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House Breaking or House Training? Let’s Call it Potty Area Conditioning

Potty pupContrary to popular beliefs, the process of house training is largely governed by a naturally occurring, classical conditioning process. I propose we assign a more accurate, 21st century, label for house training. Let’s name it “potty area conditioning”!

All of your actions will alter the natural process of “potty area conditioning”.

You may hasten the process, delay the process, or unknowingly teach (condition) your dog to eliminate inside.

TWO SIMPLE RULES:

Provide access to desirable area.

Prevent potty accidents inside.

If one always provides their dog the opportunity to eliminate in desired locations and never ever gives the pup access to eliminate in undesirable locations, potty area conditioning will occur without any other input from people.

The dog will associate the desirable areas with the internal relief gained by elimination. The dog will naturally seek out the desired location

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The type of flooring or ground cover is an important dynamic for potty-area- conditioning.

Many people report their dogs often choose to eliminate on a specific types of ground coverings.  This is because a “conditioned” dog automatically seeks out the same type of area that he used most often in the past.

For example, if your pup is always led to a gravel parking lot, he will seek out gravel-like surfaces whenever he feels the pressures associated with the need to eliminate. If he is always led to grassy areas, he will develop a natural preference for grassy areas.

An unsupervised dog that eliminates inside your house will naturally form associations with that type of flooring. In addition, the dog will be attracted to use the same area because of the odors of the soiled areas. The dog will return there to eliminate next time he or she has a need to potty. Yikes!

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Happy Training!

Alan J Turner

21st Century Dogs

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Changing Bad Crate Habits – Puppy Barking, Urinating in Crate

Mini DauschundBarking in the Crate

When accompanied by eliminating in the crate, drooling, or self-injury, barking in the crate can be a sign of separation anxiety.

Dogs with separation anxiety have been compared to people that have anxiety attacks.

Separation anxiety is an emotional condition fraught with panic and fear.

Crating a dog with true separation anxiety is never a good idea.

Even if your dog exhibits only two of these symptoms, he could be truly distressed. If this describes your dog or you are not sure if your dog has true separation anxiety, ask your vet for the name of a canine behavior counselor.

Barking and whining can be normal signs of protest or a true alarm. I’ve met pups who bark to tell their people there’s been (or about to be) an accident.

In some respects, a crated puppy can be compared to a baby, alone in a crib. If your pup is not wet, hungry, thirsty, or ill, let him cry.

Slowly introducing your pup by pairing the crate with meals and special treats usually removes most objections to being crated.

Even after you have properly introduced your dog to the concept of the crate, your pup may bark for short periods.

This is normal. Ignore the barking; don’t make eye contact; say nothing.

For if you do, your dog will think he is on the path to freedom and will continue barking.

It’s important to stick to your plan when teaching pups about crying in the crate.

If, after 30 minutes, you give in and release your crying puppy, he or she will learn that crying for 30 minutes is a good strategy for freedom.

Wait until your pup is quiet and relaxed before you praise and/or release him. This will teach him that being quiet and relaxed has good dividends!

If your pup barks for long periods of time, it is always possible that you are not meeting your pup’s exercise requirements, crate-time is too long, or he is genuinely anxious. Review your exercise regime and review your introduction sequences.

Most normal, well-exercised dogs and pups that are gradually introduced will discontinue their barking strategy after a few episodes of being crated.

If this does not describe your pup or dog, start the introduction routine from the beginning or consult with a professional.

Eliminating in the Crate

When accompanied by drooling, self-injury, and barking, eliminating in the crate can be a sign of separation anxiety.

Other common causes are urinary tract infections, medical conditions, and medications.

If your pup or dog eliminates in the crate, first rule out medical and behavioral issues that might contribute to inside elimination.  Visit your vet first!

Most people limit crate time to include only the periods when they are gone, asleep, or unable to supervise their dog. If these periods are too long for the individual dog, then it’s best to arrange for someone to exercise the pup.

An alternate plan is to set up the crate or confinement area with a bathroom as discussed previously.

Sometimes a puppy or dog has already formed poor elimination habits. These guys eliminate inside their crates and are not offended by the presence of their own waste. Here’s how I address these situations.

