk about how to house train your dogs and more importantly how not to reverse housetrain a dog.

Many owners are lucky to find that with little effort and sloppy housetraining management they end up with a dog who is effectively housetrained, other owners end up with a puppy or dog that is unreliable and thus the frustration sets in. Frustration and anger can lead to punishing the dog and this leads to a breakdown in the relationship and trust and then the house training behavior gets worse. While we are too busy getting angry and punishing our dogs we are missing out on opportunities to spend that same time training the acceptable behaviors.

House training a dog is based on a three part process,

a) Management. Have a committed owner who arranges the universe temporarily to prevent any accidents. The owner ahs to be on a set program with the tools in place to make sure the dog only has access to the outside for its bathroom habits.

b) A Strong Reinforcement History. Teach the dog where and when they go to the bathroom and reinforce it with the big guns, tasty treats and lots of affection. Dogs respond well to training. If a behavior is rewarded, in this case going to the bathroom outside them this will crate strength in the rewarded behavior.

c) Interrupt and Redirect. When you have managed the process, built a solid reinforcement history then you can, and it is fair, to interrupt and redirect any behavior that looks like it is a prelude to the dog wanting or needing to go to the bathroom inside.

If these are followed then you will be coasting for years with a solidly housetrained dog. If you particularly slick with management and building a strong reinforcement history then you may never have to work on c) interrupt and redirect. For more information on the actual details of this housetraining process contact us at www.mydogsmith.com. Now let’s talk about how you prevent reverse housetraining in the first part.

To prevent reverse housetraining follow the following protocol.

• When housetraining your dog don’t just put them in the yard and assume they have gone to the bathroom. Choose a special spot, take the dog to the spot on a leash and play the waiting game. When the dog does go to the bathroom given them a high value treat and lots of affection. If you train a specific location you are on the way to house training coasting. You know you have mastered this skill when you take your dog to the special spot, they go to the bathroom quickly and look to you for reinforcement.
• Do not take your dog for a walk and then once they have pooped or urinated take them straight home. To a dog this is punishment and they will relate their bathroom habit to ending of the walk. Thus they will hold their bathroom behavior for as long as possible to prevent their walk from ending. So take your dog to the desired spot, as soon as they go to the bathroom then take them for a walk. The dog will learn that consistent bathroom habits result in a nice walk with their owner.
• Dogs are not capable of feeling guilty, nor do they do particular things to be nasty. . What they do recognize is that we as people can be dangerous. If you have punished your dog for going to the bathroom inside then when they do and if you see them, the look they give you is in anticipation of being punished.  What you are teaching the dog is that it is dangerous to go to the bathroom inside the house where you can see them. The dogs soon learn to sneak off and go to the bathroom in another room away from the owner. Remember punishing the dog does not teach the dog the appropriate behavior.
• As the owner you must make sure the dog goes to the bathroom outside, and you must manage the environment inside until the dog is house trained. If your dog is using the carpet, or a hard surface or a crate to go to the bathroom then there is a huge management issue. Commitment and compliance by the owner to the correct house training protocols will pay off with big dividends and a life time of good habits.