Are Smaller Dogs More Difficult to Housetrain?
Although problems with housetraining may occur in dogs of any breed or combination of breeds, many authorities agree that it is often more challenging to housetrain dogs of smaller breeds. It is not apparent if this is true.
The study that Drs. Ben and Lynette Hart conducted for their book The Perfect Puppy looked at whether or not the breed of a dog may be used to predict certain behavioral qualities, such as how easy it is to housetrain. Despite the fact that the issue of size was not specifically addressed, small-breed dogs were found among all of the dogs that were tested, on every level, from those dogs that were extremely simple to housetrain to those dogs that were very difficult.
The authors of the research noticed that breed was not a reliable indicator of how easily a dog might be housetrained.
On the other hand, if we stop and think about it, there are a few factors that make sense for why it may very well be more difficult to housetrain a little dog.
Even as adults, little dogs often have smaller bladders, which may restrict how long they can retain their urine.
It’s possible that they see the home as being too large to include a den.
It’s possible that smaller dogs are more sensitive to bad weather, and as a result, they are more inclined to avoid going to the bathroom outside when it’s cold and rainy.
In the first stages of housetraining, owners of tiny dogs tend to be less worried about their pets having accidents since the resulting mess is not as significant. As a result, owners may not utilize enough monitoring or confinement to hone their pets’ housetraining abilities.
Chloe’s house was rather huge, and it had two stories. Chloe had made the choice that a certain section of the home was “not den” at some point in the past, and she had eliminated there often enough that it had been a habit for her to do so. Even though she was careful, she never had an accident in the rooms above; nonetheless, the remainder of the home seemed to be suitable for use as a toilet.
Chloe and her owner had no plans to relocate in the near future, so it was unlikely that she would pick up anything new in a dwelling that was both more compact and better able to be divided into several areas. They were forced to settle for less.
When Chloe was alone herself, she was either kept upstairs or sent outdoors (there had been no incidents upstairs, so it was safe to take her outside). When Chloe’s owner, Marge, was at home, she used to either keep Chloe on a leash or secure her with a tie-down in an area that had a comfy bed so that she could continue working on the computer or watch TV nearby.
The turning point occurred when Marge made the decision to attempt building an indoor toilet space and improvised by placing a piece of sod (grass being Chloe’s typical surface for using the toilet outside) in a pan with low sides in the living room. This led to the discovery of the breakthrough. She dubbed it Chloe Park and observed that for as long as the grass remained green, Chloe would seek out that location to eliminate inside. This behavior continued even when Marge’s monitoring was a bit more relaxed.
Were Chloe and Marge satisfied with the compromise that was reached? At least in Marge’s opinion, the answer is yes. She first was not too enthusiastic about the idea of an indoor dog toilet; nevertheless, she later said that it was far preferable to the alternatives, which included cleaning up after her dog every day or surrendering her to a shelter. Was Chloe fully housetrained when you got her? She didn’t care about anything else as long as the grass was still green.
What Was It That We Said?
The natural propensity of a dog to keep the space in which it sleeps or its den clean, as well as its adherence to the substrate and location preferences it acquires early in life, contributes to the fact that housetraining a dog is achievable.
Until a puppy or dog is properly housetrained, she should either be under your direct supervision in an area where eliminating is okay, where she is restricted to an area where she is not likely to eliminate, or she should be in an area where eliminating is not acceptable.
To reduce the risk of having accidents when indoors, it is important to establish routines for eating, exercising, and going to the bathroom.
Indoor potty systems may be beneficial for unique conditions, such as extended hours, unattended smaller dogs, urban life, or travel. Appropriate toilet places are often found outside in the yard or another outside location.
Accidents will occur when you are housetraining. When this occurs, just remain cool, wipe up the mess, and make a decision to step up your schedule and monitoring.
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