Most new puppy parents want our puppies to be house-trained IMMEDIATELY. Right? Even though all the experts say it could take a while, we tend to think – yeah, but our puppy is so brilliant and will instantly learn. Um…
After a shaky start of Coco’s “get me out of this contraption you awful human” car ride home, he settled in nicely. He was curious about everything and discovered that bath rugs and door mats were quite fun to chew. I knew that I had my work cut out for me with his hatred of the “torturous carrier,” and chewing needs, but I had more pressing issues – HOUSETRAINING. I felt confident because I had experience with Max (my previous Shih Tzu) and I had a trick up my sleeve: a bell door.
If you’re not familiar with using a bell door for housetraining, let me briefly explain the concept. Instead of having a puppy stand by or bark at a door when he has to go out (or have accidents in the house), they can paw at the bell (that is hung on a door) to alert you that he has to go outside. First, you hang the bell to the doorknob, low enough that your puppy can paw at it. Since Coco was tiny, I had it pretty low, almost touching the ground. Then, you move your puppy’s paw on it to make the bell sound and immediately say “outside!”, open the door and take the puppy outside. They begin to associate the sound of the bell with going outside in order to relieve themselves. It’s a nice trick for housetraining.
I did this from day one. The only problem was…at first, he didn’t go to the door on his own so I had to take him there. Then, when he did start pawing the bell on his own, it was mostly to PLAY outside. I had to watch him like a hawk to see whether he had to go. He would just want to play and I was a broken record with “do your business… do your business… do your business”.
The experts say to take out the puppy after drinking water, after eating, after napping. I think I ran myself ragged taking him outside because puppies do all of the above constantly! And each time, we hit the bell, I said “outside!” and out we went. Thank God the weather was cooperative for the most part. It was early June in Michigan and we had the BEST weather for this. I don’t think it rained once. I was lucky too because I was off for the summer (as a teacher), so I had time to focus on Coco.
My backyard became our special hangout. I spent so much time going outside that I decided it was a good opportunity to garden, read, write, talk on the phone, and video chat. Sometimes, I forgot why we went outside. Oh yeah, housetraining.
Coco absolutely loved the outdoors! He ran around. He chased leaves, munched them. He found sticks, munched them. He was so tiny that he fit in the oddest tiny spots I didn’t know I had by the house, like old garden spots that had been filled with dirt. He loved the dirt, too! What a little rascal. He always found a way to get filthy, munch on grass or something. He “helped” me weed — those poor weeds didn’t have a chance with Coco.
Besides running myself ragged with vigilantly watching an energetic puppy, housetraining was only 60% effective that first month. Just when he’d go a couple of days without accidents, I’d find a little puddle or other nice “present” in the corner. Ugh!! I think I used an entire bottle of urine neutralizer spray. Many experts say to crate train, but I needed an alternative because it was just too painful for me to endure Coco’s desperate howling in a confined space. More about that another time.
Here’s what finally worked with 98% effectiveness. I started writing down the times that he relieved himself to find a pattern. I was hopeful because he was definitely learning — his accidents were in corners, as if he knew he had to go away from where we lived. I figured out about how long Coco could hold it (#1 and #2). I also began to take him to a “potty spot” in the yard, on a leash instead of letting him just play in the yard. This helped A LOT because he started to understand that there was a purpose (besides playing) for ringing the bell to go outside. I gave him a lot of praise when he’d relieve himself right away (outside) and sometimes I’d give him a small treat. I gradually stopped taking him out on the leash in the yard and he continued to go to his potty spot, as well as the perimeter of the yard.
All said and done, it took about 6 weeks to housetrain the little guy. He still likes to romp in the yard – and hey – he’s a puppy – he still chews on leaves and the occasional stick. Yes, I was fortunate to be able to stay home and spend all that time housetraining, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. There were definitely stressful times, but with LOTS of time, patience, resources, and a positive attitude (most days), we got there!! Best of luck to you new puppy parents! Believe me that this initial investment in time is so worth it in the end.
Ring-a-ling-a-ling!
Maggie's Corner 