If you want to stop your puppies soiling in the House you need to consider that the reason your puppy maybe making a mess due to anxiety problems – in particular separation anxiety…

Make sure that your dog has been exercised before you leave the House.
It is unfair for you to expect your dog to hold his bladder all day so if necessary employ a dog baby sitter to let him out – they can be a little expensive though – so if you can get back home during the day to let them out even that is even better.

This is important

Try not to show any signs that you are leaving the House – put your coat on in a different room – don’t get dressed into your business suit or apply any make up in front of your dog as it will only get your dog anxious.
If you do show signs of going out – these may be the pre-conditioning signals that are causing your dog so much distress.
Get your dog nice and settled before you go out – tell him to “go to bed” and give him a treat so that he knows he is being good – You can also leave the radio on if you think this will help – make it soft music – not heavy metal!
It may help to find something that he can smell you on – like one of your sweat shirts or something – leave it with him on his bed.

Don’t make a big deal of it!

If you feel guilty that you are going out – don’t make a big deal of it.
Don’t give him the sad eyes or a sad voice just say ‘bye’ and go on your way.

If you follow these steps it should help to recognize and separation anxiety and any subsequent house training problems.

Puppy House training – Introducing the Leash

In the initial stages of House training it’s important to use a leash and collar as part of the puppy house training process when taking your puppy/dog outside to eliminate.

Step 1

– Attach yourself to your puppy so that he can’t run off. If you start by letting your puppy run around the garden chasing birds and flys and rolling in mess you are setting yourself up to fail. – Remember that a puppy finds it hard to stay focused so make sure that the area is quiet and fenced off. – If your dog isn’t attached to you, you are offering him the chance to become wayward and distracted – so make sure he is on a leash

Step 2

The benefits of toilet training on a leash.

– If your puppy/dog has been trained firstly on a leash he won’t get stressed out going to the toilet in front of you – believe it or not but it is quite common for a puppy/dog to get stressed out when you are right behind them when they eliminate

Step 3

– Use a leash that is about 4-6 ft long – but make sure the snap (if its metal) isn’t too heavy. – Don’t use retractable leashes in the initial stages of the training process as they can teach your dog to pull – which is a bad thing. By using a fixed length lead you’re puppy/dog is learning that there needs to be some slack on the leash – this teaches them not to pull. Only use a retractable leash when he has learned the basic toileting techniques and is not pulling on his fixed length leash.

What collar should you use.

– Use a plain collar with a flat buckle or a quick-snap collar. I personally don’t use choke chains or prong collars as they really aren’t necessary and if you are doing the training properly you shouldn’t need one. Just use a regular flat collar.