DPC Veterinary Hospital advocates the idea that the most effective way of house breaking your dog or puppy is pure diligence. The more times a dog potties outside and the less she potties inside the closer you are to a house-trained pet. The way to ensure that this happens is a combination of prevention, eagle-eye monitoring, and properly timed and executed trips outside. This may seem a little overwhelming, but the extra work now will pay off in the long run.
Bring Your Dog to Our Fort Lauderdale Pet Hospital
House breaking your pet can be a long and tedious process. As your pet's veterinarian, DPC strives to provide the most time-tested and reliable information to all of our clients.
Here are some tips that our doctors have shared to help in the house training process:
- Pick up water two or three hours before bedtime. This will help prevent last minute "tanking up" and help your dog make it through the night.
- Crate training your dog or puppy is the most effective method of housebreaking. Dogs don't like to soil their sleeping area so they are unlikely to potty when in a crate. Training a dog allows you to have more successes and fewer accidents.
- Dogs learn through repeated successes. The more times your dog goes to the bathroom outdoors (and the fewer accidents he or she has indoors), the faster it will be housebroken. Always take your dog outside for a potty break when there is a chance he or she will eliminate. Some appropriate times to take your pet out for a potty break are: after eating/drinking, after waking up, after a play session, after coming out of the crate, when sniffing or circling, or if they haven't had a break in the past hour or more.
- The way to know when your dog needs to go outside is to watch their behaviors. Since you can't watch if your dog isn't in the same room with you, always supervise your dog when he or she is loose.
- Don't mix playtime and potty time. To teach your dog to eliminate quickly always start with the bathroom break first and then playtime second.
- Don't play with your dog in the same area that you ask them to toilet in so they don't confuse what they are there for.
- Add a potty command as they are eliminated, not before. If you would like to teach your dog to eliminate on command your timing needs to be appropriate. The only way a dog can associate what you are asking (i.e: "go potty!") with the act of eliminating is if you introduce the command while the dog is in the process of going to the bathroom.
- If your dog doesn't potty after a short period of time bring it back inside and put him or her into their crate. The crating isn't a punishment, merely a way to prevent an accident before you try again. Keeping your opportunities to potty short (ten minutes or less) helps ensure that your dog learns to go as soon as they get outside.
For more tips on house breaking and behavior, make an appointment with our Fort Lauderdale, Florida area veterinary hospital today! We look forward to meeting you and your pet!
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Preventative medicine is everything you can do to keep your dog healthy and detect problems before they threaten the quality of his or her life. Much of this approach involves educating the client to give ideal daily care at home. DPC strives to keep our clients informed on what is the most optimum plan of care for their pet. We keep your pup's unique needs in mind for each and every case. Please do not hesitate to ask us questions you may have about keeping your pet free of disease.
Offering low-cost vaccination packages, affordable services, quality care and a gentle hand is what sets DPC aside from other veterinarians in our area. Our Davie office is fully equipped to handle both routine care visits and emergency care. From the moment your new puppy enters your home you can rest assured that we will always provide the loving care and expertise you should look for in a long-term veterinarian.
Davie Pet Owners Choose DPC for Dog Neutering & Puppy Vaccinations
An important part of having a new puppy is vaccination and prevention. To better serve you and educate new owners on what puppies need, DPC has devised a series of Puppy Vaccination Packs that include all the vital inoculations your pet will need at an early age. These puppy packages include a low-cost spay or neuter, a microchip implantation with registration included, and your puppy's very important first dose of heartworm prevention.
For adult pets, we are proud to offer low-cost vaccination packages geared toward maintaining your pet's health and keeping them free of preventable disease. The routine vaccinations recommended by DPC include Rabies, Distemper/Parvo, and Bordetella (Kennel Cough). It is also important to do an annual heartworm and fecal test to check for parasites. Your pet should also be on monthly heartworm prevention, which is more important than ever at this time when injectible heartworm treatment is on indefinite back order.
If your pet is a senior, you may consider one of our Senior Wellness packages. Your dog will receive a comprehensive physical examination and blood work to evaluate kidney and liver function and detect early stages of disease. As your pet ages, blood work becomes highly recommended as a preventative measure in order to reveal any potential illness before it advances.
To schedule an appointment for spaying or neutering, puppy vaccinations or an annual visit for your dog, please call DPC Veterinary Hospital of Davie today!