Common Dog House Training Problems

Common dog house training problems include everything from potty training and crate training to chewing and destroying the house while you are away.

Boredom is the most common reason for these problems, except for potty training issues.  

When a dog is bored he will find something to entertain him.  Could that be your shoes? Or what about your couch?  Have you ever walked into a house that a dog tore up?  I bet you walked in and found your dog laying in the middle of the mess, happy to see you!

I'm sure you weren't the happiest of people at that point in time.

Don't worry, these problems are simple and easy to take care of! 

First, lets take care of chewing.  Like I said, dogs get bored.  If they have nothing better to do they will find a shoe and turn it into a chew toy.  The easiest way to stop them from doing that is to put up all the shoes, or other things, that your dog can get to.  Put them behind a closed door. Give your dog a chew toy and praise him when he plays/chews it.  Kong toys are the best for this, they are heavy duty rubber toys that can take a lot of abuse.  You can also get a taste paste for your Kong toys and squirt some up in there.  Trust me, your dog will be very intent on getting all that paste out of there!

Second, a major problem is barking while you are away.  This might be more of a problem for your neighbors than it is for you.  But you should still try to stop it.  Check out the hubpage I made for dog who bark too much!

Potty training is one of the most common dog house training problems there is!  Potty training isn't the hardest thing to do in the world. It may seem like it for the first month or so, but you will get the hang of it.

First, while you are away, put and keep your dog in an area of the house that has hard floors.  It is a lot easier to clean pee and poo off hard floors than it is to clean it off of carpet.

Second, while you are at home with your dog, get your dog used to peeing and pooing on the training pads.  Training pads are those small white things that look like paper towels.  Praise your dog when he does his business on them.  Give him a treat!

Third, and most important, do not ever, and I mean EVER, get mad at your dog for peeing or pooping inside the house.  This all part of potty training.  Getting mad at your dog for doing something he does naturally is like someone getting mad at you for breathing.

When you do come home to pee and poo on the floor, let your dog go outside.  Calmly clean it up and get on with your day.  It isn't the end of the world.

One last tip about potty training your dog:  Never rub their noise in their own pee and poo.  First, would you like someone to do that to you?  Second, that doesn't teach it a thing other than stay away from you!

A crate is not meant to be a prison for your dog.  A crate should only be used when you are away or sleeping.  Other than that, your dog should be free to roam the house.

When you go out to find a crate, fight the temptation to buy the biggest one they have.  A crate should only be big enough for a dog to sit, stand, turn around, and lay down in. That's it, no bigger.  A tiny yorkie doesn't need a crate made for a great dane! 

Dogs are...fairly...clean animals.  They will try their hardest to not pee and poo where they eat and sleep.  They will try not to pee and poo in their crate if they are in a fairly confined space. I say TRY, it doesn't always work out this way.  This is the reason you don't need a huge crate, if a dog knows that he doesn't have very much room, he will hold is waste.  DOGS TRY NOT TO PEE AND POO WHERE THEY EAT AND SLEEP.  Always keep that in mind.  Would you poop and eat on your table at home?  I didn't think so!