Purchase a different style of crate.

Here are two different styles of crates you can buy at Amazon with free shipping.

Get an exercise pen. Move the crate to another location and place it inside the exercise pen. Cover the floor of the entire area with newspaper or house training pads.

Here’s a great, black epoxi exercise pen,
for sale at at Amazon. Select the Super Saver Free Shipping!

Here’s a suggestion I read in one of Ian Dunbar’s books.

Place plastic on the entire floor of the confinement area and cover the plastic with grass sod.

Buy extra sod so that you can rotate the soiled sod outside for cleaning and replace it with clean piece of sod from the outside.

Place a crate inside the confinement area with the door removed. Follow the same instructions as newspaper training and slowly remove the grass sod from the area.

For even tougher cases, set up the confinement area with sod and discard the crate.

Happy Training!

Alan J Turner – Companion Animal Behavior Counselor and Trainer, Canine Specialization

How’s Bentley – Memphis, Collierville, Germantown TN

21st Century Canine Relationship Solutions

Group Dog Obedience Classes

Private Dog Training in Memphis TN

Reactive Dog Specialist

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Submissive & Excitement Urination – Solutions

Corgi

Sometimes dogs seem to leak urine. I’ve noticed that it occurs more often during initial greetings. This can be caused by youth, a developmental problem, a medical condition, a behavioral issue or a combination of factors. It’s always possible that sudden urination is the result of both behavioral and non-behavioral causes.

Contributors such as underdeveloped organs, medications that facilitate poor bladder control, diseases, or failures of organs are examples of non-behavioral causes.

Before you can address involuntary urination from a behavioral point of view, it’s essential to ask your veterinarian to perform a thorough medical check-up to rule out non-behavioral reasons for the urination.

Once you’ve ruled out all non-behavioral causes, determine if the urination is submissive urination, or excitement urination, or both.

Observe your dog’s body language. Carefully notice ear, head, tail position, and overall body language at the instant of urination.

Common submissive behaviors include lowered ears, lowered head and body, and a tucked tail.

If the dog is not walking or running, (the instant urination begins), the urination is most likely to be submissive in nature. If the dog is standing,  sitting or lying, the urination is submissive. If the dog is in the process of sitting or lying, or rolling over, it’s submissive urination.

Take note of your interactions with the dog. If the dog urinates when you bend over or reach towards him or her, it’s submissive urination.

If the dog urinates when you interact via speech, touch or eye contact, it’s more likely to be submissive urination.

If the dog is not sitting or lying, and is not in the process of sitting or lying, AND you are not interacting with the dog, it is more likely to be excitement urination. If he or she eliminates while running to greet you, it is more likely to be excitement urination. If the dog urinates while zooming around the room, it’s excitement urination.

I’ve only met a few dogs that exhibited excitement urination. Most often, submissive urination is the diagnosis. In rare cases, it is a combination of both submissive and excitement urination.


Excitement Urination Solutions

Be sure to have your vet rule out medical causes if you have an older dog that exhibits excitement urination.

To reduce excitement urination, tone down your enthusiasm. Avoid games that involve excessive amounts of glee which encourage your dog to race around the room. More often than not, a pup with excitement urination will grow out of the behavior after he’s been with you a while. Some older dogs may always release urine

when encouraged to dash around the house.

Submissive Urination Solutions

Shy dogs are prone to exhibit submissive urination. Confident dogs are less likely to react with submission when people interact with them. Submissive urination is not a voluntary behavior; it is triggered by “scary” stimuli and is more of a fear response. After the family learns a bit about the causes and changes their behaviors, and the dog matures and gains confidence, it usually subsides. Here are some short term and long term suggestions.


Short Term Solutions

Make your approaches less intimidating. During initial greetings, turn sideways. Avoid bending over to greet the dog. Don’t reach to pat the dog, especially on top of the head. Don’t initially speak to the dog, and don’t make eye contact.

After a few minutes, greet the dog in a calm, non-threatening manner. Touching a dog on the chest or belly so that your arm or hand does not loom over the dog’s head or body is usually perceived as less threatening. Patting a dog’s hips, back or sides, and scratching behind the ears, are less threatening when you are beside and slightly behind the dog as opposed to positioning yourself directly in front.

