How to teach a dog hygiene habits

Teaching the dog hygiene habits is, in theory, very easy. The key is to prevent the “whites“ in the house and give another alternative - outside. The dog by nature easily creates habits and because it learns by association, it will soon know that there is no better place for elimination (defecation and urination) than the outside environment. The trick is to figure out how to prevent the “whites“. For this purpose, we take advantage of a dog's natural instinct – its desire to keep its sleeping place clean. It follows that we must provide him with a “bed“ from which he cannot get out. Add to that a built-in take-out mode and we have the right answer. It is a great idea to have a cage that is the right size for your puppy - line it with a soft mattress and bedding, put toys and a chew toy inside. The dog likes to have its own place and should get used to it early on - from the first night in your home. And now - the most important part - the regime. Let's start with the evening - bedtime for the puppy. Take him outside and give him the opportunity to go out (if possible and you are in a safe place - let him go without a leash). Be sure to praise him when he goes out (“Bravo!“, “Good dog!“), pet him. Immediately take him inside and put him in his cage. First thing in the morning (really FIRST thing) – pick him up and take him out. After keeping its lair clean all night, it should leave quickly. Take him inside and give him freedom, but only in the kitchen. You can use a baby fence to limit his access to other rooms. Let him be free while you prepare breakfast and eat. After your breakfast, give him his breakfast – and take him out immediately. Remember this rule - out after every meal. Take it inside and while you prepare lunch and eat, leave it free in the kitchen for an hour or two. Then - quickly outside. Then back to the cell until 4:00 p.m. Now it's time to give him his dinner. To save yourself a quick take out, feed him in the cage and as soon as he takes the last bite, take him out. After it goes out, put it away and leave it free in the kitchen until you prepare dinner and while you eat. Take him outside again around 8pm – and again just before you go to bed. Follow this 24-hour routine for at least 2 weeks, so that by preventing elimination in the house and repeating the habit of defecating outside, the puppy can make a firm association with the correct place to defecate. Now you can now increase his freedom outside the cage. Do it by first giving him freedom all morning and again only in the kitchen. If he keeps clean, the next day try to leave him free in the afternoon, again only in the kitchen. Only through these “trial“ periods will you know when your puppy can be relied on. You should continue for at least a few more weeks (it depends on the particular puppy) to leave him in the cage during the two most critical periods - at night and when he is alone in the house during the day. When it can safely be left in the kitchen without making whites there, you can also allow it in the other rooms, but under strict supervision. Do not give him any food after 18.00 hours - it takes about 6 hours to be digested and accordingly after that the need to defecate/urinate appears. Any food after 6pm can force him to go to bed after he's been put to sleep. Despite the established routine, your puppy may occasionally have “incidents“ when outside the cage. A correction is needed here. If you catch him in the act, with a loud “NO“ put him out immediately. There is no point in punishing him for mistakes he made an hour ago or even 5 minutes ago. This applies both to defecation at home and to biting your best shoes! During periods of freedom, watch for circling, sudden loss of interest in a game/toy, or heading for the door. These are signs that he needs to urinate or defecate.