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Dear Caroline,

Caroline can you give me, or point me towards a book that will give me hints/ideas for the age old problem of house training a puppy.

Stephen.

This is how I do it:

Day 1 – The first thing to do is to thoroughly clean your floors, most household cleaners (and some specialist cleaners available from pet shops) do a great job of removing the stain and the smell for you but most dogs will still be able to smell it and will return to it so I always advise the use of white vinegar as it completely neutralises the smell. Use a glug of white vinegar with your normal floor cleaner and water for hard floors or a glug of white vinegar, biological washing powder and water for carpets and rugs. Always test the solution on your floors first to be sure they won't be ruined. Depending on how frequently your dog has used a particular spot before, you may need to heavily soak the area to allow it to soak right through before you soak up the excess. For carpets, remember to hoover the area thoroughly when it has completely dried.

Now you are ready to start house training your dog. To start with you should take your dog to the spot where you would like him to go, at least every hour, as well take him out after a sleep, meal, play session and period of hyperactivity. When in the house make sure he is in the same room as you and that you are watching him at all times – signs that he may need to go out include sniffing the ground, walking in circles and looking uncomfortable or unsettled. If you see any of these signs then take him to his spot.

When you take him out to his spot you should stay with him but pay him no attention at all - let him focus on going to the toilet. If he does go to the toilet then you should praise him the second he starts to wee or poo – go nuts you can't overdo it! Then if you wish you can play with your dog, if not then bring him back in. If he doesn't go then bring him in after about 10 minutes – unless he has done a lot of sniffing – in which case he may still need to go, wait a few more minutes just in case.

Day 2 – Continue with the same routine as on day 1 – even if he has had a good day on day 1 don't relax just yet!

Day 3 – You can scale back on the amount of visits to the garden – but always take him out after meals, play and sleeps.

Ongoing – keep cutting back until you are taking him out only every couple of hours - but always take him out after meals, play and sleeps.

Top Tips

• It will help to keep your dog really calm in the house when you start training and to keep play to the garden.
• Use a dog training crate or confine your dog to the smallest room in the house whenever you can't supervise him – dogs don't like to pee near where they sleep so confining him will encourage him to hold on.
• Feed meals at set times and remove uneaten food after 10 minutes, establishing a good feeding routing will mean he will need to go to the toilet less frequently.
• Don't expect him to ask for the toilet, you should always take him out regularly and he should learn to hold on at all other times.

Hope this helps.

Dear Caroline,

My dog always runs away if I open the gate. Now he doesn't go too far but far enough to get me worried. We have a house at the end of our road and there are plenty of cats there, and I think that's the reason why he goes there, but then he crosses the road where there are cars.  I'm terrified all the time when I hear the gate opening I'm always thinking is he going to get out and not come back!  I have even started to not like going on walks as I am afraid that the leash might break and he will run away.  What will I do!?

Henryndme.

Hi There. Dogs that escape often think they are the boss and are making their own decisions rather than waiting for instruction from their leader. He could also be bored - could he need more company or more exercise away from the home?  Dogs are very social animals and most don't do well if left for more than 4 hours - any more than this and they will start to make their own rules and please themselves.

I am guessing from your comment about walking him that he pulls alot on the lead too, this is another sign that he thinks he is the boss as the pack leader always walks ahead of their pack.

When training him to walk to heel on a loose lead - start with him standing next to you so that he is slightly back from you and take up the slack in the lead so that it is short but not tight. Now wait for him to be calm and looking ahead or at you, look straight ahead and take one pace forward, if the lead tightens he is now in the wrong position, guide him back and try again, if the lead remains loose then take another pace, keep on like this until he consistently walks to heel.

You will need alot of patience for this and you may not get very far at all the first few walks but you will soon be back to normal walks. A slow, calm walk like this will really challenge him and will drain a lot of nervous energy which is what causes dogs to misbehave; it will also remind him at a crucial time that you are the boss and should help him to become more obedient at other times.

I would also suggest socializing him with the cats at the end of the street; take him down on his lead, don't get too close at this stage, just close enough that he can notice them, now call his name, if he looks at you give him a small treat, repeat this over and over again until he starts to ignore the cat, now take him a little closer, repeat as before with plenty of treats. Keep going like this getting closer and closer until you are as close as you dare, now walk him up and down the street past the cat, keep on calling his name and giving him a treat to keep his attention on you and eventually he will walk past with no bother.

Good luck.

Dear Caroline,

I have a 6 year old lurcher who has started charging up to other dogs in the park while barking her head off. I dont seem to be able to predict what dogs she'll do it to as she only does it now and then. Unfortunately this is making me quite tense when I walk her as I'm worrying about her "charging". I've been yelled at by other dog owners frequently as she is quite scary looking as she speeds towards them. She has always been a well socialised dog and plays really well with my own dogs, (she is dominant over my two younger dogs age 5 and 3) and some other dogs she meets. I'm begining to find it really hard to give her off lead exercise as she can run so fast and I'm always looking over my shoulder for likely "victims"!

Julie.

This must be very distressing for you. As it is only some dogs and there seems to be no pattern I would suggest it probably has something to do with the way the dog reacts to her, maybe they all ignore her, maybe they all look at her, maybe they are all dominant dogs or submissive dogs.

I would suggest a similar technique to the one I suggested for Henryndme and the cats; take a pocketful of treats and take her for a walk near some dogs, keep her on her lead to start with, now call her name and if she looks at you give her a treat, repeat this over and over again near dogs of all different shapes and sizes.

When she is getting good at this try it off lead, and if she seems to forget all the training you have done it just hasn't sunk in properly yet. Go back to the lead and practise some more. When you have control off lead you can then either put her back on her lead around other dogs or let her go and play. The fact that she is not just charging over to them will make a huge difference and will mean that she is approaching in a different frame of mind.

Dear Caroline,

How can I stop my 17 month old cocker spaniel wanting all attention when someone visits? She barks and jumps up wanting to be fussed while a visitor is in.

Jenny.

The first thing to do is to completely calm her before she meets your visitors. Do this by taking her to a spot away from the door but not so far away that she can't see. Tell her to sit, if she sits then just wait a second or two to make sure she is still sitting and then turn and head for the door. If she doesn't sit she is just over excited. Don't worry, just wait a minute or two and ask again, keep on until she sits. When you head for the door she will most likely get up to follow you, if she does this then just take her back to her spot and get her to sit again, keep on like this until she waits patiently for you to open the door.

Once the door is open you can invite your guest in but be ready because she is likely to charge towards them. If she does this then simply get between her and your guest and walk towards her to create some space this will also calm her a little, but don't let her past until she is calmer. Then you can let her have another go at greeting your guests. If she jumps up then just get in between again and calm her down again.

While all this is going on, ask your guests to be patient but most importantly to ignore her. Your guests should ignore her for at least 10 minutes when they first arrive and should never greet her near the front door as this will only encourage her to get excited and will undo all your hard work. I may also suggest that the first few times you do this it could take a fair while for you to get your guests in so a volunteer to help you practise may be a good idea!