Dog Lover

House Training for Puppies — Part 2

Lesson 18: House training is not what I thought it was

If you thought the movie, “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” was confusing (and BTW it’s not really about getting all your toys out, as I thought when I wrote my earlier post on that topic), just wait till you see the new one, “House Training”.

First, let me clear up some confusion I may have caused by my House Training Part 1 story. Contrary to what I said in that post, House training is not about learning to pee and poop inside the house.

I know because I tried it.

The whole process of puppy training can be very confusing to a new Resident since The Management never demonstrates their idea of good behavior. You’re supposed to guess through a system known as “Praise and Punishment,” which is something like “Pride and Prejudice.” A little different, but takes just as long to get there.

In the beginning, everyone was very happy and patient, and the emphasis was clearly on praise and “rewards”. We’ll delve more into the punishment phase in part 3.

Anyway, since most of us like treats (see my earlier lesson, Getting the best treats), it’s important to understand your human’s incoherent, inconsistent babbling. (“Oh, be a good dog Flopsy, and go pee out on the veranda today, will you please?”) But if they’re consistent in giving treats every time you do your business outside, you may quickly catch on despite their best efforts to the contrary.

The training manuals remind humans of the importance of rewarding the puppy as soon as they demonstrate good behavior. The problem is that humans conveniently “forget” to bring the rewards when they go outside. It’s your job to remind them as soon as you get inside. Subtle reminders can include sniffing around their pocket, their crotch, their ankle — whatever you can reach. Repeatedly. Eventually, they may get the hint. Or they may not.

Just in case, save a little pee to remind them of their neglected duties.

Part 3 of House Training for Puppies can be found here.