The subject of house training is a much discussed topic and one that I receive many questions about from concerned dog owners. I remember a good case in point, a 3-year-old Yorkie/Maltese named Trixie that was cute as a button.

My client asked if I would help her with her continuing house soiling issues with Trixie. I agreed, and since this had been an ongoing problem with Trixie I was eager to help ease the owner's frustration and have an opportunity to clear up a few things-about leadership and its effect on house training or house soiling.

There are a lot of dogs out there that are just great dogs. Many of you have one now. You know, the dog that house trained in a few days, always came when called, never jumped on house guests or counter-surfed - the perfect dog. These dogs share your bed and sofa and life is great. Training was never required because, well, it just wasn't needed.

Then there are dogs that need a lot more. More rules, more expectations and structure to stay balanced. When an owner tries to live life with what he or she thought was the perfect dog, this lack of structure can wind up creating a very insecure dog.

In Trixie's case, too much lap time, love and affection began to create insecurities with her. Moves, changes in owner lifestyle, as well as other inconsistent activities, can also add to a dog's anxieties. Nervous energy generated by excitable children can complicate the problem as well. I recommended that my client not allow Trixie access to her bed and sofa for a short while.

Later, as we see Trixie not begging for "lap attention," the owner can then relax the rule and have Trixie sit and down before allowing her access to the sofa. Requiring Trixie to do sits and downs to earn meals as well as her attention equally helped to bring her back in balance, allowing her to develop a strong and secure sense of place.

I also explained to the owner that dogs learn in context. Dogs will imprint location, surface/texture and your presence with going potty if you praise and offer a high value food treat on the spot. It's important to re-develop a strong reward history (praise and treats) of going "potty" in a consistent and appropriate place.

I also strongly recommended that the owner keep in mind that Trixie should be in one of three places:

In her crate: When you cannot supervise her (eyes-on, hands-on) simply put her in her crate.

Outside eliminating: Frequent trips out to develop a strong reward history of elimination in the same location.

On a line attached to you: This sets her up to succeed - not to fail by preventing her from sneaking off to other parts of the house to eliminate.

Interrupting mistakes just before a puppy makes them requires timing and watching the puppy. If you can successfully do this and quickly redirect her outside to her potty location to once again reward her for going in the correct place, this will expedite your house training.

Since weekly visits are a part of my behaviour programs, I visited in home with Trixie and Mom each week to check for progress and answer questions, making sure she stayed on track. It is a team effort. The owner has to do the work consistently, and I am there every week to see them through to success.

As my client began to apply a very basic leadership strategy of using the housetraining techniques of proper supervision, confinement, and scheduled potty breaks, along with two-minute training sessions of sits and downs, she found Trixie's progress was almost immediate.

Source: Pet Services Journal January / February 2009 by Jim Burwell