Crate Expectations

So your puppy is doing great. Your pooch is crate trained and is not  having accidents in the house. Now the question is when is it okay to leave your puppy out of the crate when you leave the house or go to sleep? Whether it’s housebreaking, chewing or getting into things, you have to resolve the issue before your dog can roam around your house unsupervised. 

A good rule of thumb is for your pooch to go eight months incident free before letting your dog out of their crate unsupervised.  This means your dog should go an entire eight months without the specific issue. For a dog with housebreaking issues, this means eight months without having an accident in the house. For dogs with a chewing issue, your dog needs to go that period of time without attempting to chew on anything they shouldn’t while under your supervision. Same goes for getting into things; if this is the issue you have with your dog, they need to go that long without attempting to get into things while you are watching them.

The key to successfully having your dog crate-free in your house while you are away is making sure you start with small increments of time. This would entail leaving your dog home alone for no longer than an hour at first, and gradually building up to longer periods of time. Once they grow used to the hour alone, slowly extend the amount of time they are left out of the crate by themselves. At the beginning, your dog should still be confined, even though they are not being crated. This could mean letting them out of the crate, but leaving them in a gated space, such as the kitchen. It’s important to not let your dog have free roam of your entire house right away. Once your pooch has worked their way up to long periods of time in a confined area, you can then begin to give them free reign in other areas of the house. Again, with this transition, you want to start off with small periods of time and work your way back up to longer times. 

When it comes to letting your dog sleep out of the crate, the same eight months free of an accident rule still applies. Remember that you are sleeping, which would allow your dog plenty of time to explore unsupervised. 

While the biggest step in this process requires your dog to behave, you can also help by setting them up for success in their new, more spacious environment. Make sure there are not things around for your dog to easily access. If you had housebreaking issues, make sure your pet goes out before you leave or before you go to bed. If you have a dog that chews, make sure that you have Kongs and chew toys for them to keep their mouths occupied. Always pet-proof your house before you leave by putting away things that could cause problems for your pet, such as garbage and household chemicals. 

Leaving your dog alone is a process, and if your dog has an accident during this process, it’s best to go back to square one. This means if your dog has an accident, you need to return them to the crate the next time you leave, and again at night, until they go another eight months without an accident. Though this can be a long process, it will be worth it so you feel comfortable enough to leave your dog home alone and when you go to bed at night without worrying that they will have an accident. 

We know that life is busy and you may not have the time to go through this process. Morris K9 Campus offers customized puppy housebreaking and training to work around your schedule and help make this training process a little easier.

How Do I House-Train My Newly Adopted Dog?

Unfortunately dogs typically don’t come from shelters or breeders house-trained, and it is important to immediately begin working on the behavior once you get your new dog home. It is also unreasonable to think that a dog coming from rescue, that is stated as house-trained, will immediately come into your home knowing what to do. The sooner you can put your pooch on a potty schedule the higher the success rate will be.

A dog that is not house-trained is the number one reason why dogs are returned or end up in shelters. However, house-training is something with a little structure can usually be solved; it is up to the owner to implement the right tools. When potty training your dog, it is important to keep long term goals in mind, whether your goal is to train your dog to make it a few hours or longer period of time while at work. Once you have a specific goal in mind, you can then put a plan in place to obtain it.

Creating and following a schedule will help them be successful. Dogs tend to do things routinely so a schedule is essential. This means feeding your dog at the same time every day, as well as potty them at the same time every day. When you begin potty training it’s important to notice trends, so for example if your dog eats at the same time every day, chances are they will use the bathroom at the same time as well. It’s important to also realize that puppies will not be able to hold it as long as adult dogs, and no adult dog should be expected to hold it longer than six hours.

Remember that the crate is your friend; a crate can be a great tool that can help facilitate potty training. It gives the dog the capacity to physically and reasonably build their ability to “hold” their urges. However, dog doors are not your friend; they are not the solution to your house-training problem, they might be the reason for it. Dog doors give no structure to your dog’s potty plan and it can be an unsafe situation when a dog is outside unsupervised.

Your dog counts on you to set them up for success. Be realistic about your expectations and understand that adjusting to a new home, new routine, and new lifestyle takes time. Plus, Morris K9 Campus is always here to help!

HOW TO CLEAN PET PEE FROM YOUR CARPET

Photo Courtesy of CB 27

Accidents happen. No matter how well potty trained your dog is, at some point or another your canine is going to relieve themselves somewhere in the house. Since one of the most frustrating things about owning a dog is the inevitable potty mess, we’ve scoured the web for some of the best advice for cleaning up pet stains on carpets.

Sop it Up!

It is very difficult to clean up a urine stain after several hours. You probably already know this from experience and it’s not fun. The sooner you can get to the mess the better, but most times that is just not possible. As soon as you spot the accident, gather paper towels and newspaper and soak up as much of the urine as you can. Make sure you lift up the rug and get to the carpet pad underneath or your dog will still smell the accident and be much more inclined to soil the same area again. Some sources suggest using saran-wrap or plastic over the newspaper as well. Step on the newspaper covered area with all your weight to make sure it is all soaked up. Repeat this until the carpet is only slightly damp.

Photo Courtesy of jessgrr

Rinse and Clean

Next, you want to wash the area with warm water and use an enzymatic cleaning product specifically for pet stains like Nature’s Miracle®. Enzymatic cleaners work by breaking down the molecules of the urine in your carpet fibers. An added bonus is they are non-toxic and safe to use. Let the cleaning solution sit for as long as the instructions specify and use enough solution to penetrate to the carpet pad underneath. Make sure the area is marked off so that no one in your household walks on the solution, especially your dog! Use a baby-gate or close the door to the room and let the enzyme cleaner do its magic.

Smell Nice!

To remove the smell, use a high-quality odor neutralizer. Pet Place recommends making your own by using a natural concoction of 10 to 12 drops of lavender oil with a cup of bicarbonate soda. After sprinkling the odor neutralizer of your choice on the area, let it sit for about an hour and then vacuum.

For Stains that Refuse to Go Away

If you have followed these steps and the stain remains, consider these more drastic solutions.

-Rent an extractor or a wet-vac which you can get from a hardware store. A wet-vac works like a vacuum and pushes out the dirty liquid with clean water. NOTE: Do not mistake a wet-vac for a steamer. The HumaneSociety’s page on removing pet stains makes sure to point out that steamers will only set the stain!

-To further mask the smell, clean it with a solution of one cup of vinegar or one cup of hydrogen peroxide to a gallon of water. To make sure it won’t bleach your rug, test on a hidden portion of it or a corner.

-Replace your carpet pad.

Share with us what has or has not worked for you!