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Help! My 5 month old Jack Russell puppy still isn't housetrained.She's making messes everwhere and when I put her out she just stands and looks at me and then uses the kitchen as a toilet when she comes back in. I'm at my wits end, what can I do?
The first thing is - stop worrying. This is a common problem and quite easily solved. Your little J.R. is still a baby and has baby ways. She has to learn to understand you - very difficult when you're only a few months old, you've left your brothers and sistersand gone to a strange home (no matterhow nice it is)and you new momma is a different species.'Whatare theytalking about?What's wrong with going to the toilet when I want to?' She's doing something completely natural for a dog to do and what's all the fuss about.
Some puppies are clean almost from the word go - they smell a doggy sort of scent outside and that's the trigger for the toilet. That's where they always want to 'go'. But there might not be the same scentsin your back yardor they've been masked by the fox who walked by last night or the neighbours cat who's just caught a mouse. These can be strange scents for a baby dog. Somepupswillfind them exciting, others will bea bit scaredby them.It can take a while and a bit of patience untilyourcanine youngstersettles down, gains confidence and gets the hang of things.
Housetraining a puppy is about two things -communication and timing. It's no good puttingher out when you think it'sright - it only works when the puppy is ready. So a lot depends onbeing out there with her. And the more time you can spend inthe early stages, the easier it will be.
The aim is to teach her a phrase she will associate with going to the toilet and then getting her patterned into reacting when she hears it. You have to give her loads (and I mean loads of over the top enthusiastic, aren't you the best little puppy ever) of praise when she does what's needed.This set phrase will be one which for the rest of her life she will associate with going out to the toilet. 'Good girl' is the one I use. 'Good girl. You are a good girl. (or boy of course).'Do you want to go and be a good girl?' 'What a good girl'. This has to be relayed to her over and over every time she toilets outside. Yes, I know it means staying out with her a while but the more you praise her, the quicker she'll be trained.
After a while, the phrase 'good girl' will trigger a response. Asking her if she wants to go to the toilet won't! Opening the door for her won't mean much either. She might like to go out to play or perhaps she'll be thinking about the empty food dish. A word association is the trick to it. Any phrase will do so long as you are consistent. Even old dogs will get up and wander outside when you ask them if they want to go and be a good boy or girl.
So now we've taught her what we mean by 'goodgirl.' Don't use this for anything else of course! The rest is down to managing her routine.The minute she gets up in the morning - 'come on, let's go and be a good girl'. Put her out straight away, stay with her and praise her. Give the puppy confidence outside. The world is a big place to some youngsters.
When she's been napping and gets up - it's the good girlroutine again and lots of praise when she's done her jobs. Before and after a meal are times to ask again - and go out with her and praise her afterwards. A treat when you come in is always a good idea.
If she does have an accident or seems to flippantly ignore the 'good girls' - you can growl at her a little, just like her mum would do if she was there. Yes, frown,growl, scowl or mutter, show her you're cross but don't go over the top with it. We don't ever hit dogs. It's a meaninglessaction, quite incomprehensible andthey don't have a clue why you would do such a thing. And certainly never rub their noses in it.We want to communicate with our pet friend, not give her hang ups. Always put paper down near the doorwith anypup in the houseand remember that going to the toilet is a very natural thing forany dog. Whilst dogswant to be as accommodating as possible with their human friends, they don't share the same house hygiene rules as us.Dogs will be dogs. They are a completely different speciesand already do extremely well to fit in with theirquite irrational (indog thoughts) humans.
Puppies are babies at 5 months - until they're a lot older they have to go to the toilet fairly frequently. Whilstyour youngster can seem quite grown up at 10months or so,this is still an in between teenage sort of age - not until a pup is 15months or so is shebecoming mature.House trainingis a 'problem' that will anyway sort itself out as she grows up and can go longer between toilet breaks.
Some people advocate putting their dogs in cages while they're toilet training them. This does work. The dog will rarely soil such a small area and you can whip her straight outside when you open the door. I don't personally like this. It can give the youngster hang ups about being confined. And what misery to want to go to the loo and not be able to get out! Would you like it? No, and your puppy won't either. Word association and reward - lots of fuss and praise and ignoring the occasional mishap, is, in my experience,the best way. This method works also with older dogs who've never been house trained - often because they've been shut indoors for long periods. Soon as they realise what's required, problem solved.
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