Havanese Potty Training
Housebreaking your Havanese is definitely important, and it may require some extra patience on your part to get the job done. Like most small dogs, it takes a little longer to effectively house break a Havanese. It goes to figure: a small dog (and especially a small dog as a puppy) has small organs, including his bladder and digestive tract. So as your dog matures, his organs develop and he is able to go for longer periods of time between potty breaks. If you got your puppy from a Havanese Rescue or Adoption centre, then extra care and patience may be required. Following are some tips to make your Havanese potty training go more smoothly.
Patience My Friend
Your dog will have accidents. He may go several days without an accident only to suddenly have an accident for several days in a row. Keep in mind that he is not peeing on your carpet or floor on purpose or out of spite; he is still learning the rules of where to go and how to interpret his body’s signals telling him that he needs to go. Be patient and consistent in how you respond. If he has an accident, don’t rub his nose in it. Simply tell him in an authoritative voice (without yelling) that he does not go to the bathroom inside, then take him outside or to his pad (some owners use an absorbent pad sold in stores for this purpose).
Accent The Positive
Like any other learned behavior, Havanese potty training should be reinforced positively. If your dog uses the bathroom successfully outside or on his pad, praise him, pet him and maybe give him a special treat. He’ll associate his behavior (going potty where I’m told to go potty) with a positive consequence (treats or praise). Once this cycle is repeated enough times (this will depend on the individual dog) then you won’t have to make such a big deal about every poop because he’ll have internalized the behavior.
To Crate Or Not To Crate?
Crating is a Havanese housebreaking method that some owners use. If you’re not familiar with crating, basically it goes like this: you place your Havanese in a cardboard box or small animal carrier during the period of time that you want him to “hold it”. Crating is based on the assumption that animals like dogs will not contaminate their living or sleeping quarters; your Havanese will wait until you let him out of the crate to go to the bathroom. But you must remember to base your expectations of how long your dog can hold it based on his developmental level. A puppy simply cannot retain for an entire day. Some people recommend that owners should not expect a dog to be able to hold it longer than the number of hours that equates to the dog’s age in months. For example, a 4-month-old Havanese should not be expected to wait over 4 hours between trips to the bathroom.
