Housebreaking can be one of the most time consuming
aspects of training your dog, but its rewards will be valued by you
and your family for the rest of the dog's days as a member of your
household. Sure, it takes a few weeks of your time and a lot of
patience to house-train any dog, because even the smartest puppy will
make mistakes, but its better than cleaning up and stepping in messes
for years.
It will help you to remember that your dog really wants to be clean,
because canines and wolves are naturally clean animals. consider the
situations below, and decide for yourself which dog YOU would rather
be:
Rover lives with Mary and Jim and their four children. Jim goes to
work at the local factory while Mary takes care of the house and the
kids. Two of the children are in school all day, the other two are
preschoolers at home with Mom. Today Mary is taking them to the
grocery store. Returning with the groceries, she opens the door and
heads for the kitchen. Rover, meanwhile, heads out the open door. He
knows what's coming.
"Rover", Mary screams. "You stupid, stubborn pig headed dog! Come
back here!" Mary has just stepped in the package Rover left for her
in the kitchen. Rover slinks through the door, and Mary whacks him in
the head. She drags him into the kitchen by his collar, shoves his
nose in the mess, and whacks him again, this time on the nose. After
shouting at him, telling him how rotten and dirty he is, she shoves
him out the back door into the yard, where she leaves him in sorry
isolation for the rest of the day.
Mary then calls Jim at work, and tells him that this time she's
really had it, and he had better take that "stupid dog to the pound,
tonight!" Poor Rover.
Fido lives with George and Arlene and their daughter. Both adults
work and their daughter June attends the local high school. Today
George has arrived home from work first. Fido joyfully greets him,
knowing that it's time for his walk and dinner. George, happy to come
home to a faithful companion who has just completed another day of
valiant guard duty, speaks affectionally to Fido, scratching him
behind the ears and telling him what a good dog he is.
After changing his clothes and collecting the mail he and Fido go for
a leisurely walk, during which the perfect pooch does his stuff, and
they both return home to find Arlene and June in their cozy kitchen
preparing dinner. Both women are also overjoyed to greet their canine
companion. Happy Fido.
Which dog would you rather be? And more importantly, which dog would
you rather have sharing your home?
