Do you have a Havanese toy dog? These small longhaired dogs are real charmers. With their adorable appearance and playful temperament, they seem to be the perfect pets.
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While these dogs are highly trainable, potty training is hard to teach to these canines. It’s possible that you have been to many forums to ask –are Havanese hard to potty train? If your dog exhibits a similar difficulty, don’t feel frustrated.
We will cover the basic facts about potty training Havanese dogs. Read on to know if this toy dog breed is just too stubborn to learn how to potty and what you can do about it.
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Are Havanese Hard to Potty Train?
Yes and no. There is a consensus that it’s harder to potty train toy dogs, in general. Since Havanese dogs belong to this category, these animals may also be hard to potty train.
Some Havanese dogs got their bad habits from growing in confinement. When dogs do not know that they should not poop in their eating and sleeping quarters while they were still pups, it’s harder to correct the bad habit. So, as much as possible, avoid getting a Havanese with a habit of eating, peeing and pooping all in one place.
In most cases, people also carry toy dogs around because they are small. But all this carrying could be to blame for your dog’s inability to learn to potty on its own. When your dog needs to poop, you should allow it to walk outside not carry it to the designated spot.
Allowing these dogs to stay on the floor is also good practice since they can learn how to signal that they have to potty. It’s harder for these dogs to communicate the call of nature when you are holding it. What most new toy dog owners are not aware of is that they are undoing any prior potty training a dog had when they pick their Havanese up every hour or two.
While potty training a Havanese is challenging, success all depends on how you teach and treat your dog. Some Havanese owners report that potty training they dogs was not that hard to do. At the end of the day, your dog’s success will all depend on your potty training skills.
What is the best way to teach Havanese dogs how to potty?
Aside from allowing these dogs to use their four legs to go out, positive reinforcement is the best method.
Sticking to a habit is a must in potty training. Dogs have a predictable pattern when it comes to eliminating waste. Puppies will require more frequent trips to the loo than adults.
Watching for signs is a good start. Always take your Havanese out for a walk when you think that it’s time to potty. Always bring your toy dog to the same spot when they have to poop.
Another thing that you should always remember is to leash your dog and allow it to walk on its own. Never pick up your Havanese and place it in the “poop” spot.
When accidents happen especially with puppies, try to tone down the punishment. Puppies won’t always get the lesson you are trying to teach them through discipline. In fact, these pups react better when you use positive reinforcement.
Just like kids, puppies will realize that you would punish them for accidents in the house. So, they would learn to hide those accidents from you by leaving poop when you are not around or in places that are hard to find.
What these dogs need is to look forward to rewards. When they know that doing something will fetch them a treat, they will be more enthusiastic to do it.
How can you reduce frustration over your Havanese dogs that are not housebroken?
It’s difficult when your pets are not potty trained. It can be frustrating. But, you always have options and in this case, the best one is to confine your dog.
Confinement means that your dog does not have access to your entire home. While they can make accidents in their area, you can minimize the damage to the rest of your home. Unless you are training, feeding, walking or grooming your Havanese, it needs to stay in its area. Keeping your dog from running everywhere also ease the burden cleaning this buddy’s hair.
Keeping your dog confined is a good option as these animals rarely soil their sleeping quarters. So, your dog will do its best to give you a signal when it needs to go potty.
Giving your dog free reign in the house can also reinforce bad habits. Preventing these minor accidents is always better and easier than correcting it afterward.
Potty Training: What Your Havanese Needs to Learn
There are two main things your dog needs, discipline and access to their spot. If you can provide these two things and be vigilant in how you potty train your Havanese, success rates are high.
Havanese dogs are compliant and smart. These dogs are highly trainable. And, it is your responsibility as an owner to reinforce good behavior.
Your dog’s behavior and actions reflect on your training abilities. If your Havanese is not acting up to par, you might need to change your approach to yield better results.
Now, let’s answer your question -are Havanese hard to potty train? Everything rests on your shoulders. Whether potty training is easy or hard, it will all depend on how you handle your dog.
I’m so glad you encourage the method of POSITIVE training rather than SCOLDING the dog for accidents in the house. When you “got to go” you “got to go”. I’m not an advocate for pee pads because they actually encourage going indoors. Animals like to do their business outside. I agree… it’s the OWNERS fault if the dog is not learning. IF… you get them out every 2 hours and right after play or 5 minutes after eating… they will go outside.☺️
I also found a GREAT lady on the web that teaches these skills. It’s called “ How to train a Dream Dog” her name is Michelle 👍👍
Very good. Reinforced my methods are right on. I have anxiety issues. Puppy goes crazy when time to exit car to the point of hurting me. Any suggestions!
He is 13 months old & perfect
otherwise .