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First off, my husband David and I both worked full time and the same shift so they had to spend long hours home alone.
Murdo was our first cairn. He was 9 weeks old when we brought him home. He was paper and crate trained by his breeder.
Definitions:
Setup
Into this restricted area, place the crate/cage with toys and soft bed inside (a nice touch is to add a large towel or small blanket over the top and 1 or 2 sides of the cage so it is more like a den. It will be quiet and private for the pup. The ENTIRE floor of the restricted area (outside the cage) should be covered with several layers of newspaper. The water and food dishes should be kept near the cage but outside it.
The Theory
The door to the cage should be kept OPEN at all times. Pup is restricted to this safe area so he won't get into trouble in the house, but he can come and go from his den to eat, to drink, and to "do his duty". It's important to have him near the family activity area so he can get used to family coming and going and to the sounds and smells of family. You want him to be a family member after all. A corner of the kitchen is ideal.
Since he has the option of leaving his den (cage) whenever he wants to, (but must stay inside the restricted area) he will quickly learn to keep his den clean and make his messes elsewhere. Almost right away, you will notice that Pup will pee and poop as far away as possible from his den and his food. It may not be all in one location in the area but it will not be close to food or water or den.
A Warning
This is VERY IMPORTANT. When you do allow him to be outside the restricted area, you MUST truly give him 100% of your attention. If you cannot observe him this completely, then keep him in his restricted area. Select several times per day when you will be able (even for a short period) to watch him like a hawk. Use this time to play with him, to cuddle, to bond, to begin teaching him, all the fun stuff. But, DO NOT LET HIM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT even for a second. You don't want him to have the opportunity to make a mistake in the open house. Don't count on him to remember that the newspaper is in the restricted area of the kitchen and to return there. It won't happen.
When you are unable to give this CONSTANT attention, put him back into the restricted area. You're happy, he's happy, no mistakes can happen because it's okay for him to go on the newspaper in the restricted area. And, since the entire floor of this area is covered with newspaper, he has to use it.
Later
Time passes. You notice that he's doing his business more and more in one area of the restricted space. Start picking up some of the unused paper. Remove it, first, from near his den and food and water dishes. Remove only a little at a time, perhaps as little as one sheet--the sheet of newspaper in front of the door of the den for a start. Keep removing the papers slowly until the area covered is the size of only one sheet of newspaper. Spend a couple weeks doing this. Remember you don't want him to make mistakes.
If he makes mistakes and messes other than on the papers, increase the size of the papered area again. When he's is safely using papers only on this small area, start slowly moving the papers closer to the back door and ultimately outside the door.
The Outside Training
During this entire procedure, you should be taking him out often to do his business. When you're outside and you can see he is about to "do it" repeat a cue word such as "hurry up" or "business". Continue repeating the cue until he has finished, then load on the praise and have a treat ready to give him. He will soon associate that cue word with the action of "doing it". This then will act as a command to him to "hurry up" and go. This is especially handy when it's raining like crazy and you don't want to be standing out in it for hours waiting for him to pick the exact right spot.
Each time he goes outside, praise him and/or give him a treat as soon as he's done.
Quick Review
This combination:
will produce wonderful results.
Chances are if you are religious about this method, he will finish the process himself and will not use papers when moved toward the backdoor but will wait to go outside to do it.
How To Know When Pup Wants to go Out
As to knowing WHEN he wants to go out, you can either be a detective, try to figure it out and hope he gives you a signal. OR, you can teach him a signal he can give you.
As I said earlier, Murdo was our first cairn. We'd heard of someone teaching her dog to pull on a bell rope to ring a bell. We had no bell. My husband hung an old cookie sheet at cairn level beside the back door. (a man’s idea of interior design.) When we wanted to take Murdo outside, we brought him to the door, took hold of his little front feet in each hand and made them scratch or bang on the cookie sheet. Then we'd immediately open the door and praise him and let him out. It took only a couple days of this and Murdo was hitting the pan all by himself. This became a great source of amusement for visitors especially when he grew up and could make quite a racket.
We now use a sleigh bell hung by the back door. We taught both of our fur-kids to nudge the bell when they wanted out. We started this about halfway through the restricted area above training, We started taking each puppy to the door to go out, sat him down, nudged the bell ourselves, then instantly opened the door and let him out. After about one day we'd take his little paw and use it to nudge the bell. then quickly open the door. They got the idea.
The bell is a little more civilized, but the cookie sheet was a lot more fun.
This worked for us for both of our pups nine months apart. We got them both at 9 weeks of age. Murdo, the first, was completely safely housebroken by 4.5 months of age. Geordie was safe by age 5.5 months.
Helpful Hints for Happy Training and Happy Family
To avoid nighttime anxiety of separation, we carried the cage to our bedroom and Pup would spend the night in it with the door latched. Carrying the cage quickly got old, so we soon bought a second cage which stayed in our bedroom. That became the nighttime den. We covered top and 3 sides of this cage with a blanket leaving the door end exposed. They were completely quiet throughout the night. Everyone slept wonderfully. Once they were safely housebroken, they no longer had to stay in the cage all night, but we shut the bedroom door to keep them in the room with us. No sense in pushing a good thing too far.
Final Thoughts
Remember, TIMING is critical to training of any sort. Give the command (whatever it is that you are teaching at the time) and instantly respond to their correct response with positive reinforcement of some type, be it verbal praise, petting, or a treat. The instant you ring the bell, open the door, so that to the puppy it is all one event.
Bell ringsà door opens.
"Hurry up" à pup pees or poops
"Come" à pup runs to you and gets treat and hug
Your puppy is a new family member. Just like with human babies, consideration and adjustment of routine must be made for them. They will learn very fast, but you must teach in a clear and consistent and POSITIVE manner. And besides, all this teaching and adjustment of routine is part of the bonding process whether the baby is human or canine.
Questions or comments are welcome. Send e-mail to
CHRISCAIRN Kennels is owned and operated by
Christine and Garry B. Peters.
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