Never fuss at a dog or console the dog for submissive urination. Act as if it did not happen.

If you expect guests, take your pup outside on a leash for the initial greeting. This won’t solve the problem, but it will make cleanup unnecessary!

If your dog jumps up on guests and then releases urine when the guests reach to pet him or her, your goal is to teach your dog how to greet politely.

If the dog eliminates when released from a crate, place the crate near an outside exit into a fenced area. Before you open the crate, open the outside door. Then open the crate door, and without saying anything, step outside and call the dog or toss a toy outside. If your dog is small and is confined in an airline carrier, pick up the carrier and take it outside before you open the carrier door and walk away.

Teach the dog to perform an alternate, confident behavior that will focus attention on something other than the approach of people. Ask for this alternate behavior when you or others approach. Fetch, chase the ball, or “parade with toy in mouth” are good choices for alternate behaviors.

During this treatment period, always greet the dog with a couple of toys in hand. Place them outside the door in the garage or utility room. During the greeting (before the dog reaches you), toss a ball for him or her to chase/retrieve. This will physically orient the dog away from you and focus his or her attention on a task that is incompatible with submissive greetings.

Instead of using toys, you could toss a few tasty food treats on the floor. Toss them in an area behind or to the side of the dog. This focuses the dog’s attention away from you. Walk back out the door while the dog is eating the treats. Repeat this sequence two times whenever you arrive home. After your second entrance, toss the treats and walk into another room and be seated. Wait for the dog to approach you. You may speak softly to the dog, but do not reach out to touch the dog. Wait a couple of minutes before you start interacting.

After a few of these sessions, your dog will begin to associate your arrival with food treats. The involuntary submissive responses to the stimulus of approaching humans will be replaced with the involuntary response of salivation. Your approach will trigger a “Oh goodie, here come the treats!” response.

Long Term Solutions

Your methods of interacting throughout the day shape the relationship with your puppy. Following these guidelines will usually reduce submissive urination due to behavioral causes.

  • Do not scold your pup or use body language which triggers submissive urination.
  • Never scold any dog for any house training mistakes, much less for submissive urination.
  • Do not coddle or tell your submissive dog, “it’s ok”. Just ignore the behavior and try to engage the dog in a confident task.
  • Never reach down and touch any dog that is jumping up to greet you.
  • Careful socialization in safe environments during the critical period of socialization (3-12 weeks) may lower the risk of submissive urination.
  • Meet the dog’s physical, social and emotional needs.
  • Treating other fearful behaviors may reduce the instances of submissive urination.
  • Soften your voice when giving commands.
  • If your primary choice for teaching involves leash jerks, shouting ‘no”, corrections with a training collar, et cetera, discontinue these corrections-based teaching methods.
  • Start a training program based on consistency, a clear communication system and a reward system. In addition to basic obedience commands, teach your dog some tricks / skills / commands that will engage him or her to perform confident actions. I already mentioned fetch, chase the ball and parade with toy; spin and find the “xyz” are other examples of confident behaviors.
  • Touch or target training can increase a dogs’ confidence. Teach your dog to touch your two-finger target for a treat. After confidence builds, introduce “shake” or “high five”.
  • Enrich your dog’s environment.  Scatter feed. Toss kibble on the patio or on the kitchen floor. Encourage your dog to hunt for each piece.
  • Each person in the household should teach and exercise the dog.
  • Review the quality of your dog’s diet.
  • Begin a massage program.

If your dog continues to leak urine, ask your veterinarian for the name of a trainer or visit http://apdt.com and search for a trainer in your area.

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The Great Curtain Battle of 1999

Australian Terrier Puppy, BentleyI’ll be perfectly honest. I made all the same mistakes as anyone who every owned and raised a pup. I’ll never forget one of the many incidents when my newly adopted, turbo terrier, 10-week old pup, Bentley, was unsupervised for only a moment. In less than 10 seconds, he breeched a baby gate and enthusiastically bolted into the off-limits, living room.

