Welcome back to the ACI Newsletter. In our Summer 2001 edition we'll cover housebreaking, summertime safety tips, a way to sneak obedience training into your every day routine, dealing with the fear of fireworks, a quick and cool recipe for those hot summer days and our trainer's response to a reader's comments about crate training.

Please send your favorite treat recipes, stories, pictures or contributions to our editor at
editor@dogskool.com. We really enjoy getting feedback from our readers. Have a safe and happy Summer!

The newest addition to your family may have already received some basic housebreaking before his arrival to your home, but if not, it is up to you to specify where and when he should do his business. Housebreaking is your first and most important training lesson, and should begin the moment you bring a puppy or dog home. In the beginning, especially with puppies 12 weeks or younger, they are not physiologically capable of controlling their bladder or bowel movements for any great length of time. Therefore, accidents will occur and should be expected. Probably one of best housebreaking tools is a crate. A dog's natural instinct is not to soil his den and by confining your puppy/dog to a crate, you teach him to be responsible for keeping his den clean. For information on crate training, please see our previous newsletter at:
http://www.dogskool.com/web/news/spring2001/index.html

Proper diet and scheduling are the first steps in housebreaking. The key word is consistency. You must be consistent in both the food and time of feeding. A puppy/dog's stomach is sensitive to changes in food, so you should not vary his diet during the housebreaking period. By feeding your puppy/dog at the same time every day, you train his digestive system and he will need to eliminate after each meal.

After feeding, take him outside to the same spot each time. Your puppy/dog may also need to eliminate when he wakes up in the morning, after naps, after he finishes playing, after drinking water, and before bedtime. Stay with him and give him plenty of time. Encourage him by using a happy voice with words such as "go potty" or "hurry" so he will associated these words with relieving himself. Reward him when he is finished with petting and praise. Then take him inside immediately and have supervised playtime in the house before putting the dog back in the crate or in his confined area. Do not extend his time outside into a play session or your puppy/dog will become confused about the purpose of the visit outside. Use the same door each time you go outside. He will learn to associate this door with going outside to relieve himself, and he may scratch or sniff at the door to tell you he needs to go outside to eliminate. If the puppy/dog does not eliminate, even after staying outside for 15 minutes, return back inside and put him in a crate or supervised area. Wait 15 minutes and then go back outside and start from the beginning.

During housebreaking, your puppy/dog should not be allowed the run of the house. If you are not going to be using a crate, keep your dog on a short tie down or in a confined area or room that is easily cleaned - kitchen, laundry room outdoor run or kennel. You must supervise and catch him before he eliminates in the house so he will learn he must go

Online training advice is a very sticky area, since every dog, owner and situation is different. Everything written in the ACI News merely offers suggestions to get dog owners thinking. We encourage all dog owners to take obedience classes, talk to their vets, and work with professional trainers so that their relationships with their dogs can be everything they should be.