There are as many books and chapters on housetraining as there are puppy piddles on the floors of homes across the
world. Okay, maybe not so many but it sure feels that way when you are the one doing the housetraining. You are not
alone; in fact I am surprised there is not a housetraining blog out there somewhere. Would someone please start one? If
I could sell puppies that are guaranteed to be house-trained, I could quit my day job! Which, by the way, is another
excellent reason for purchasing your puppy from a quality breeder; they will likely have your puppy well on the way to
success. The extra money you spend on a good puppy could easily be made up for in saved carpeting.
First off, let me tell you, I am not the Caesar Milan of housetraining. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I have my
own opinions of the process. My only recommendation comes from the fact that I have potty trained numerous Cotons,
so much so that I feel like potty training is just a normal part of my life. I even bought a full length down coat to keep by
the door for wintertime training.
My day begin when I get up, get coffee, get puppies outside; take a shower, get dressed, pack my lunch clean up after the
one puppy that didn't’t go both one and two outside, , (so, now you know, I have broken one of the sacred rules of potty-
training; never let your puppy have free reign of the house). Do as I say, not as I do.
How the process works is that first you are trained to take the puppy out whenever you think they need to go potty. Your
puppy will train you in this important step. Key times to take you puppy outside are first thing in the morning, after he
eats, after he naps, after he has played hard, after it’s been 4 hours or so and as far as you know he hasn’t gone potty,
and any other time you notice that he starts sniffing around in circles nose to the floor. Some people like to train their
dog to go in a certain spot in the yard; in this case you will likely have to put him on a leash and stand there with him until
he goes in that particular spot. Many people say to put them on a leash regardless so the don’t filly fart around and get
the job done. I let my dogs sniff around and find their own spot, but that’s because I am usually training in numbers. By
the time I got leashes on them all I’d be cleaning up piddles. Do what works for you. The key element is to praise them
effusively and give them a treat. They have just made your day, they are one piddle closer to being trained; let them
know how happy you are.
During your training period, I recommend to my puppy buyers that they put out a puppy pad in front of the door in which
you will be taking them out. This is another controversy in potty training so do whatever your breeder recommends. The
reason I do this is because I am still not perfectly housetrained so I give myself some slack and try to save my flooring. If
your puppy has been trained to a puppy pad at your breeders, he will know to go on the pad (that’s the concept anyway).
Even though it is indoors, it is still a “right place”, sort of like a free zone. Eventually you pick the pad up or you can
choose to always have one down depending upon your life style. I can assure you if I lived in a high-rise apartment
building in Minnesota and it was winter, my puppy would be going on the puppy pad on a regular basis. Whatever works
for you. However, if you want to totally eliminate the pad you can just pick it up when you and your puppy feel confident
about where big dogs go potty.
At some point in the process, something hopefully clicks in that little brain that tells your puppy that if he goes potty
outside, good things happen and he wants those good things to happen more. Hmmmm. “I got it he says to himself, I will
make it so she will take me outside then I can get a treat whenever I want instead of having to wait around for her. It’s
sheer genius!” Alajuela! Alajuela! “But wait, how do I do that he says to himself?”
Well, she pays attention to me when I bark, maybe I could do that. Or, hmmmm, every time the door opened, that little
bell on the door rang and every time I tried to lick the peanut butter out of the bell, she opened the door. Hmmm, I am
going to see if I just go ring the bell if she will let me out.” In excelsios dio!
What I have found is that the more effort you put in right up front, the more successful you will be. It would not be out
of the question to have him trained to tell you when he needs to go outside within two weeks. However, don't expect
perfection. They could occasionally have an accident for several months. There are times when you could swear he is
going in the house just to spite you but it's not the case. Things can be going along swimmingly for days or weeks and
then out of nowhere, he squats and pees right in front of you right after you took him outside. Go figure! Don't get
discouraged, sometimes their little brain short circuits as they go through early puppy hood.
One of the peculiar habits of Cotons is that they don't like to poop in public so don't be surprised to find little tootsie rolls
behind your chairs once in awhile. At least those are easy to pick up. And fortunately their pees are little.
Again, I stress, be diligent up front and it will pay off. I have had a couple new puppy owners say that their puppy never
had an accident in the house. Now that is diligent!
If you should catch your little fluffy angel in the act of defecating on your heirloom Asian Carpet, resist your natural
impulse. This is very tricky because you want to communicate that this isn’t the right place to potty but not scold your
little dear. A harsh correction translates to “ooohhh, my boss doesn’t like it when I potty so I better not do it in front of
her”. A better approach when caught in the act is to act as though the poor thing just made a mistake. A mild startle like
a light clap of your hands or saying, “uh, oh”, just to get his attention usually tightens their little sphincters and you can
take them outside. However, they usually don’t finish their job once you get out there. You just hope that maybe they
made some connection; doubtful but it’s worth a try.
You may or may not have noticed that I did not go into crate training or any of the other methods for housetraining.
Instead I tried to focus on general principles. I recommend you read as much as you can and use what works best for you
and your new puppy.
