Protect Your Pets and Your Home With Dog Gates
Dog Gates Can Be Used Effectively As House Training Aids
Allowing your dog to roam freely around the house does wonders for his emotional wellbeing but unless you have dog gates installed, this could also be detrimental to your carpets and furniture.
Any experienced pet owner will be able to tell you what an inconvenience it is to have to remove pet odors and stains from carpets and rugs. To avoid having to go through this hassle, it is recommended that you enclose sensitive areas of your house with dog gate to prevent your pet from wreaking havoc in the room.
You can usually buy good dog gates at reasonable prices from a regular pet supply shop or online store. If you have old baby gates that you had used when your kids were younger, you can also use those as an alternative.
The only problem with dog gates is that they can sometimes prolong the puppy house training process. Just because they are occasionally confined to a place where it’s relatively okay to have potty accidents, some dogs get the idea that it’s perfectly fine to do it indoors all the time.
To avoid this problem, you should only keep your dog inside the enclosed area after he has already emptied his bladder outside the house. Even if he seems content inside the gated area, you should still take him out to go potty from time to time in order to avoid accidents.
Dog Gates as House Training Aids
When used improperly, dog gates can be hindrances to house training. But if you use them the right way, they can actually help speed up the housetraining process.
Very young pups don’t know the difference between indoors and outdoors and so will readily go potty anywhere that is not in close proximity to their sleeping area. During this stage, gates will protect the areas of your house that are carpeted and are difficult to clean.
Dog gates will also help puppies understand the concept of house training much faster. They will soon figure out that the enclosed areas are not meant for peeing or pooping, and that these activities must only be done outside the house and only in the appropriate spots.
As the puppy gets older, you can gradually remove the dog gates inside your house one by one, starting with the area that will be least damaged in case an accident still occurs. If you have trained your dog well, he will still go outside to do his business even after all the gates have been removed and he has finally been granted access to all rooms in the house.
Re-Housetraining Your Adult Dog
Do you have an adult dog you need to re-housetrain? If you do, this is one dog problem that can be overcome, but there are a few things to do that are crucial to success. You can do it, but supervision is important. So what do you need to do?
Beginning Your Re-Housetraining For Your Mature Dog
At the first sign that your adult dog is going to eliminate, by excessive sniffing of a particular area, you should immediately take it outside. The reason is obvious. How can you praise a dog for doing something right if you are not there to see it? The owner should go outside with his/her dog. Supervision is crucial at this time!
Good Dog Behavior Deserves Praise
Somebody must place it in the proper place for elimination, so that the action can be followed by praise. Somebody must be there to give praise when the dog exhibits good dog behavior. Dogs learn by associating their actions with pleasing or displeasing results. It is not enough that somebody is there to chastise and verbally admonish the dog for doing wrong; someone must be there to praise the dog for doing the right thing.
The praise will be relatively meaningless unless it comes from the leader of the pack. This is you, its owner. If you fail to live up to your responsibilities, then you cannot justifiably blame your mature dog for failing his housetraining. Someone must show it the way. In the dog’s mind, it only counts when the teacher is the person that it loves and in whom it has confidence.
When you take your dog outside and fifteen minutes have elapsed without him eliminating, bring him back inside the house, but the supervision should not stop. In fact, it should be consistent. When the dog drops his nose to the floor and starts sniffing again, the owner should once again take him outside.
When your dog eliminates outside, you should be right there when it happens and praise it, then bring it back inside the house immediately. It is the same method that should be used when dealing with a puppy. Praise and correction are the keys to successfully communicate with your dog.
It takes four days for the average dog to learn something new. For the mature dog or puppy that has forgotten something, it takes four days for that dog to relearn the good behavior. Supervision is crucial to your success. The dog must be kept under constant watch while indoors so that positive corrective action can be taken.
Dog Housetraining Methods Is The Same For All Dogs
The methods are identical for the dog that has never been housetrained. When a person adopts a mature dog from a pound, the dog is brought home and inside the house where he immediately eliminates on the floor. Training is essential. It is much easier to train a mature dog than it is a puppy. Any dog, whether a year or twelve years old, can be trained to eliminate outdoors, if the four days rule is followed through. The four days required for learning to take place in your dog’s mind, should provide you with all the necessary patience.
Regardless of your dog’s age, praise is the communicating factor. Too many people feel that chastisement is the key. This is not true! Praise is the main ingredient, but in order to praise the dog for doing the right action, one must be nearby so that you can administer the praise.
There are five basic principles that a knowledgeable dog trainer always follows: Patience, knowledge, repetition, praise and correction. By following these principals, you will have your housetrained dog back in less than seven days.
