Privilege Earning House-Training Technique

There are four stages to this house-training technique. Follow them in order, and if your dog has an accident (pee/poop/chewing, going in a room not allowed, eating cat litter, cat food, ect.), then he loses that privilege and he goes “back on the leash” and hops back 2 stages.

Stage 1: On leash connected to you at all times.

Your dog must earn privileges, so he starts out with none: this means when he is in the house, he is in your sight, connected to you on a short leash, the entire time (unless he is in his crate).

Hint: putting a dog bed beside you when you will be in one spot for a while is an easy way to teach them to just calm down and go to sleep when I sit down. If your dog will play with toys quietly, you can also give him one of those; rope toys work well and they floss their teeth at the same time!

Stage 2: On leash but just dragging it around behind him, always in your sight.

Once you are no longer having accidents because he is with you all of the time, you can move to him pulling the leash around but you still need to make sure you can always see him.

Stage 3: In house without a leash, always in your sight.

If you have no more accidents in stage #2, then you can take the leash off. You still need to keep him with you, and you need to know where he is at all times. He does not have to be in your direct sight, but always in the same room with you.

Stage 4: Dog naturally stays with you, so you can relax and enjoy your house-trained dog!

If you have no more accidents in stage 3, then you can take a deep breath and relax. By this time, your dog should naturally want to be with you all of the time, therefore; if he is not with you, you should probably go find him, he is probably getting into something and you can catch him in the act!

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© 2010 Amanda Miller