WRIGHT-WAY
RESCUE

Crate Training
Housetraining in theory is very simple. It is finding a means of preventing the dog from doing his duties in the house and only giving him the opportunity to do it outside. It also means that the dog learns to communicate with you about going when told to go and about letting you know when he has to go outside. Dogs do not naturally understand to potty outside. They must learn.

Consistency is the key to success with any training program as it is with housetraining. If you remain consistent your dog will learn 100 times faster than if you change your training program while the dog is trying to learning. Keep at it.

Dogs are den animals by nature. They naturally do not like to mess in their sleeping area. We take advantage of the dog's natural instinct to keep their sleeping area clean and use the crate as a training tool to aid in housetraining. Some people believe that crating a dog is cruel. In all reality you are catering to a dog's natural instinct to sleep and relax in its den. If you know people who have dogs who do not use crates, you will notice that those dogs often have their own "spots". Usually these spots are under a table, behind a couch, etc. The crate will become your adopted dog's den.

The crate also doubles as a safe place where the dog can be left unattended. When your new dog is in a crate it is neither harming your home (IE Chewing, jumping, soiling, etc) nor is it making mistakes that are going uncorrected - going back to consistency. In addition you know that when you cannot watch your dog, it will not be in harms way of harmful household products (IE electrical cords, cleaning agents, etc) and will be safe when you return.

Choosing your crate is important. When you adopt your dog, make certain that one of the essential items you bring home is a crate. If you are adopting a puppy ensure the crate has a divider panel. You should purchase a crate that your dog will fit in as an adult. Use the divider panel to allow the dog enough room to stand, lie down, and turn around in. You however do not want to give it enough room to sleep on one side, and potty on the other. If you have questions about the correct sizing of a crate, our volunteers will be happy to assist you.

To get your new dog used to a crate, give the "crate" command. Keep a small bag of cookies near your dog's crate. Simply say the command and toss a cookie into the crate. Very soon your dog will learn that when you say "crate" it is to go in its den. This is a very helpful tool when company comes over that are not as fond of dogs as we would all hope. It is also a great tool for controlling a young puppy that is not yet fully trained. Your dog should sleep in its crate the first night you adopt him, but continue to practice the in and out game until your dog understands the word crate means he is to do an action. They tend to catch on quickly to this game.

Even though a dog is a den animal by nature, a dog who is just introduced to a crate is likely to cry, whine, and search for a way out. Just like anything, crate training takes some time to get used to. Once a dog is crate trained, they will normally want to be in their crate even when the door is left open. If your dog cries and whines when placed in the crate, do not take the dog out. Returning to a crying dog will create major problems down the road. Do not give in. Instead, wait until the dog is quiet before opening the door to the crate, or even appearing in the room the crate is in. Your dog will catch on. It is far better to have your dog get used to a crate immediately, then to be cleaning up messes in your home for the remainder of your dog's years because it was not trained properly in the beginning.

A crate is not a punishment tool. Your adopted dog should learn to enjoy his new den. Providing indestructible toys for him to play with while in his crate is part of successful housetraining. Kongs are the best toys for this. They are the only safe toy you should leave your new dog with while he is unattended. Other toys often have pieces, stuffing, parts, etc that your dog can ingest and need surgery to remove. A kong stuffed with Kong Stuff'n, peanut butter; liver sausage becomes a puppy pacifier. Your dog will soon learn to focus its attention on this toy instead of crying to get out.

The crate should preferably be placed in a non-bedroom room. A kitchen, family room, or any other location close to the door you plan to take the puppy out from is best. Dog's that are prone to dominance could result in issues if you allow your dog to sleep in your room with you. However, if allowing your dog to sleep in your bedroom with you helps housebreaking, it is OK while the dog is a puppy. The crate should be moved to a more neutral room once the puppy begins to grasp the housetraining program.

It is ok to feed your dog in its crate however it is important that it is fed in other places too. Feeding a dog only in its crate can encourage food guarding. In general your dog should be given water outside of his crate. If you must leave for extended periods leave an adequate, but not large amount of water in a ceramic crock. These bowls tend to not tip over and dogs do not enjoy chewing them. Do not provide your dog with a giant bowl of water, and then leave for the day. Your dog will have no chance of "holding it" until you get home.

The idea of crate training is that the dog should learn to only relieve itself outdoors. To begin the actual housetraining process (which needs to happen the first day you bring home Fido) place the dog in the crate. After about 1/2 an hour - remember to ignore crying and whining- put your dog on a 6ft leash and take him directly outside with no stops on the way to the door.

Now is the time to decide if you want your dog to potty in a specific area of your yard. If so take them straight to that spot. Regardless of where your dog is to relieve himself, we suggest using a potty word. You can use any word you like so long as it is consistent. The adult dogs at Wright-Way Rescue who are started on housetraining are told to "hurry up". By teaching your dog to go potty on command, you will be saving yourself lots of time in the future. It comes in very handy when on road trips, or when trying to collect urine samples at the vet!

When you bring your dog outside, bring it to the location you wish and tell your dog their potty word. Stand still in one spot allowing your dog a 12 foot circle to walk around you. Walking around will distract the dog and he may not go. As soon as your dog begins to potty praise him in an upbeat, but not extremely excited tone. If you are too excited, they may stop mid-way and forget to continue! Once your dog is done praise more and give him a small food treat as a reward. If your yard is fenced let the dog off his leash as further reward. If not, you can then allow him to walk around and play on leash or bring him inside for an off-leash play session.

