Susan McCullough has written articles about dog care and training for Family Circle, The Washington Post, and AKC Family Dog, among others, and blogged about dog care and culture for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Susan is a six-time winner of the Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Award for her work, and has also won the Eukanuba Canine Health Award for outstanding writing about canine health.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

What You’re Not to Read 3

Foolish Assumptions 4

How This Book is Organized 4

Part 1: Preparing to Potty Train Your Pooch 5

Part 2: Putting a Plan in Place 5

Part 3: Solving Housetraining Problems 5

Part 4: The Part of Tens 5

Appendix 6

Icons Used in This Book 6

Where to Go from Here 6

Part 1: Preparing to Potty Train Your Pooch 7

Chapter 1: No, Virginia, It’s Not That Hard: Understanding Housetraining Basics 9

What Housetraining is — and Why it Matters 10

Why Your Dog Can’t Be “a Little Bit Housetrained” 11

Exploring Housetraining Methods 12

Location, location, location: Outdoor versus indoor training 12

Looking at lifestyle factors to help you choose your method 14

Surviving Setbacks and Special Situations 15

Understanding the Role You and Your Family Play 15

Chapter 2: Training the Housetrainer: Taking the Right Approach 17

Leaving behind Housetraining Methods of Yesteryear 18

Using Your Pooch’s Instincts to Lay a Foundation 19

The training your dog has already had 19

Learning from his mom 21

Denning dynamics 22

Cleanliness is next to dog-liness 23

Life without guilt 24

Learning by repetition 25

The need for attachment 26

How instincts can be thwarted 26

Taking the 21st-Century Approach to Housetraining 29

Seeing your dog’s point of view 30

Being benevolent 31

Working with your dog’s instincts 31

Creating a schedule 32

Rewarding the good, ignoring the goofs 32

Being consistent 34

Attending to details 35

Chapter 3: Getting Your Home in Housetraining Order 37

Readying Your Dog’s Room: The Crate 37

Understanding why every dog needs (and wants) a crate 38

Finding the right fit: Types of crates 38

Adjusting for size 40

Investing in crate accessories 41

Situating your doggie’s den 42

Gearing Up for Outdoor Training 42

Selecting a potty spot — no matter where you live 42

Securing collars and leashes 43

Containing the situation: Fencing 47

Installing a doggie door 48

Prepping for Indoor Training 49

Exploring types of indoor potties 50

Setting up your dog’s indoor living area and potty spot 50

Doing the Dirty Work: Cleanup Equipment 53

Choosing an outdoor cleanup method 53

Indoor cleaners 55

Other cleaning aids 57

Chapter 4: Feeding Fido: What Goes in Must Come Out 59

Knowing How Feeding and Watering Affect Housetraining 59

Understanding Nutrients: What Dogs Need to Eat 60

Proteins 61

Fats 62

Vitamins and minerals 62

Determining the Diet That’s Best for Your Dog 63

Considering commercial dog foods 64

Making home-prepped dog foods 66

Serving Your Dog 69

Picking the place to feed your dog 69

Setting the canine dining ambience 70

Selecting your dog’s dinnerware 71

Deciding when to feed your dog 72

To Treat or Not to Treat 74

Buying commercial treats 76

Preparing homemade treats 77

Choosing low-calorie treat options 78

Working with Your Dog’s Drinking Habits 80

Part 2: Putting a Plan in Place 81

Chapter 5: Training to Love the Crate 83

Introducing the Crate 84

Tie one on: The open-door policy 84

Encourage exploration 84

Shut the door (but not for long) 86

Leave the room 86

Build up her tolerance 86

Encouraging Appreciation If Your Dog Hates the Crate 88

Limiting Crate Time: How Much is Too Much? 90

Continuing to Use the Crate 92

Keeping the love alive 92

Beyond housetraining: Other uses for the crate 93

Chapter 6: Heading to the Outside: Outdoor Housetraining 95

Understanding How Outdoor Training Works 96

Introducing Puppies to Outdoor Training 96

Getting an early start 97

Taking the first trips outside 97

Responding when your puppy potties 98

A matter of timing: Setting up a puppy potty schedule 100

Scheduling Outdoor Training for Adult Dogs 104

Dealing with Boo-Boos 105

Catching your dog in the act 105

Finding messes: Don’t scold — just clean ’em up! 105

Preventing further accidents 106

