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NYC Animal Shelter & Behavioral Center

Educational support information

Dog training, from housebreaking to advanced obedience, is nothing more than behavior conditioning. We want the dog to learn to respond to a signal, either from within his body (in the case of housebreaking), or from a human (in the case of obedience). Dogs have strong natural instincts and tend to respond to routine. These traits can be used to our advantage to condition the dog.

First, let's define housebreaking. A housebroken dog is one that will retain its urine and feces until taken out and or will indicate its need to relieve itself to the owner. It is usually possible to condition a dog to relieve itself outside on schedule within a week or two, but it will take months of conditioning before the dog can be considered completely housebroken.

In the first step of housebreaking, we use the dog's natural instinct to keep its sleeping area clean to encourage the dog to relieve himself outside. For a sleeping area, we recommend the use of a crate.

The puppy should be started overnight in the crate at about three months of age, at which time it should have developed control of the bowel and bladder muscles. The feeding schedule should be down to two meals a day, with the last meal being served at about 5:OO PM. This will allow the meal to pass through the digestive tract by the last time the puppy goes outside before bedtime.

The natural instinct to sleep in a den is strong in dogs, so the puppy should feel safe and comfortable in a day or so. Never use the crate as "punishment" when the dog misbehaves. The puppy should not feel the urge to relieve himself overnight in the crate unless he is disturbed.

In the morning, the first person to disturb the puppy's sleep must take the puppy outside, or he may soil in his crate. After a few weeks, the puppy can be kept waiting a short time in order to encourage retention, but at first, he must be immediately taken out of the crate. If the crate is soiled, do not scold; just clean it up. It may have been your fault.

No paper, food or water is left in the crate at night. If the puppy has not soiled in the crate, he will probably relieve himself as soon as you get outside. When he does, praise him. Remain outside with him for a few more minutes, allowing for some exercise and then stand still to see if he has to go again. Most dogs go twice in the morning after having been confined all night.

Praise, praise, praise every time the dog goes. Also, take the dog to the same toilet area every day. Do not allow it to have free run of your yard.

Now the puppy can be unleashed (if you have a fenced yard) and allowed to play outside or returned to the house. If you return to the house, the puppy can be confined to the crate or taken with you to an uncarpeted room. The kitchen is the best place to allow freedom at first, as the floor can be easily cleaned in case of an accident. Do not permit the puppy free run of the house, and do not permit him in any carpeted areas yet. Gate the kitchen door, or put the puppy on a short lead tied at floor level. Do not use a "choke" collar if you must tie the dog.