You will soon get to know your dog's eating and potty habits. Soon you will know when your dog needs to both urinate and defecate. Typically puppies need to do both within 10 minutes of eating a meal. Once you catch on to their schedule, wait until they have done all their business before rewarding them and allowing them play time. Keeping your dog on a feeding schedule and high quality kibble will greatly help.

When your dog goes potty as asked to, it is rewarded with a food treat and verbal praise. This is followed by a short play session (either on or off-leash). Soon your dog will catch on that going potty outdoors equals good things. At first the play session (which can happen indoors or outdoors) should be short. 15-20 minutes of playtime is sufficient. It is important that this playtime be closely supervised. A new dog or puppy should NEVER BE ALLOWED TO HAVE FREE ACCESS TO YOUR HOUSE unless you have your eyes on it. If a mistake is made, and you do not correct as it is actually happening, your opportunity to correct is gone and the dog has just learned that it can get away with bad behaviors while you are not there. Remember, consistency is the key to success!

The dog should only be allowed to be loose in your home just after they come in from going outside and then only for short periods of time. It may take several months before your dog can be left unattended in your home. Some dogs will not mature until they are 18 months. Keep at it. The more consistent you are the quicker training will go.

Now let's say you bring your dog outside, give it its potty word, wait 10 minutes, and nothing happens? At this point you should bring the dog back to its crate with no stops on the way and try again in another 20-30 minutes. Do not punish the dog in any way. He did nothing wrong. However, by putting him back in his crate without his supervised play session, he will quickly learn that not going potty when asked to means a longer wait to free time.

Remember how we said to not go to your dog if he is crying or whining? There is only one exception and that is during night time. Your dog should be allowed one trip outside during housetraining at night. We want the dog to potty outside and there is no way a new dog or puppy can "hold it" all night long. If your dog has fallen asleep in its crate and wakes up whimpering, chances are he/she has to go out to potty. Take him outside on a leash and give him his potty word. Praise the dog and offer a food reward. Do NOT offer playtime at night. Instead return the dog to its crate and go back to bed yourself. Initially they will probably cry and want to wake up and play. It is important you help your dog understand that you will not be getting in the routine of waking up in the middle of the night to play, that waking you up in the middle of the night means potty time only.

As your puppy catches on to the idea of relieving himself outdoors as a mean to fun, you can gradually lengthen the amount of free time they are allowed. Remember most puppies can only hold their bladder for as many hours as they are months old. This number is generally reduced when the puppy is out of its crate by 1/3. So a crated 3 month old puppy can "hold it" in its crate for about 3 hours. A 3 month old puppy that is receiving supervised free time can be left out for about an hour before needing to go back out. If you have an adult dog or older puppy, the housetraining process will generally go much quicker but start from the beginning so you have a solid foundation and your dog clearly understands the rules.

During the housetraining process take your dog out:
First thing in the morning -as soon as your dog hears someone get up you need to get him outside right away
Immediately after eating a meal.
After exercise
After he wakes up from a nap
And in general every 1-3 hours.

You cannot take your dog outside too much. If you take him out every hour then he learns that he is going to have a chance to go outside to do his business. Just because your dog can potentially "hold it" for three hours does not mean it should have to try. Why wait that long if you are home? We want to establish a pattern and what better way than to take the dog out all the time.



Key Points to Remember When Housetraining

1. Keep your dog's diet consistent.

2. Offer your dog treats for going in his crate.

3. Offer play time as soon as he relieves himself outdoors.

4. Praise and offer food reward to going potty when asked. Continue this throughout your dog's life, there is no harm in continually enforcing good behavior!

5. Train a newly adopted adult dog the same as you would train an 8 week old puppy.

6. Use enzymatic urine cleaner to sanitize accidents.

7. If the dog has an accident in the house (remember you will know because you will constantly be watching your dog when it is loose indoors) shout "NO" to interrupt the dog's behavior. Take him outside. If he continues to potty praise and offer reward. If he does not, bring him back to his crate and try again later.

8. If your dog has an accident and you do not catch him in the act, clean it up, and watch your dog closer next time. Correcting a dog after the fact will do more harm than good.

9. Feed your dog at least 4 hours before the last time he is to go out at night.

10. Lift up your dog's water bowl at least 2 hours before the last time you will walk him at night.

11. Paper training, piddle pads, and litter boxes - If you would like your dog or puppy to use these things that is fine. However do not expect to effectively use them if you would like the end result to be a dog that only potties outdoors. Training a dog to potty indoors on paper first, and then reteaching it to go potty outside is useless and confuses the dog. Decide what you want as an owner from the beginning and stick with it.

12. Know that dogs who mess in the house do NOT do so out of spite or revenge. Very often the owner comes home and finds the dog behaving in a fearful, shameful, or generally guilt-ridden manner. It is because of this that the owner is convinced the dog has messed in the house for spite. It's simply not true. The dog cringes when you come home because he associates your arrival with punishment.

13. Finally, accept neighbors, friends, and trainers advice who tell you to do bizarre things to your dog (IE rub it's nose in the mess, hit the dog with a rolled up newspaper, etc, etc.) After you have accepted this advice, forget it. Being consistent, humane, and dedicated is the only effective way to housetrain a new dog. There are no shortcuts, but there is the reward of a reliably housetrained dog after all of your work had paid off!

Housetraining
Start The Day You Adopt!

Every rescued dog must go through the housetraining process. Even dogs that are "trained" and then adopted, go into a new environment with a new family, and must readjust to a new home and schedule. It is important that every puppy and adult dog adopted go through a strict housetraining program immediately upon entering its new home.