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House training your American Pitbull is one of the areas of dog
ownership that's most subject to misunderstanding, confusion,
and just plain dread!
Common house training problem #1:
Submissive / Excited Urination
What is it?
A 'submissive urinator' is a dog that urinates on the floor
and himself (and sometimes on you and any guests you may have!)
in situations of extreme excitement or stress -- like when you
return home at the end of the day, or when he's being told off.
 Why does it happen?
American Pitbull puppies are the usual candidates for submissive/excited
urination, but it's not uncommon to see adult dogs with the problem
as well: usually, these are highly sensitive and timid dogs,
and/or ones from a shelter/with a history of abuse (often these
last two go hand-in-hand).
When does it happen?
Situations when an excited/fearful dog is likely to urinate:
- Greeting time after a prolonged absence
- Play time
- The arrival of guests
- Stressful situations at home, e.g. arguments
- During a correction (you're telling him off)
- Sudden loud noises (thunder, fireworks)
What can I do about it?
Fortunately, it's not difficult to "cure" your American Pitbull
of his submissive/excited urination.
First, you should take him to the vet to make sure there's
no medical reason for the issue (like diabetes or a bladder infection).
Next, it's time to take control of the problem:
- Limit his intake of water to help him control his bladder
more effectively. Don't restrict his water intake over a prolonged
period of time, but if you know there's a situation coming which
would normally result in urination -- for example, you have guests
coming over, or are planning on a play session soon -- take his
water bowl away for a period of time (maybe half an hour to an
hour) before the event.
- When greeting your American Pitbull, keep it calm and mellow.
The more excited he is, the harder it is for him to control his
bladder, so don't encourage him to get worked up: ignore him
for the first few moments, or give him a neutral "hello",
a quick pat, and then go about making yourself at home.
- It's important that you DO NOT punish or harshly correct
your American Pitbull for this behavior. It's not something that he
can easily control, and he's certainly not doing it on purpose.
When you catch him in the act, you can interrupt him (a firm
"No!" followed by praise when he stops should suffice)
but don't punish him. Keep your cool, and try to be sympathetic:
he doesn't mean to do it, after all!
- If he urinates out of fear (submissiveness) when scolding
him for another offense, try to take the stress levels down a
notch by keeping a firm, authoritative, but not angry tone. Remember,
you're dealing with a sensitive, highly-strung dog: if you get
angry or worry him further, the problem will worsen.
Comon house training problem #2:
Scent marking
Scent marking -- where a dog "marks" his or her
territory with urine -- is technically not actually a house training
problem, since it's based on issues of dominance and territory
rather than insufficient house training: a dog can be perfectly
house trained but still mark inside the house.
However, since the problem centers around the unwanted presence
of urine in the house, it seems logical, in a way, to link this
problem with house training, and since this is one of the most
widespread problems among dog owners, we thought it worthwhile
to include some practical advice.
How to differentiate between
scent marking and lack of house training
Your American Pitbull's probably scent marking, rather than genuinely
relieving himself, if:
- The amount of urine produced is relatively small, and tends
to be directed against vertical surfaces (walls, doors, etc)
- He's male, unneutered, and at least five or six months old.
Unneutered dogs are much more territorial than neutered ones
--if you have an unneutered dog in the house, you can pretty
much expect a certain amount of scent marking. (Unspayed females
also mark, but it's less common; spayed and neutered dogs can
also exhibit marking behavior, but it's relatively infrequent)
- It makes little difference how often he's taken outside for
a toilet break
- He frequently targets items that are new to the house: new
possessions, guest clothing/footwear, etc.
- You live in a multi-dog household and there is conflict between
two or more of the dogs
- There are other, unneutered or unspayed pets in the house
What to do about the problem?
First things first: spay or neuter your American Pitbull(s) as
soon as you possibly can. If you can do this early enough --
ideally, at six months of age -- this often halts marking altogether;
but if your American Pitbull's been marking for a prolonged period
of time, he or she may continue to do so after being spayed or
neutered, since a pattern of behavior will have been established.
Clean soiled areas thoroughly. Use a non-ammonia based cleaner
(because it smells just like pee) and stay away from vinegar
too (it smells similar to pee.) Oxi-Clean mixed with warm water
is particularly effective; there are also plenty of commercial
cleaners designed specifically to lift pet stains and odors,
which you can buy from pet stores and some supermarkets.
Because dogs tend to re-mark the same places, you'll need
to redefine the places that you know he's marked to prevent repeat
offending.
You can do this in a number of ways:
- Feed him next to or on top of the spot
- Play with him there
- Groom him there
- Put his bed over or next to it
- Spend time there yourself: hang out with a book or sit down
and work
If there is rivalry between dogs in the household, you'll
need to take steps to resolve it. Any conflict is likely to be
hierarchical in nature (a "power struggle"), which
means that all you have to do to stop the tension is pay attention
to which dog seems to be more dominant than the other one (which
one eats first, gets the toys he/she wants, "stares down"
another dog), and reinforce this position.
How to do this: feed the dominant dog first. Pet him/her first.
Give him/her a toy before anyone else gets one. This makes it
clear to all dogs in the house which one really is the dominant
dog -- and when this hierarchy's been recognizably established,
territorial/dominant behaviors like scent marking often vanish
overnight.
For more information on how to successfully house train your
American Pitbull (as well as a whole bunch of in-depth information
on house training troubleshooting and related issues) you'll
probably want to check out The Ultimate House Training Guide, which
comes highly recommended. |
Ultimate
House Training Guide
click image for
immediate download |
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