Good Luck to you. This too will pass.
world. Okay, maybe not so many but it sure feels that way when you are the one doing the housetraining. You are not
alone; in fact I am surprised there is not a housetraining blog out there somewhere. Would someone please start one? If
I could sell puppies that are guaranteed to be house-trained, I could quit my day job! Which, by the way, is another
excellent reason for purchasing your puppy from a quality breeder; they will likely have your puppy well on the way to
success. The extra money you spend on a good puppy could easily be made up for in saved carpeting.
First off, let me tell you, I am not the Caesar Milan of housetraining. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I have my
own opinions of the process. My only recommendation comes from the fact that I have potty trained numerous Cotons,
so much so that I feel like potty training is just a normal part of my life. I even bought a full length down coat to keep by
the door for wintertime training.
My day begin when I get up, get coffee, get puppies outside; take a shower, get dressed, pack my lunch clean up after the
one puppy that didn't’t go both one and two outside, , (so, now you know, I have broken one of the sacred rules of potty-
training; never let your puppy have free reign of the house). Do as I say, not as I do.
How the process works is that first you are trained to take the puppy out whenever you think they need to go potty. Your
puppy will train you in this important step. Key times to take you puppy outside are first thing in the morning, after he
eats, after he naps, after he has played hard, after it’s been 4 hours or so and as far as you know he hasn’t gone potty,
and any other time you notice that he starts sniffing around in circles nose to the floor. Some people like to train their
dog to go in a certain spot in the yard; in this case you will likely have to put him on a leash and stand there with him until
he goes in that particular spot. Many people say to put them on a leash regardless so the don’t filly fart around and get
the job done. I let my dogs sniff around and find their own spot, but that’s because I am usually training in numbers. By
the time I got leashes on them all I’d be cleaning up piddles. Do what works for you. The key element is to praise them
effusively and give them a treat. They have just made your day, they are one piddle closer to being trained; let them
know how happy you are.
During your training period, I recommend to my puppy buyers that they put out a puppy pad in front of the door in which
you will be taking them out. This is another controversy in potty training so do whatever your breeder recommends. The
reason I do this is because I am still not perfectly housetrained so I give myself some slack and try to save my flooring. If
your puppy has been trained to a puppy pad at your breeders, he will know to go on the pad (that’s the concept anyway).
Even though it is indoors, it is still a “right place”, sort of like a free zone. Eventually you pick the pad up or you can
choose to always have one down depending upon your life style. I can assure you if I lived in a high-rise apartment
building in Minnesota and it was winter, my puppy would be going on the puppy pad on a regular basis. Whatever works
for you. However, if you want to totally eliminate the pad you can just pick it up when you and your puppy feel confident
about where big dogs go potty.
At some point in the process, something hopefully clicks in that little brain that tells your puppy that if he goes potty
outside, good things happen and he wants those good things to happen more. Hmmmm. “I got it he says to himself, I will
make it so she will take me outside then I can get a treat whenever I want instead of having to wait around for her. It’s
sheer genius!” Alajuela! Alajuela! “But wait, how do I do that he says to himself?”
Well, she pays attention to me when I bark, maybe I could do that. Or, hmmmm, every time the door opened, that little
bell on the door rang and every time I tried to lick the peanut butter out of the bell, she opened the door. Hmmm, I am
going to see if I just go ring the bell if she will let me out.” In excelsios dio!
What I have found is that the more effort you put in right up front, the more successful you will be. It would not be out
of the question to have him trained to tell you when he needs to go outside within two weeks. However, don't expect
perfection. They could occasionally have an accident for several months. There are times when you could swear he is
going in the house just to spite you but it's not the case. Things can be going along swimmingly for days or weeks and
then out of nowhere, he squats and pees right in front of you right after you took him outside. Go figure! Don't get
discouraged, sometimes their little brain short circuits as they go through early puppy hood.
One of the peculiar habits of Cotons is that they don't like to poop in public so don't be surprised to find little tootsie rolls
behind your chairs once in awhile. At least those are easy to pick up. And fortunately their pees are little.
Again, I stress, be diligent up front and it will pay off. I have had a couple new puppy owners say that their puppy never
had an accident in the house. Now that is diligent!
If you should catch your little fluffy angel in the act of defecating on your heirloom Asian Carpet, resist your natural
impulse. This is very tricky because you want to communicate that this isn’t the right place to potty but not scold your
little dear. A harsh correction translates to “ooohhh, my boss doesn’t like it when I potty so I better not do it in front of
her”. A better approach when caught in the act is to act as though the poor thing just made a mistake. A mild startle like
a light clap of your hands or saying, “uh, oh”, just to get his attention usually tightens their little sphincters and you can
take them outside. However, they usually don’t finish their job once you get out there. You just hope that maybe they
made some connection; doubtful but it’s worth a try.
You may or may not have noticed that I did not go into crate training or any of the other methods for housetraining.
Instead I tried to focus on general principles. I recommend you read as much as you can and use what works best for you
and your new puppy.
Good Luck to you. This too will pass.
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