Toilet training
We are going to start with what is the golden rule for toilet training. “Praise and reward outdoors – ignore indoors.” This is based on the fact that dogs are logical, unlike us humans who have to be the most illogical creatures on the planet!!
And it works like this; taking the dog outside several times a day waiting for it to put its bottom to the ground and as soon as It does we gently praise and reward, titbits should be small, the size of small kibble, one piece only and puppies should always be taken out straight after meals
Now the indoor bit, if you find that puppy has done something indoors you must ignore this. Why? Because chastising a dog for something that he did 30 seconds ago is a complete waste of time and can damage your relationship with your dog. Obviously, if he does something in front of you then you can indicate displeasure but keep It low key.
It doesn’t take long for a puppy to work out that for some reason the strange humans get very enthusiastic and give rewards when we do our toilet outdoors and give nothing when we do it indoors.
In extreme cases, we are going to have to resort to what is known as cage training, not that there is anything wrong with this method and using a cage can have other benefits but It does involve owners in the expense of purchasing a suitable cage, I will come back to cage training in the very near future.
One final thought, even if you have toilet trained your dog to perfection, please remember that very old dogs (sorry, being politically correct, we must now refer to them as canine seniors!) may need to go out more for toilet breaks. The consequence of age!!
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of ones soul remains unlocked.”
Anatole France