Weimaraner Owner

Housetraining A Weimaraner

Once you have your Weimaraner puppy home, one of the first things to do is to housetrain him.

A puppy is a bit like a baby in that he gains more control over his bodily functions as time goes on. He gains this control much sooner than a baby and at eight weeks begins to know or learn where he is allowed to go to the toilet and where he is not. Instinctively he will not want to defecate where he lives or sleeps. He might, not by choice but because he could not get where he wanted.

Right from the beginning, think for him: learn to read the signs. When he wakes up, a puppy usually wants to relieve himself, so pick him up immediately, take him outside and encourage him to go, using the same words every time.

If, for instance, you say 'Be good', he will go when he hears the words 'Be good' if you are persistent with the command every time you take him out. When he has relieved himself, praise him and pet him to show how pleased you are with him.

Another time he may want to relieve himself is after he has eaten. Again, take him straight out and encourage him to go.

When he is playing a game with the children and he stops and starts to potter about, sniffing as he goes, often in decreasing circles, get him out quickly as it is a sure sign.
Stay with him while he is outside. This can get very boring if he forgets why he has been taken out. Be patient because he will remember eventually and get on with it.

If he has an accident, pick him up and say a disapproving 'NO'. Take him straight outside and encourage him to go; even if it is too late he will get the general idea. Don't rub his nose in it and get excited, because that will worry him and he won't perform for you at all in case you repeat your show of disapproval. He will be more hurt if you quietly and quickly show your disaproval, because he does not like to be ignored.

When he makes a mistake, clean it up with disinfectant as quickly as possible to remove the scent and stain, as well as for hygienic reasons. If the spot is clean, he will not be able to remember where he went before and will not consider going there again. A good way to remove toilet stains and smells is to squirt the stain with soda water as soon as possible after mopping up.

One method of training a puppy is to put newspaper on the floor near the outside door, gradually moving it outside as he gets accustomed to using it. However, this can confuse him. One minute he is allowed to perform in the house, the next he is not. He cannot be expected to differentiate between paper in the house and paper outside. It is far better to make the rules clear, right from the start. Inside no, outside yes. Otherwise you might end up with more than you bargained for when you are reading the Sunday paper on the floor!

If at all possible it is best to use one door to take him outside. As he becomes familiar with the procedure, he will go to the door himself to ask to be let out. When he does, drop everything and take him out; there is no room for manoeuvre on this point, it is the sign that you are winning.

Obviously night training is another problem. Restricting his intake of fluid later in the day can help. Confining him to a small place, such as an indoor kennel, to sleep will also help. It will encourage him to wait or to bark for you, as no dog willingly fouls his bed.

People in desperation have resorted to taking the puppy upstairs to resolve the problem - a drastic measure and one that is not easily reversed as he will not take kindly to being left downstairs again when clean.

After a few months, he will be in complete control of his bodily functions. Weimaraners are usually clean by nature. It is interesting to note that a puppy that has been kennelled outside, and therefore not housetrained, at seven or eight months can come inside the house and automatically expect to go out to the toilet. Kennel bitches that are brought in to be whelped will instinctively want to be clean and will never do anything in the house.