House-Training Issues with Small Breeds

Miniature, toy and other small dog breeds are a challenge for their dog owners. There are several reasons for this, including the size of the small or tiny dog makes it hard to discern when the dog is relieving itself and compared to larger dogs, the body position of these dogs changes very little. Additionally, puppies, miniatures and others have small bladders, which make them urinate more frequently. Although the amount of urine is undetectable to the human eye, smaller dogs leave a steady stream of markers house wide, including around rugs and furniture. Smaller dogs use the markers as their signal to relieve themselves. Another challenge with these types of dogs is that they can disappear with ease behind plants, furniture and doors to relieve themselves undetected.

Some tips for house-training a small dog are:

• Train the small dog using a crate. After the small dog eats, put it in a crate then allow it to relieve itself 15 minutes thereafter. Give the dog plenty of praise. Repeat the above if the dog has not yet relieved itself.

• Watch for signals that they need to go outside when not in the crate, including, sniffing, pacing and circling. If the small dog attempts to go behind or under furniture, this is likely a sign.

• Take the small dog to use the bathroom frequently, once or more an hour. Praise the small dog when she goes in the right place.

• Elude playing or interacting with the dog on bathroom breaks, as this could confuse the small dog as to what they should do in the area.

• If you need to monitor the small dog simply fasten a short 3 to 4 foot least to your wrist and keep the small dog with you at all times. Sometimes puppies will need to use the bathroom 15 to 20 minutes after eating, but each dog is dissimilar.

• Keep a book or record of feeding times and lavatory times and you can simply set a routine.

• Avoid feeding the small dog any scraps, human food, or changing their small dog food. This is probably going to cause the runs, which will complicate the housetraining schedule.

• Do not punish the small dog when it relieves itself in error.  Doing this will increase stress in the dog. Additionally, the small dog will become untrustworthy as it finds other locations to relieve itself without being detected and punished for doing so. When your small dog does eliminate itself in the wrong location, clean the area with a cleaner that contains enzymes, which will eradicate the smell of urine. Using bleach is not wise, because it just masks the urine smell and will increase the likelihood that the dog will relieve itself in the same area again.

In summary, your small, tiny, miniature or toy dog can be house-trained. Moreover, many house-training issues are due to the dog owner’s lack of attention and not necessary the dog’s fault. Implementing the aforementioned tips can be very useful in getting the house-training issue under control.


Article written by Harry Spears of ohmydogsupplies.com, check out our diverse selection of dog leashes online.