Housetraining a New Puppy

If you just got a new puppy, you will soon be leaning that the reason they are so cute is so you don't kill them in the first few months of their lives.  As they get bigger, they'll start figuring out what's okay and what isn't, and this will hopefully be quick enough to keep up with the cuteness advantage they have while they're young.  Puppies, like human babies, don't come into the world with an understanding of where and where not to pee.  This has to be learned.  And fortunately for us, they learn quickly.  Within a few weeks of having your puppy, you should be able to get them to know where to pee and poop without just hunkering down and doing it on your rug - and it's always the rug, never the damn hardwood. 

So how do you do this?  A mixture of positive and negative reinforcement, mostly.  Punishment, by the way, has been proven to be the least effective form of training on a number of animals, from mice to dogs to humans.  So when housetraining a new puppy, remember that though it's easier to give them a little smack on the nose, you are better off giving them a treat when they pee or poop outside, or saying, "good boy!"

Basically positive reinforcement is this:  it's the introduction of a positive element when the puppy does something right.  So when they pee outside, or when they go and sit at the door when they need to go out, give them a treat for doing so, so they know that this is the right behavior.  Puppies are very eager to please you, and they see you as their parents, in a way.  Negative reinforcement is that you remove an unwanted stimulus to reinforce good behavior, as in say, "No! Bad dog!" or something along those lines in a stern voice, and then once they go outside or in their litter box if you have a toy dog and that's what you do, then stop saying those negative things and start saying positive things. 

Punishment, such as batting them on the nose, works, you'll find, to some extent, but the problem with punishment is that it also produces unwanted peripheral effects in their behavior.  So it's not preferable, though it will probably be tempting for you to do.  Basically, whenever you can, use the positive reinforcement for them being outside.  You need to make these connections clear, so do it every time they go outside.  If they start peeing inside, stop them immediately and take them outside.  Say "No!" when they do it inside, say "good boy!" when they do it outside. 

There's some controversy over whether to do the "stick their nose in it," technique with dogs, as this is a form of punishment, but I've found that it does let them know WHAT they shouldn't do if it has been a while since they pooped or peed indoors.  That said, my old dog, when we were training her, pooped inside, and when we found it, she got a guilty look on her face and stuck her nose in the poop, rather than going outside.  So you can probably cut this and they'll get it.

Immediacy is important.  Scold or praise them right away.  They need to connect the behavior with the reward.  It means being a little bit more tricky on your part, but you can do this relatively easily if you just figure out a system ahead of time.

Be CONSISTENT.  If your dog is coming into a family of 5, make sure that all 5 people in your family know what to do when a dog does something, so they associate the reward with the behavior and not necessarily with the person that usually gives them the reward. 

Also, if you want your dog to tell you when they need to go to the bathroom, you can put a bell on the door and, whenever you take them outside, you life their paw and have them hit the bell, and then open the door.  This way, they won't bark or cry, they'll just ring the bell.  Housetraining a new puppy is only a month or two, so be creative and be effective!

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