Basset Hound Potty Training | Tips on House Training Basset Hounds
Posted by admin | Posted in Basset Hound Potty Training | Posted on 11-07-2010
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Is Your Basset Hound Potty Trained Enough?
Basset Hound potty training is such an important issue for its owner that even a single exclusive tip turns out to be extremely helpful.
The first step in making your Basset Hound fit for polite company would be to potty train him. Many owners see Basset Hound potty training as a challenge not worth undertaking.
But for me, it is part of bringing up a pet.
There are a few things you need to know before you actually start Basset Hound potty training:
- You need to understand your dog’s body language. Watch for signs that will indicate to you when your pet needs to go potty.
- If you own puppies, remember that they need to go potty at fairly frequent intervals – as soon as they wake up, after short naps, after play-time, after meals, before and after being crated and finally, before going to bed for the night.
- If possible, take your Basset Hound for walks at the time that he usually does his potty. At the very least, take him outside to the same place every time he needs to answer nature’s call.
- Praise your Basset Hound after he eliminates at the right place. Some Basset Hound owners even give treats to their dogs. But remember to do this every time he does it right. He will relate the rewards to his having “done it right” and zero in on the spot where you want him to defecate regularly.
- In time, you can try signal training. This is so that you know when your dog wants to go. You can hang a bell at his level near the door and teach him to push it with his nose or pat it when he needs to go out.
- Until your Basset Hound has been fully potty trained, watch him very closely. Do not let him roam around the house freely.
- Use a crate. Crate training a Basset Hound is crucial, and these pack dogs are usually very happy to get their own den. The advantage of crating is that dogs try to avoid messing up the place where they sleep. So, he will naturally not eliminate inside the crate.
- If you have a small dog and if you live in a high-rise building or in a place that does not have an appropriate outside space, you can try litter pan training. This involves creating a space for your pet to eliminate in your house.
- Use positive reinforcements while house training a Basset Hound. Do not scold or hit him as you will gain nothing by doing that. He will only associate punishment with your return from outside. If you catch him in the act, a stern ‘NO’ or ‘OUTSIDE’ will do. This will hopefully startle the Basset Hound enough for him to stop urinating or pooping.
- Be prepared to return to a soiled home if you must leave your Basset Hound home alone for more than 4 hours as separation anxiety is quite common among home-alone dogs.
- Accidents will happen. It is unusual for a trained adult Basset Hound to work against its house training. But medical problems or health disorders may lead to accidents.
- Many dogs mark their territory. This can be a leg of a table or a particular wall. Male and female dogs mark their territories by urinating. Use deodorizers on the places where your Basset Hound has marked.
- If you are patient and are ready to accept that house training dogs takes time, even months sometimes, you will end up with a well-adjusted, housetrained Basset Hound.
A complete guide can be found here: Housetraining Dogs and Puppies
