Your dog's training should also include certain hygiene habits that will help prevent behavioral problems and the proliferation of pathogens in the home. Here's a three-step guide to teaching your dog good hygiene habits.
There are 3 basic steps for teaching good hygiene habits to your dog.
Ideally, you should start teaching these hygiene habits to your dog when he's still a puppy. But if you've decided to adopt an adult dog, it's also possible to educate and socialize it with patience and affection.
In both cases, remember to use positive reinforcement to stimulate their learning and start educating them from the moment they arrive home.
Step 1: Define Allowed and Prohibited Home Spaces
By the time your dog arrives home, it will be critical to determine what your dog's permitted and prohibited locations will be. We're not just talking about where your dog will or won't be able to take care of his needs, but also about the regions of the home that he will be able to frequent freely.
Of course, the rules of each house are determined by those who live in it. In other words, it is your choice to define what the rules will be when they are presented to your best friend. The important thing is to transmit these rules clearly and objectively, so that your dog understands how he should behave in his new home.
An example to consider: will your dog be able to get on the couch or on the bed? If the answer is no, then remember to teach him that these places are not allowed, and which regions of the home he can freely frequent.
Step 2: Determine the meal times
This is one of the most important aspects of teaching hygiene habits to a dog. Your pet needs to understand what his meal times are and when he should respect our feeding times. It is also essential to teach your pet not to look for food in the trash.
Although a dog asking for food at the foot of the table may appear cute, it is not a good idea to promote this behavior; it is better to avoid undesirable behaviors from the beginning.
Nor should we offer food or rewards to our dog to stop him from engaging in unwanted behavior, such as excessive barking. Almost always, this leads to unconscious training, as the animal assimilates that it is rewarded for misconduct.
Divide the whole amount of food your dog eats each day into two or three feedings, if possible. In this way, we prevent your companion from going long periods of time without eating and being tempted to dig through garbage or closets.
Step 3: Teach Your Dog to Poop in a Specific Area
One of the most important hygiene habits is teaching your dog to poop in the right place. To do this, we first have to decide whether we want the dog to poop in the street or in a certain space of the home.
We recommend that you train your dog to relieve himself on the street. This allows you to maintain better hygiene at home while simultaneously giving your pal a mental workout.
How do you teach a dog to poop and pee in public?
It will be necessary to complete your dog's first vaccination cycle before you begin teaching him to do his business on the street. This normally occurs after the dog has reached the age of three or four months.
During this period, we can take advantage and get our dog used to walking with his harness or collar. In our own house, we will take some small walks, and we will teach the dog not to pull the leash and to walk in a balanced and calm way.
When the time comes, we begin by scheduling the walks to the street. Remember that it is essential to establish a routine for your dog to assimilate and understand that these are the times to do their business.
On walks, we should constantly let the dog sniff freely, express itself, and socialize with other dogs. We give the dog a treat every time he pees or poops on the street to reinforce the behavior.
Even if your dog has already learnt to do his business on the street, we advise you to leave a "park" or "bathroom" at his disposal at home. This is especially true if the animal has to stay at home alone for more than four or five hours.
Excessive retention of urine can lead to urinary tract problems as well as being very uncomfortable. Therefore, it is best to leave an absorbent towel or newspaper where the dog can take care of himself.
