8 No-Fail Strategies for Dog House Training

House training your dog or puppy is one of the most dreaded and misunderstood types of dog training. This article will be outlining the two most common dog house training and puppy house training issues including:

• Submissive or Excited Urination
• Scent Marking

House Training – Common Submissive Urination

A submissive urinator is a dog which seemingly uncontrollably urinates on the floor and themselves in circumstances of extreme stress or excitement (i.e. after being scolded or when you arrive home for the day). Traditionally it is the puppies who demonstrate this trait, but can also be common of adult dogs (typically either sensitive or timid dogs or ones from a shelter with history of abuse). Situations when an excited or stressed dog is likely to urinate includes:

• Arrival time after long absence
• Play time
• When guests arrive
• Stressful home circumstances
• During a scolding or correction
• Sudden loud noises

The good news is it isn’t difficult to correct this habit, and more importantly, there is NO REASON to take your dog to the Vet, as there is no medical reason for this issue (like a bladder infection). Dog house training steps you can take to help control submissive urination include:

• Limit water intake when you know there is a situation coming that would normally result in urination.
• Calmly greet your dog when you come home to not create any unnecessary added stimulation. Maybe a neutral greeting and a quick pat will do the trick!
• It’s critical that you DO NOT harshly correct this behavior, as your dog isn’t doing it purposefully and it is a challenging behavior to correct. A firm “No!” with some praise afterwards should suffice.
• If your dog urinates out of fear, try to maintain a firm and authoritative calm tone. Remember you’re dealing with a sensitive dog, where anger will worsen the issue.

House Training – Scent Marking

Scent marking is where your dog marks his territory with urine. Technically this issue is based on dominance and territory, rather than dog house training or puppy house training since a dog can be house trained yet still mark in the home.  Your dog is likely scent marking instead of merely relieving himself if:

• The amount of urine is relatively small
• The urine tends to be pointed at vertical surfaces, such as walls & doors
• He is an un-neutered male at least 5-6 months old (un-neutered males typically scent mark out of instinct – un-spayed females also mark but it’s less common)
• It makes no difference how often your dog is taken outside to urinate
• Frequently targets new items at the home (such as new furniture, guests, etc.)
• Conflict between two or more dogs

The most important thing you can do first is spay or neuter your dog as soon as possible! If done early enough, this can halt marking altogether (6 months of age or earlier). If your dog has been marking for some time, this procedure won’t necessarily eliminate the habit and your house training attempts.

Clean soiled areas completely using a non-ammonia based cleaner (ammonia and vinegar smell like urine). Many times Oxy-Clean mixed with warm water is effective and there are many commercially available products to choose from. Because dogs tend to remark the same places, you will need to redefine the area to prevent repeat occurrences. You can achieve this in a number of ways:

• Place his food next to or on top of the spot
• Play with your dog in that area
• Groom him in that area
• Place his bed over or next to the area

If there is any hierarchy rivalry between dogs in the home, it’s your job to help reinforce the position of the dominant dog. You can determine this by seeing which dog eats first, gets the toys first, or stares down other dogs. Feed this dog first or give a little more attention to this dog, which will make it clear to all the dogs in the house which dog is dominant. When this hierarchy i s clearly established, territorial and dominant behavior like scent marking will disappear overnight.

For additional information in successful dog house training and puppy house training (as well as a lot more detailed information on proven house training and related issues), check out the highly recommended Ultimate House Training Guide. For more information, CLICK HERE to read testimonials and get more information.