After a recent webinar for The Pet Professional entitled “When Your Best Laid Plans for House Training Go Awry,” we received some excellent feedback. The webinar was based around the very popular 15-page DogNostics – How To Effectively House Train Your Dog.
You can register for the recorded event here. The recorded event includes a FREE code to access the full eBook. You can purchase the eBook directly here.
As we are sure you can appreciate, in a one-hour webinar, it is impossible to review each component of any behavior; therefore, the most essential or salient points were covered and discussed. After the webinar, we were asked a great question. “What does the transition from accompanying the dog outside every time for potty so that you can provide timely R+, the dog can learn the designated potty area, and the dog can learn to go potty before playing in the yard typically look like?”
We are sure you will have heard this answer before in reference to many dog training and behavior questions, but “it depends”! It is difficult to give a specific plan for this transition as there are so many variables, such as (but not limited to):
- the property’s layout for example,
- does the property have a secure yard?
- Is it safe for the dog to go out by themselves?
- Are there likely to be any dangerous ‘critters’ outside?
- How near is the door to the potty area?
- If the guardian were to stand in the doorway, would they be able to see the dog?
- Is the dog old enough to go outside alone, is the dog confident enough, etc?
How do you think the transition can or should take place?
What do you think the training steps or criteria maybe?
Here are some of our thoughts…
If the potty area is, for example, at the beginning of a walk, you would continue to have the dog on leash, praise, and reward, and then continue walking. Even if you have a secure yard, there is no rule that says you need to stop accompanying your dog outside! Our yards are secure, and our dogs are no longer puppies, but rarely, do we not accompany them!
For Niki who lives in Florida with a small dog, potty time after dark always requires supervision because of lurking and opportunistic coyotes, bobcats, and other feisty critters that may be around; and where Louise lives in Spain, there are venomous snakes, toxic toads, and more, so again, after dark always means on leash and actively supervised.
But what if your goal is simply that you want to be able to open your door, and the dog goes to the potty area by themselves? If you have a secure yard and a dog who is confident enough to go out by themselves, and you have decided that you would like them to do so, the transition might look like this:
Once the dog is reliably going potty when you take them to their toilet area on a leash, we suggest you implement the following training steps.
STAGE 1
- Walk your dog to the potty area in your secure yard off leash.
- Encourage your dog to “go potty”. If you have introduced a verbal cue, please use the same cue that you previously taught.
- Your dog reliably goes potty? Praise and reward with a treat and perhaps a fun game or a walk.
- After lots of successes, you can transition to intermittent reinforcement with treats.
Please remember that the behavior of ‘going potty’ has naturally occurring antecedents, for example, a full bladder. You have simply introduced another cue, your verbal cue “go potty” or other chosen cue. Some dogs will quickly ‘do their business’ in response to the cue; others, who perhaps don’t need to eliminate at that time, may not respond to the cue but will recognize that they have been given the opportunity to do so.
TOP TIP: Ensure that you have worked out your dog’s schedule and take them out at those opportune times!
STAGE 2
- Walk your dog towards the potty area in your secure yard off leash.
- Stand back a little – do not go all the way to the potty area but do stand close by.
- Encourage your dog to “go potty”.
- Your dog reliably goes potty? Praise and reward with a treat and perhaps a fun game or a walk.
- After many successes, you can transition to intermittent reinforcement with treats – this means that you give your dog a treat sometimes but not every time – but please remember always to praise your dog!
STAGE 3
- Stand back a little more – do not go all the way to the potty area, perhaps halfway? (The distance is hard for us to say as it will depend on the dog, the distance from your door to the toilet area, etc.)
- Encourage your dog to “go potty”.
- Your dog reliably goes potty? Praise and reward with a treat and perhaps a fun game or a walk.
- After lots of successes, you can transition to intermittent reinforcement with treats.
STAGE 4
Gradually decrease the distance that you walk to the toilet area until, finally, you can:
- Stand in your open doorway.
- Encourage your dog to “go potty”.
- Your dog reliably goes potty? Praise and reward with a treat and perhaps a fun game or a walk.
- After lots of successes, you can transition to intermittent reinforcement with treats.
STAGE 5
- Open your door. Stand back a little – Remain inside your house at, for example, one meter from your door.
- Send your dog through the door, encouraging them to “go potty”.
- Your dog reliably goes potty? Praise and reward with a treat and perhaps a fun game or a walk. If your dog struggles, please decrease the distance you stand from your door.
- After lots of successes, you can transition to intermittent reinforcement with treats.
STAGE 6
Gradually phase yourself out of the process by standing further away from the door when you open it.
STAGE 7
Watch and enjoy your dog being independent!
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Please note that ‘elimination’ is always subject to a continuous schedule of reinforcement – Just think about the discomfort of a full bladder and the feeling of relief when you can go to the bathroom! Negative reinforcement is at work here! Your dog ‘goes potty’ and the behavior is reinforced via emptying the bladder!
However, despite this intrinsic reinforcement, during these earlier stages of toilet training and transition, we highly recommend that you still praise your dog when a treat is not being given. And of course, you can use other life rewards, such as playing with your dog and/or going for a walk!
Give your dog plenty of opportunities across specific times of the day to go out and use the bathroom. The behavior may be more confident in specific settings and at specific times of the day such as on wakening, after a play session, before or after meals and before bedtime.