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House Training Accidents in a Certain
Spot
Without
question, house training is one of the
top priorities for dog owners. While we
all expect puppies to require house
training, there are many older dogs who
have ongoing confusion too.
One of the most frequent housebreaking
dilemmas is when the dog seems to be
house trained, but occasionally has
accidents in a certain spot in the home.
Some of the most common locations where
these accidents to happen are formal
dining rooms, guest rooms, basements,
laundry rooms and hallways. However,
regardless of where your dog’s confusion
spot is, you can train him so it stops.
The first step in alleviating this
problem is to understand how dogs think
regarding house training. Dogs are
innately clean animals, who generally
don’t like to soil where they live.
Instinctively, even wild dogs will
choose separate areas for eating,
resting and eliminating.
Housebreaking builds off of your dog’s
natural instinct to keep his living
space clean. This is why one of the
first areas dogs learn to keep clean is
their crate, usually followed by the
rooms in your home where he spends the
most time (kitchen, living room, etc.).
So why does your dog sometimes have
accidents in that certain spot? Usually,
the accident spot is one where he
doesn’t spend much time… like the formal
dining room, guest room or garage. Since
he doesn’t spend much time there, he may
not feel like it’s part of his home
where he lives and so should be kept
clean. In your dog’s mind, this spot is
“other than where he lives” and
therefore is about the same as
eliminating outside.
Now that you understand why your dog is
having these accidents, it’s time to
clear up the confusion! The best way to
do that is to spend lots of time in the
area with your pet, so your dog will
feel like he does live there and will
want to keep it clean. This can be
accomplished by practicing obedience in
the area, brushing and playing with your
dog in the area, and even feeding your
pet there for awhile so it seems even
more like a food area where he shouldn’t
go to the bathroom.
Of course, be sure to clean the spot
thoroughly with an odor neutralizer so
your dog is not attracted to the spot
due to old smells.
By implementing the simple steps of
making your dog feel like he lives in
all areas of your home, supervising him,
practicing obedience and praising
outdoor eliminating, you can prevent or
alleviate this problem so you’ll be able
to trust and enjoy your pet much more.
For more details about this and other
house training problems, buy the book,
"Everything You Need to Know About House
Training Puppies & Adult Dogs", by Lori
Verni (the author of this article!).
Article written by Lori Verni
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