'MO - October 2008 - (Page 12)

community Click here to comment on these stories. PET PROJECT Doggie Doos And Don’ts By Julie Forbes Housetraining is a labor-intensive, thought-consuming task that can sometimes make, or break, a dog’s successful transition into his new home. With consistency, education and quite a bit of patience from you, your pup should be holding his bladder and his bowel in just a few months. The ﬁrst step in housetraining, and the most crucial, actually starts before your dog even comes to your house. When selecting your pup, make sure the space he has been living in is set up with a clear “potty area”. Young puppies in healthy environments learn that they don’t want to soil where they eat, sleep and play. Good breeders will have papers or shavings on one end of the pen and the bedding and bowls on the other. It is important to have a place you can put your pup, where you know he will not go potty. Crates work well for this because it is a small space with bedding and toys. Your puppy should already know not to mess where he sleeps, so he will instinctively “hold it” while in the crate. From the crate, carry him directly outside where he will immediately eliminate. Try to always be one step ahead! A good rule of thumb is: anytime anything changes, take your puppy out! He’s just woken up? Take him out! He’s just eaten? Take him out! He’s just stopped playing? Take him out! Try to get him in the habit of going to the bathroom outside and prevent accidents as much as possible. If your pup does have an accident inside, you must catch him in the act to negate the behavior. Tell him calmly and ﬁrmly, “No!” Scoop him up and run him outside to ﬁnish. Whenever he goes outside, tell him “good potty!” or whatever word you want to use. Avoid saying “good boy”. It is too vague. Be speciﬁc with your praise so your dog is clear what behavior is earning the attention. If you ﬁnd an accident on the ﬂoor after your dog has gone, even just 10 seconds, it is too late to correct the behavior. Do not bring your dog back to it, rub his nose in it or point at the mess and scold him. Dogs don’t think like that. If you are going to address a behavior, with praise or correction, it must be in the moment the behavior is happening. I don’t even recommend letting your dog see you clean it up. You don’t want him attaching any of your energy to the accident-found-toolate so he doesn’t learn that it is a way to get your attention. There are many reasons why you should not buy a puppy from a pet store—no matter how cute! Dogs from puppy mills are often very hard to housetrain because they have lived in a ﬁlthy environment since birth. This means your pet store pup will have no qualms about pooping and peeing in his crate, which makes housetraining much harder. Keep a potty log so you can track accidents. Where? When? What was happening? This way you can see a pattern or predictability to the mistakes and ﬁll in where YOU are messing up. Housetraining is generally just a matter of education. Be consistent, clear, set yourself and your dog up for success by managing him when you can’t watch him and you’ll be “golden”. Julie is a graduate of the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Animal Science. Find her on the Web at www.SensitiveDog.com. Seattle Oct 17-2 1 Join other gay, bi, queer and trans men from around the country as we learn about our health, social issues, and community! To find out more or to register, visit www.gmhs2008.org 12 celebrating seattle’s gay community http://www.SensitiveDog.com http://www.gmhs2008.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 'MO - October 2008

'MO- October 2008 Contents Letter From The Editor Voices ’mo-BIZ: MGS Consulting Services GLAAD To Be Aboard Pet Project Instant Activist Sports: Jet City Hoops Tips Off Pro-Equality Candidates Philadelphia Is All About The Love Parenthood Form & Function: Strip It Off For The Holidays Gay City Health Project: Gay Men’s Health Summit The 13th Annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival Capitol Hill Guide SceneOut: People@Places Q&A With Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark ’mo-Single Q&A

'MO - October 2008

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