Paper training                           Crate training



Paper Training

Housebreaking your Havanese isn't as difficult as it sounds. Being a toy breed they take longer to develop bladder control, but their small size also gives you options other than taking them outside every hour. These include paper training and litter box training.

The easiest time to start housebreaking your Havanese is when you first get your puppy home. The purchase of an exercise pen, a small crate, and puppy training pads prior to his arrival, will help you considerably.  
These Jolain puppies haven't quite figured out the use of the litter box yet.
When the puppy first arrives, you will want to keep him in the exercise pen when you are unable to pay attention to him. Cover the ENTIRE floor of the pen with newspaper or training pads. If you were interested in having your puppy use a litter box, now would be the time to introduce that in addition to the newspaper. There is, at this point, no guarantee they will understand it's purpose, but they can get use to it being in their pen. Some puppies will make use of it immediately others won't. At this point it really doesn't matter. Your initial goal is to make virtually EVERYWHERE in the exercise pen a safe place for the puppy to eliminate.

Now for the crate: You want to use a crate that the puppy does not have too much room in. Take the door OFF the crate, and place the crate in the pen. A soft towel or blanket will make the crate nice and cozy for him. Don't forget to give him a few toys in the pen too for his enjoyment during alone time.

Your puppy will need food and water in his pen. It works best to put the dishes close to the crate.

After only a few days, you will notice the puppy is using a very specific part of the exercise pen for a bathroom. Pay attention to where this is. Your puppy has just given you a tip on how to train him!! Odds are it will be the point furthest from the crate.

Once the puppy has settled upon an area of the pen to potty in, you can begin removing newspaper or pads. Start removing the paper the farthest from the potty area first. SLOWLY remove pieces every few days, until you have an area about the size of an open newspaper.

It is very important when you begin down sizing the potty area, that you do it over more than a couple of days. Remember, the goal is to have the puppy be happy while learning. It is easier to prevent mistakes by going slow, rather than to try and correct behavioral problems later. This is NOT a race. If the puppy backslides, just start over. It's ok. It won't be long before he is eliminating on the paper, pad, or in the litter box all the time.

Once he is comfortable using the smaller area to eliminate, you can allow him a little larger area to explore than just the exercise pen. It works best to keep the potty area in the same place at the beginning so you don't confuse him. Over time you may keep extending the "exercise" area to include a room of your house, then two rooms, etc.

If he backslides just go back to the beginning for a few days. It isn't the end of the world if he needs a refresher. Before too long he will be able to roam the house and will go to the potty area to eliminate.

Litter box training is wonderful for those living in situations where it is difficult to get outside on a regular basis. For example, if you live in a high-rise apartment, perhaps have a disability where constant outside access is not possible, or just live in a climate with lots of inclement weather, litter box training may be just perfect for your everyday situation.

Tip - Irregardless of your normal permanent housetraining method, dogs trained to use pads are also easier to fly with. You can sneak into a restroom with your dog during layovers, put down a training pad, and give your puppy some relief without having a mess in his carrier. Definitely an added bonus when traveling.

Permission to reproduce and/or circulate this article is granted with the condition that it be disseminated in its entirety and the copyright/credit to Cynthia Rust & Cynado Havanese remains attached.

Authored by © Cynthia Rust


Crate Training








Crate training your puppy is relatively simple if you have paper-trained him as described in the previous section.

Once your puppy has established a potty area, he has confirmed that he desires to potty somewhere other than his crate. Now you may place the door back on the crate and slowly begin acclimatizing him to its confines. You will probably already have noticed that he was going in it to sleep at night. This exemplifies the fact that dog's are den animals. Again, you are just going to utilize that instinct to your benefit.

Begin by leaving your puppy confined in the crate for 15 minutes at a time. Then let him out and praise him. You will need to build his time in the crate up slowly. You do NOT want to frighten him. Remember the goal is to keep him happy and make him love his "house". You may give him a small treat when you put him in his crate. You may even add the words "Go in your house" then give the treat.

You can also help get him use to the crate by feeding him in it. Begin with his dishes near the front, and slowly move them further in the crate.

When he is 3 or 4 months old depending on the puppy, he may be able to keep from eliminating for 6 or 7 hours. Now you may be able to leave him in the crate at night. One thing you can do to help with nighttime training is to remove his food and water after about 7PM. If your puppy gets restless in his crate during the night, take him out to go potty. Praise him after he goes, and then put him back in the crate. He should NOT be punished because he can't make it through the night. He does however need to know that nighttime is for sleeping.

Once your puppy is able to make it through the night, your life has turned a corner. You are closing in on the completely house broken dog and the use of his crate will become indispensable for numerous purposes.

The crate can be used for transport to and from the vet's office. By leaving your dog in his crate until the vet is ready to see him, you can protect him from any germs that may have been tracked onto the clinic floors.

When transporting dogs in a car, they are much safer in a secured crate than left loose to defend for themselves in an accident.

A show dog's crate becomes a safe haven, allowing him a hiding place from all the stress and commotion happening around him.

The dog groomer's is another place your dog will be crated. If he is comfortable at home in his crate, it will make his time at the groomer's much more pleasant for everyone.

Keeping a dog in a crate at night keeps it from harms way. When you are sleeping they need to be too. If the dog is loose in the house while you are sleeping, you are unable to make certain he is not chewing on electrical cords, or getting into cleaning supplies, or chewing on houseplants, or any number of other things that could harm him. By putting your dog in his crate at bedtime, you are not only protecting him from potential hazards, but also giving him his own den where he can learn to feel comfortable and secure.

Crate training a dog utilizes canine basic instincts of den behavior to provide them a safe, comfortable place to stay when you can't be watching them. Havanese do well in crates at night, or during short periods during the day. They do NOT do well left in crates on a continual basis day and night. They are bred to be companion dogs and need to have human interaction during their waking hours to remain healthy and happy. That said, one of the best things you can do to protect your puppy is crate train it.

Permission to reproduce and/or circulate this article is granted with the condition that it be disseminated in its entirety and the copyright/credit to Cynthia Rust & Cynado Havanese remains attached.

Authored by © Cynthia Rust









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