He immediately attacked the most valuable ornament in the room, the curtains – the very curtains that my wife had so artfully created over a period of months, the very curtains that were so carefully displayed with cascades of expensive silk, the very delicate curtains that flowed from the ceiling and onto the floor into a calm pool of rich texture and colors.

I looked into the room. Bentley was engaged in battle, an incident that would eventually reach epic status and be referred to as The Great Curtain Battle of 1999.

Bentley had the ranks of the curtains pinned to the floor with his massive five-pound body. His head was raised and he was aggressively tugging the draperies in an all out effort to dismantle the entire arrangement! I could envision the rod swaying with each tug. Giving in to my excitement, the word NO loudly exited my lips.

Bentley stopped for about one second, looked my way, and re-engaged the enemy with increased vigor. Oh no, I thought, he accepted my input, not as a signal to disengage but as a challenge to escalate the fight! I moved closer, repeated my futile attempt with a very loud, low-toned NO. Again Bentley modified his attack. He added a curtain-intimidating, terrifying war growl to his assault!

I was standing over Bentley when I delivered my final protest, a very distinct, sub-woofer version of NO (bigger hammer?). At last, he ceased the assault. Bentley stopped tugging. Bentley lowered his previously-high-tilted tail. . . . .

Bentley lowered his previously-high-tilted head. . . . . .

Bentley lowered his previously-forward-tilted pricked ears. . . . . .

In one smooth, sad, motion, he lowered his whole body and urinated on the curtains under his feet.

Post-Battle Discussion

Ignorance is never shy. Ignorance often demands center-plate billing, garnished and displayed like filets of rainbow trout, with colorful spices on beds of multi-textured, wild rice. The Great Curtain Battle of 1999 represents one of the many instances when my delicious lack of knowledge about animal behavior and learning was presented, highlighted, glorified, and consumed by an animal that did not subscribe to popular, inaccurate, non-scientific, communication techniques.

It was that precise moment when I realized this little guy was sure to place all my ignorance about animal behavior and learning on naked display. This guy was different. Although NO seemed like an effective strategy with my previous dogs, it had failed miserably with Bentley. The urine-soaked silk and the fear that was displayed by his tiny trembling body transmitted my failures quite clearly.

It was obvious that my failure to manage the environment, my lack of preparedness, and my failure to communicate, had taken a toll on my relationship with this young, exuberant pup. . .   . To this day, I am still sorry that I momentarily transformed an exuberant, playful, young, happy, curious, adventurous, pup (a pup with too much freedom and not enough structure) into a fearful, distrusting, unhappy, and confused, urinating pup. . . . . . . (OK, ok,. . . . .  enough with the drama. . .  don’t feel badly for Bentley. . . . . . . . as always, Bentley recovered quite quickly!)

Let’s take a look at exactly what Bentley learned, didn’t learn, and what he might have learned if I handled the incident differently.

Remember, every behavior that is reinforced will be repeated. All the maneuvers of the battle (before the last few seconds when I unkindly crushed Bentley’s enthusiasm) were reinforced, because the immediate consequences of each step were appealing to Bentley. Each step he performed served to achieve his immediate goal. Yes, Bentley learned some valuable lessons, but unfortunately none of them were on my list of concepts and behaviors I wanted to teach.

Bentley learned:

  • it is a great strategy to be persistent when breaking through barriers
  • exciting new items and fun games are on the other sides of barriers
  • charging and battling the curtain were exciting and fun behaviors
  • his assumptions that I would partner with him in battle were incorrect
  • the curtain was a fierce and formidable opponent
  • my approach might be followed by a scary attack

Curtain battles raged for the next few months – apparently no form of punishment was an effective repellant for ‘must-topple-or-pee-on-curtain’ behaviors – and apparently my preventative tactics were flawed

  • the curtain became a permanent magnet for inside elimination because we couldn’t properly clean the silk fabric embedded with numerous dangling chords and beads
  • the curtain was finally retired after numerous battles and soiling had displaced its beauty

Bentley did not learn:

  • about respecting baby gates (quite the opposite!)
  • about ‘staying out’ of the living room (quite the opposite!)
  • about ‘not-battling’ the curtain (most definitely the opposite!)
  • that NO was a signal for him to stop

Was it a Timing Issue?