Providing Indoor Potty Areas for Outdoor Trainees 107

Chapter 7: Making Some Inside Moves: Indoor Housetraining 111

Understanding How Indoor Training Works 111

Identifying good indoor-training candidates 112

Opting for indoor training only 114

Pick Your Potty: Deciding Which Type to Use 114

Newspapers 115

Puppy training pads 116

Litter boxes 116

Grate/tray potties 118

Introducing Puppies to Indoor Training 119

Deciding where to put the indoor potty 119

Starting out 120

Scheduling bathroom breaks 122

Switching a vaccinated puppy to outdoor training 124

Using Indoor Training for the Adult Dog 125

From outdoors to papers 125

From outdoors to litter box 126

From outdoors to grate/tray combo 127

Responding to Mistakes 128

Chapter 8: Fine-Tuning Housetraining 129

Decoding Pre-Potty Maneuvers 130

Getting Your Dog to Ask to Go Out 132

Encouraging Elimination 135

Peeing on cue 136

Prompting Mr. (or Ms.) Independent 137

Deciding When to Grant More Freedom 139

The age factor: How old is old enough? 140

The responsibility factor: Should she have freedom of the house? 140

Part 3: Solving Housetraining Problems 143

Chapter 9: Accident-Proofing Small Dogs and Other Problem Potty-ers 145

The Teensy-Weensy Tinkler 145

Choose the right potty place 146

Don’t push your luck (or her bladder) 147

Don’t excuse lapses 147

The Dog Who Pees Lying Down 148

Play it cool 148

Get down to her level 149

Don’t stare her down 150

The Dog Who Leaves His Mark 150

Neuter him 150

Remove (or at least contain) the target 150

Remind him who’s top dog 151

Build a peaceable kingdom 151

Start remedial housetraining 152

The Uptight Canine 152

The Dog Who Wants a New Bathroom 155

The Dog Who Gets Distracted 155

The Fair-Weather Piddler 156

The Bedwetter 157

The Dog Who Gets Amnesia 157

The Dog Who Can’t Hold it 158

Rule out other issues 158

Find a holistic vet 158

Consider diapers 159

The Poop Eater 159

The Bleeding Lady, or the Canine Fertility Goddess 160

Chapter 10: Understanding How an Oh-No Can Become a Problem-o 161

A Whiz of a Problem 162

Constant peeing 162

Constant drinking and constant peeing 163

Pee that comes out slowly or not at all 164

Oddly colored pee 165

The Scoop on Poop Problems 165

Poop on the run(s) 165

Soft, stinky poop 167

Oily poop 167

Poop that comes out slowly or not at all 168

Poop that contains other things 169

Gray, black, or red poop 170

Skinny poop 171

Gaseous Emissions 173

Chapter 11: Sorting Out Humans’ Housetraining Challenges 175

Crafting a Family Housetraining Plan 176

Dividing duties: A plan to relieve the primary caregiver 176

Getting the adults on the same page 177

Getting the kids on board 178

Balancing Crate Time 179

Relieving the Home-Alone Dog 180

Getting a pet-sitter or dog walker 181

Bringing your dog to work 181

Going home for lunch 182

Working from home 182

Creating a potty-proof home-alone area 182

Sticking to the Schedule 183

Managing Snacks 184

Messing Up the Cleanup 185

Anticipating Lapses Due to Household Changes 186

Helping the Newly Adopted Housetrainee 187

Hitting the Road with Your Housetraining Graduate 189

Part 4: The Part of Tens 191

Chapter 12: Ten Housetraining Mistakes You Don’t Have to Make 193

Thinking the Crate is Cruel 193

Getting a Crate That’s Too Big 194

Failing to Stick to the Schedule 195

Failing to Clean Up Completely 196

Not Cleaning the Indoor Potty 196

Thinking Your Dog Looks Guilty 197

Scolding Her after the Fact 198

Rubbing His Nose in You-Know-What 198

Changing the Menu Abruptly 199

Declaring Victory Prematurely 200

Chapter 13: Ten Reasons Housetrained Dogs Live in Happier Households 201

The Houses Smell Nicer 201

The Owners Save Money 202

The Owners are Less Cranky 202

The Dogs Aren’t Scared When Their Owners Come Home 202

The Owners Don’t Worry about Stepping in You-Know-What 203

The Dogs Have One Less Way to Embarrass Their Owners 204

The Owners Know Right Away When Their Dogs are Sick 204

The Dogs Have a Great Foundation for Further Training 205

Dogs and Owners Communicate Better with Each Other 205

The Owners are More Likely to Keep Their Dogs 206

Appendix: Other Helpful Pit Stops for Housetrainers 207

Go Online 207

Book ’Em! 209

Flip through These Mags 210

Index 213

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