Boxer Dog Housebreaking Tips

chels16
Boxer Dog Housebreaking is not as difficult as you may have been led to believe. With Obie and I, Mom and Dad were patient and consistent, so in a short time...along with Buffy's help, we were both housebroken.

There are three keys we will cover to help you house break your puppy successfully without pulling your hair out or getting frustrated with your puppy.

1. Learn what our natural instincts are.

We naturally do not want to soil the area we eat or sleep in. We like to have a "bathroom" just like people do. Even small puppies will try and move to an area away from their den to do their business. Use this to your advantage, by starting the pup in a small den and gradually increasing the size of the den. You can do this with barriers or baby gates. Keep increasing the size of the den, until your house is the den.

You must clean up any accidents immediately. A mixture of 50/50 White Vinegar and water in a spray bottle will do the job. This breaks up the pheromones that a dog smells. These pheromones trigger another instinct for us to use the area as a "bathroom". DO NOT rub our noses in the accident, as this will not help us to understand and just damages the relationship between us. We do not want to go in our den anymore that you want us to, but we must learn where the bathroom is. Puppies are just like small kids before they are potty trained, except we do not wear diapers.

2. Watch our Behavior

You should always take us outside after we eat or drink, as these are natural times to "go". You should always take us out after a nap or after we have been playing for a while. Every time we go when you take us out, give us plenty of praise. Remember we want to please you and to understand where the bathroom is, so if you praise us when we do it right, we'll remember that. Watch for signs we need to go, we sometimes whimper, sniff or scratch the door when we need to go. Take us out before you put us to bed for the night.

If you have a fenced yard, put in a doggie door. This way we can go whenever we need to. This was a great help to Obie and I as we would watch Buffy go out and would follow her. Also when we understood to go outside, we could go whenever we wanted and not have to wait on Mom or Dad to let us out.

When Mom and Dad were training Obie and I, and we started to have an accident in the house, Mom or Dad would make the Aaannk! sound. This would get our attention and it was only used when we did something we were not supposed to. We learned to stop what we were doing when we heard the sound and we learned that Mom or Dad were not happy with us when they made it. I suggest you start your puppy with a sound similar and only use that sound when your want your puppy to stop what they are doing.

3. Patience, Patience and Reward

We will have accidents, so you must be prepared for it. As mentioned earlier, clean it up immediately so we don't think this is the bathroom. Don't get frustrated, be patient. Until we are house broken, try to limit our den to an area that is easy to clean up. Put plastic or newspapers down as this will make the clean up easier and prevent any staining of carpets or floors.

House breaking a puppy can start at around 7 weeks of age. At that age we are mobile and are capable of learning from you.

Earn our trust by never hitting or hurting us. We will be much more eager to please you if we trust you are not going to hurt us. Praise us when we do right by using pets, smiles, showing joy and treats. Remember we are pack animals, we are part of your pack and want to belong. We can sense when you are pleased with us and when you are not. We want to please so help us by being patient and using rewards.

How long will it take to house break your dog? That depends on the dog and you. Obie and I were house broken within 1 month of Mom and Dad training us. Of course, Buffy helped a lot and so did the doggie door.