While housetraining sounds manageable from the point of view of Havanese training how-to articles, things seem to take on a anxious realism when families themselves have to deal with all that mess and schedule setting.
At the root of all housetraining concerns every owner has to deal with is the lack of set, automatic rules to set straight even two dogs of the same dog breed, try as we all might. All right, so in fact, things are not as worse as the above paragraph intended. While there are a million ways to help out a particular case, certain things fortunately remain changeless: pinning down the problem, and checking out any of the options within the owner’s control.
So what’s to be done about the almost universal story of the Hav that avoids making use of the dog door at night, and even balks at going under a little rain or snow, and in cases of these, prefers pooing inside the house?
Really, the problem above could still thankfully be worse! If there is a way that it could spill into “the perfect crisis,” it would be for the owner not to lift a finger and put into action some consistent and firm havanese training.
So, in this dog’s case, it would be helpful to have a clue like, say, the dog can stay for hours inside the family car without asking to be let out to poo or pee. In case of this, then the dog may do best if crate-trained. If the dog is a rescue, then there is indeed a need for owners to be assertive and to put in place a pattern that helps the dog know what is expected of it. If the dog won’t go outside during bad weather, then it may be a habit picked up from previous owners.
Lastly, a few Havanese training tips. The dog must never be allowed to do exactly what it wants, like refusing crate training, refusing to go outside, etc. The trick is really to start being assertive and in control. Obviously, the dog needs to be appealed to through its favorite treats, in order to finally get it to stay in the crate. Dogs, after all, are driven by smell above all, and sight and sound are only secondary. Getting the dog used to the crate is basically a matter of placing treats bit by bit close to the door of the crate, then eventually within the crate, until such time that the dog will feel used and accustomed to staying within.
