Lets talk about "Boundary Training" today.
The excitement of a new puppy is overwhelming and many times extended families want to be involved. Some times family members who think they know better will give their opinions when it comes to teaching a dog its boundaries. Remember, the new puppy you plan on keeping for many years and the sooner they learn boundaries, the easier it will be to train.
Boundary training is important in the step of housebreaking since a dog needs to know what area of the home is theirs. This means when the dog enters their new home, the owner should already have planned where the new puppy will sleep and eat. Some owners use a baby fence and section off one room, usually the kitchen or bathroom, for the new puppy.
By not allowing the new puppy to roam free, this teaches the puppy only certain areas they are allowed in.
One day we decided to see what would happen if we gave Tymmie more freedom to roam while we were home. He was around five months old and we felt he was already house broken, so there was no worries about accidents, or so we thought!
Tymmie’s area was the family room and the kitchen. When he wasn’t in his crate, he was allowed in these two rooms which were sectioned off with baby gates. We took the gates away and allowed him in our master bedroom, living room, and dining room.
We were so impressed with Tymmie having no accidents and then the night time came. As I was getting ready to go to sleep, I sat on our bed and as I was about to lay down, “AAaHHHHH, Tymmie peed in the carpet next to my bed!” I screamed and Tymmie came running into the bedroom and slowly crept away. He began shaking and hid under the dining room table!
Trying not to laugh, we told him no peeing in the bed! Then we walked him to his crate and told him to go inside. Our thinking was if he saw how upset we got when he peed in our bed, by putting him back into the crate right away, he would connect the two.
The next few months, Tymmie was kept inside his boundaries until we felt he was ready to try again. Between eight and nine months, Tymmie was allowed to roam free only when we were home. By this time, we changed his crate to a 12 foot wide pen. When Tymmie turned a year and a half, he learned his boundaries and never has had an accident since.
Some tips to remember:
- Decide on the rooms the puppy is allowed in
- Have baby gates available to section off rooms
- Don’t let a new puppy roam free
and
ALWAYS CHECK YOUR CARPET!
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