Maybe the timing of the NO was my major failure?

If I had delivered a protest during his first attempt to break through the baby gate, perhaps he would have learned that breeching barriers in my presence was an unsafe strategy? Hmmm…. not really on my list of target concepts or behaviors I’d like to teach. Can’t baby gates be used as barriers when people are absent? I wanted him to respect barriers in my absence, not only when I was present.

If I had delivered a protest the instant he was bolting into the living room, perhaps Bentley would have learned that bolting into living room was a dangerous strategy? Hmmm . . .  again, not really on my list of target concepts and behaviors I’d like to teach. I don’t want him to be afraid of traveling into the living room.

If I had delivered a protest the instant he grabbed the curtain, perhaps he would have learned that battling the curtain might cause me to attack him? That’s assuming he would have associated the NO with his behavior of grabbing the curtain, an unlikely assumption at best. He would be more likely to associate my approach and my presence with the NO. After all, my approach would be the most obvious event that immediately preceded the NO! Hmmm…. Not quite the relationship I intend to establish. I don’t want my dog to be afraid of my approach!

NO not effective?

It appears that NO was not an effective strategy, but a miserable failure for teaching Bentley anything useful during the Great Curtain Battle. So, what should I have done and how can I use NO effectively in the future?

I should have:

  • Managed the environment by preventing the battle altogether
  • Taken advantage of the initial Interrupt, the one-second pause after the first NO, to Redirect Bentley to perform another, more desirable, replacement behavior and then delivered Praise for complying with my Redirect.

NO can be an effective Interrupter or ‘First Step’ for teaching polite behaviors. Interrupt RedirectPraise is the most efficient context for NO.

The Truths of NO:

  • NO can be an effective interrupter in some situations.

  • More confident pups might translate our lower voice tones or louder volume of voice when we deliver NO as a playful challenge. It’s nothing more than a welcome invitation for confident pups to escalate their activities!

  • Less confident or shy pups become frightened when we bark out stern NOs. They might freeze, flee or urinate in fear. Personally I would never knowingly trade my enthusiastic, happy, curious, mischievous turbo terrier for a fearful, frozen, fleeing, or urinating pup!

  • Compliance with NO is dependent upon the pups’ personalities and the situations at hand. It depends on the volume and the tone of the word NO. It depends on the levels of cooperation we have previously developed with the pups.

  • Compliance with NO also depends on how motivated the pups are to complete their current undesirable activities. For example, NO might work well when your pup is snooping in your closet, a closet that he has investigated many times before. The same pup may ignore the NO if he just breeched a baby gate and is exploring a forbidden room. Those craft projects spread out on the floor are so stimulating and desirable that he doesn’t even seem to hear the word NO!

  • NO is an Interrupter. Used alone, NO is an incomplete sentence. NO is only one third of a valuable teaching sequence, InterruptRedirectPraise.

  • After delivering NO, we should immediately take advantage of the NO Interrupt and complete our sentence. The best teachers enthusiastically engage and Redirect their pups and dogs to perform an alternate, acceptable behavior.

  • The instant our animals start to comply with our Redirect request, we should deliver Praise, some sort of reward, thus increasing the replacement behavior via positive reinforcement.

  • To use this sequence, we should identify, teach and practice the Redirect behavior in many situations before we use it in real-time. We should take our dogs through each grade of performance! For instance, we should practice sit in mildly distracting situations before we practice sit when guests come into our homes or when kids are running.

Manage the Environment

On the day of the Great Curtain Battle of 1999, Bentley the 10 week-old puppy had lived with me for about six days. By day two, I realized this turbo puppy was likely to ‘explore-himself’ into trouble anytime he was unsupervised for a few seconds. Recognizing that it was only a matter of time before he conquered the gate, I should have attached a tether, a sort of umbilical cord. To use this prevention tool, get an 8-10 foot line and attach one end to your pup and the other end to your belt. A tether is a management tool, not a teaching tool.

Management Tools

Management tools are short-term, preventative measures. Think of them like diapers on a baby. We all know that babies will eliminate anytime, anywhere. We all know that it’s impossible to teach a 3-month old baby about potty training. We all know that the day will come when it is time to teach the child potty skills. So, until the time is right for teaching, we use a temporary management tool. We use diapers.

