Settling in The New Pack Member

     Housebreaking is tedious work in the beginning. You’re always watching the dog, your eye on the clock.

      I think the hardest part of dog training is housebreaking. What makes it worse – the overwhelming suggestions from the books on what to do! The suggestions range from newspapers (and there are numerous methods) to flat trays with sand or woodshavings – and everything else in between. I realize now the suggestions depend upon your situation. Are you living in a high rise? A townhouse? A house with a garden?  Pick the one that applies to you.

      When we had Boxers, we used newspapers but it stank the house to the high heavens when we woke up in the morning.  But since we lived in a house with a big yard, when Spot came around my decision in the end was simply to put the dog out.

      The books say that a pup takes a leak every 4 hours. I’d put Spot outdoors every 4 hours. In the beginning, the bewildered pup would stand there wondering about his sudden displacement from inside the house. I’d stand there and wait too. But it doesn’t take long. It’s been 4 hours. His body clock is going to do it. Soon the pup will take a leak or finally squat. Enthusiastic praise afterwards.

     In the evening before Spot beds down in his crate at  8pm there’s a bathroom trip outdoors first. By 12 midnight, I’d wake him up for another bathroom visit. In the early morning at  4am, I’d get up to put him out again. During the day, I’d take him to his bathroom spot outdoors after meals, after a nap, and after play. After every nature call, he’d receive an enthusiastic praise.

     In time the dog got it. Trip outside + nature call = happy praise. It’s a thrill to see the dog squat within minutes of your having put him in the spot where he’s supposed to answer nature’s call. That's a training success.
      But housebreaking is tedious work in the beginning. You’re always watching the dog, your eye on the clock. It is a game of “pre-empting” what he’s going to do – before he does it. 

      Meanwhile, Spotty was having problems with our 3-year-old Boxer named Butchie Boy. Butch would not accept him and would avoid Spot like the plague. Whenever Spot would playfully pounce on the Boxer for a game of chase, Butch would bolt upright as if electrocuted and evade him, his hind legs kicking away as if the Dalmatian newcomer had an infectious disease. There was no aggression. But the Boxer obviously seemed to find the pup repulsive.

      I searched the internet for hours looking for advice on this particular situation but I couldn’t find the answer. It took time until I met a canine behaviorist named Fred Alimusa in person. “Walk the two dogs out together,” Fred advised. “Let the Boxer see that the Dalmatian is a friend; that they’re out together as a pack.”

      Our two dogs were being walked out one at a time daily by a male household help. The next day, as he prepared to walk the dogs out, I announced I will join him by walking Spot out too. We leashed the Boxer and the pup separately and we walked out into the street together.

      The little dog was clearly in heaven. As he walked along the road, Spot kept casting ecstatic glances up at me and his Boxer packmate. Butch, typical of Boxers, remained aloof to the happy antics of his little spotted companion.

      We kept this practice up until I could see if Fred's advice given me will work. It worked. After a week, I saw both dogs lying together. Butchie Boy had finally accepted Spotty. They were finally friends and playmates as the days went on.