It will be very nice to train your dog to poo outside of your home. It will even be nicer to have a designated spot through a number of simple reward-based instructions and training. Potty training shouldn’t be difficult, all you have to do is put a leash on her and then throw some treats toward the place where you want her to poop and pee. The following tips and ideas have been proven to work efficiently in training your dog not to poop in the house;
- Choose the command word or phrase
Choose a word that your dog will understand to mean “go poop”. One phrase you can use is “go potty”. It does not really matter the word or phrase you use, as long as you can read the behavior of the dog when she wants to poop and as long as you are consistent with saying the command phrase. Make sure you choose one or two words, complex phrases are not good for commands, they can get the dog confused and may not even be effective to get the dog to stop from pooping and peeing in the house.
- Take note of when she poops often
Make sure you figure out the times of the day when your dog usually poops and pee. With this in mind, you can set a schedule when your dog should go to the designated potty area to pee and poop. Knowing fully well the time your dog pee and poop is the key to checking the behavior. Most dogs don’t have to eat much before they start feeling uneasy but dogs can feel the urge to poop a few minutes or hours after eating or after digestion. The more you understand your dog, the easier it becomes to tell when she needs to go and ease herself.
- Use a leash to take her out to poop
When your dog is showing signs of pooping or peeing, make sure you leash her and then lead her to the designated area for potty. This area could be a corner of the backyard, a corner in the garden or near a tree close to your area. If you have worries about the dog leaving before take her to the potty area, then you may have to carry her. The more consistent you are about taking her to the designated potty area, the more the dog will get used to such a place and will eventually go there to poop without any assistance from you.
Wait for the dog to go to the potty region but give her no attention while you pace back and forth by the poop spot. Once she finishes pooping, say the command word and wait until she returns to you. At this stage you can hand the dog a reward and praises for obeying your command, she will surely want to stick with the arrangement.
- Reduce her confinement to the crate
Sometimes the main reason why your dog poops in the house is because she is being confined for too long to her crate- this could be a wooden dog house. While puppies can be difficult to train with crates, older dogs can be easier to confine the crates for a long time. You should learn to let your dog out of her crate for several hours so that she can explore the environment around her.
Confining the dog to the crate for too long will give her no other option than to poop inside the house. While letting her out of the crate, make sure you supervise her movements. Once she earns freedom from the crate, she will definitely discover a spot to pee and poop. If the dog does not relieve herself when left out of her crate then you should probably return her to the crate. Dogs have a way of whining when they need to poop or pee, please pay attention to such.
- Keep your dog away from the living room, bedroom, bathroom, and the kitchen
Perhaps one of the strictest ways to keep your dog from pooping in the home is to keep her away from the areas where you don’t want her to poop. For instance, if you wouldn’t be around, you should allow her to play outdoors, while you keep the doors of the bedrooms, living rooms, and other internal areas of the house locked. You may keep the interior doors opened when you are around but make sure you give the dog some attention, and that is how you can discover her needs. Do not lock the dog inside a room while you are at home or when you are not around, such a punishment can even make the dog develop even worse behavior. Dogs that are neglected for too long are known to chew and scratch the surfaces of materials such as furniture and clothing.
Conclusion
It can take between a short time and a while for your dog to get used to the poop and peeing command and training, it all depends on the age of the dog and the breed. Puppies may take longer to train than average adult dogs but with patience and consistency, you will surely get to train your dog to avoid pooping in the inside of the home.
This article was contributed by David Huner.