The same applies to our pups. It’s impossible to teach them everything they need to know in one or two days, or one or two months! We all know that pups and dogs will get into the trash, jump up on counters, urinate in homes, steal our clothes, tug the curtains, chew the furniture, jump up on guests, bolt out doors and gates, run into the streets, dig in the gardens, et cetera.

With all this ‘knowing’ going on, it’s amazing that 90% of most complaints about unruly canine behaviors would be non-existent if the people used short-term, preventative, management tools, like leashes, tethers, secured baby gates, and crates. None of these short-term tools teach our dogs, but, like diapers, they can serve a very useful purpose during periods when teaching cannot take place.

It’s tough to teach pups how to behave nicely when they are happily engaged and practicing unruly behaviors. If you haven’t yet taught your pup how to behave around guests and your dog is soon-to-be exposed to visitors, use the diapers! Attach a leash to prevent your dog from practicing mug-the-guests behaviors!

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Doggie Poop, Pee on Command!

Duchess_IskiswitzWhen it’s cold outside, when traveling, or anytime you are about to leave the house, it’s wonderful when your dog will eliminate or potty on command.

It’s easy to teach your dog two different commands or cues, one for urination and one for defecation.

It helps if you are already familiar with your pup’s potty signature. Observe your pup closely so you’ll recognize when he is about to eliminate and you will recognize if he is going to urinate or defecate.

Choose three words or phrases– one for the act of moving to the bathroom area, another for urination, and a third command  for defecation.

I use “let’s go potty”, “pee“, and ”poop”. Choose phrases or words that suit you and your family.

Label Each Behavior

First, teach your dog the phrase for moving towards the bathroom area.  Before you go out the door with your pup, say “Let’s go potty”. When you are leading your dog to your preferred area, again say, “Let’s go potty”. This works best if you refrain from adding other comments. Just speak the three words, “let’s go potty”.

Many people repeat phrases over and over as they are walking around with their pup. It’s not helpful to repeat your commands over and over, two times is enough.

Watch your pup closely for signs of pre-elimination. When he is committed to the act, tell him what he’s doing.

For example, suppose your pup is sniffing, circling and is about to squat and urinate. Softly say “Piddle”. After he urinates, say “that’s piddle”, and immediately deliver the after-elimination rewards (treat and praise).  Play a quick game of ball or act silly and let your pup chase you.

Repeat the sequence for defecation; just replace “piddle” with your word for defecation.

Label the behaviors for the next day or so.

I’ve found that 4-6 instances of labeling are enough to teach most dog the names of the acts.

Teach your pup that good things happen immediately after he eliminates outside. Praise him; give him a special treat and initiate a game of fetch or chase – immediately after he eliminates. For now, deliver all food treats outside, at the elimination area, right after you praise your pup for eliminating outside.

After potty area conditioning occurs, delivering treats (as well as the timing of the delivery) won’t be important. You can give your dog a treat outside, after he comes inside – or not.

Cue the Behaviors

After a day or so of labeling each of the behaviors, you can transform the labels into commands or cues.

Perform these steps when you know your dog needs to eliminate. The first trip of the day is usually a good time.

Before you open the door, say “Let’s go potty”.  Lead your dog out to the area. Say “Piddle” and wait. Do not repeat the command. After your dog urinates, throw a party! Play a game. Toss your dog a treat. The idea is to teach your dog that fun stuff happens after elimination!

If your dog doesn’t urinate when you give the cue, don’t repeat the command. His hearing is better than yours!  He heard it; he just hasn’t caught on yet. Repeating the cue is not helpful. Just back up in this program and repeat the labeling sequences.

Once your dog learns the labels, he will eliminate on cue.

Most dogs always have a bit of urine in their bladders, so urinating on cue usually happens right away. Teaching your dog the cue for defecation requires a bit more planning. You’ll want to deliver that cue only when it’s time for your dog to have a bowel movement! Refer to your log and only deliver the cue for defecation when your dog is due a bowel movement.

Happy Training!
Alan J Turner – How’s Bentley Memphis