RIGID HOUSEBREAKING REGIMEN
BACKGROUND THOUGHTS:
It's a given that Welsh Terriers are highly intelligent, with a built-in overwhelming desire to please as standard equipment. Even as puppies, they absorb and process information at amazing speeds. To those unprepared for it, their cerebral agility is what gets in the way of normal dog training programs and causes terrier training to seemingly go on forever!
Most importantly, the super perceptiveness of Welsh Terriers enables them to detect the most subtle (and insignificant to us humans) differences in lesson commands or "cueing." As a result, they'll often seem to react unpredictably, or inappropriately. In reality, if the youngster is about six months old or older, what's likely being shown is not the lack of intelligence, or the ignoring of the commands, but just the opposite. The puppy might "appear" confused, while going through a mental and physical search for the proper reaction to what it perceives as a different cue! To further complicate things, the problem may not even be from command/cue wording. Voice tonal and physical posturing inconsistencies of the trainer may be misinterpretted by the puppy, as well... or, the puppy simply may not yet have the mental and physical maturity (muscle control) to dependably perform the requested tasks.
This bears emphasizing: What seems to determine the length of time lessons are effectively learned, can be somewhat attributable to age/breed/gender of the canine... but, also, greatly to the consistency of the trainer, as well as to the precision of the trainer's cueing, and to the mental and physical development of the puppy, regardless of its age.
Another thing this terrier intelligence causes... terrier boredom! This sets in surprisingly quick, so all lessons must be kept short and to the point. A greater frequency of short lessons is much more effective than fewer long ones. ...And easier on everyone's nerves, too. It's pretty much a given, that the younger the puppy, the shorter the attention span, and the longer it'll be before the ultimate training goal is reached. But, you can certainly enjoy the trip... they're even cute when they screw up!
CAVEAT: All things being equal, there're probably time/learning curves for individual puppies, just as there are for individual humans. This regimen can't take that into account. All it can do, if closely followed, is help avoid extraneous influences which might weaken and lengthen the learning process.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED: The puppy's crate and a leash. The crate will be where he (or she) will stay when unattended and while asleep, especially at night. Puppies, six months of age or older, usually don't mess where they sleep, so the crate is an important pee-and-poop-holding training aid, too. If your home has much activity, the crate can also be a comfortable and quiet escape for your pup.
(Instead of listing all the steps and then providing an overall explanation, I prefer to list a step and immediately elaborate before going on. That seems less confusing to write, but it could be more difficult to read.)
THOROUGHLY CLEAN UP ALL TRACES OF INDOOR ACCIDENTS!
One of the most important methods of minimizing subsequent soilings, is to fanatically clean any soiled area... which, of course, means there must be no odor traces remaining. Because our dogs have noses a hundred times more sensitive than our's, this "thorough cleaning" can be challenging.
We don't even bother with home remedies, such as vinegar solutions. We pull out all the stops and use the big guns... those chemical solutions, or powders, which claim to be suitable for hospitals, hotels, motels, restaurants, kennels, zoos, catteries and wherever malodorous conditions might occur.
Two such products are ODOR-MUTETM (a powder to be mixed with water) and ODOR-WANDTM (a liquid solution). These, and products like them, claim to be non-poisonous, non-caustic, harmless to humans, plant life, and pets. In solution, they seem odorless, while appearing colorless and nearly clear. And ODOR-MUTETM claims good results with skunk (polecat) odor..! Obtaining such products might be done through your local pet supply stores, pet show vendors, and through various mail order firms.
A good clean-up recommendation is to blot (soak up) the urine, pick up and properly discard the butt nuggets, then religiously follow the product's instructions. Then for peace of mind, repeat it all after the first applications dries. Remember, what we are striving for, is the elimination of the odors our dogs can detect, which is beyond what we can detect.
At one time or another, every pet will have an accident. Not thoroughly ridding the soiled area of unobtrusive, stimulating and lingering odors is just asking for a repeat performance, no matter how enthusistically you follow this rigid housebreaking regimen that was gleaned from many sources, which, incidentally, starts here:
RIGID HOUSEBREAKING REGIMEN
(A) Don't try to guess when the puppy needs to "go." Perform these steps at, oh, every 45 minute to an hour intervals. Honest, initially that frequent! Don't cheat, you'll only be fraying your nerves and harming your carpet! (If you are housebreaking a full-sized canine, the interval could be two hours... but, no greater, until the reason for the outdoor trips is firmly established in the dog's mind.)
(B) Pick a SINGLE PHRASE, that everyone involved with the training agrees on (and a phrase that will never be used otherwise), like, "Fido want to go on a business trip?" or, "Fido, go potty?" One precise phrase, used every time. Everyone involved should try to use the same unexcited, but precise tone of voice, too.
(C) Even not knowing what the phrase means, the puppy will react somehow, i.e., tail wagging, added animation, etc. As soon as you detect he has focused on the phrase, immediately follow up with "consistent" actions. Sooner or later, the puppy will tie them together in his own mind and will more predictably respond. (DON'T let other vocalizing, or other actions - by anyone - get between your chosen phrase and the subsequent consistent actions. There should be no distractions, or this'll take forever!) Remember, the puppy is amazingly curious and observant and is learning about living, too, and will try to tie everything that's happening together. Everything fascinates him and easily captures his attention, if allowed.
(D) Call him to the (same) doorway, snap on his leash (with some, "Good boy!" encouragement) and promptly walk him outdoors to a pre-determined specific spot, a spot that will only be used for potty purposes. Then you just stand there, letting him nose around on a short leash. He's not there to play, so don't let him stray more than a few feet. This pre-determined outdoor location should be appropriate for everything, like: odor/fly control and maybe somewhat sheltered from rain, too, because you're going to be there with him during many trips.
(E) Say nothing, except maybe another specific phrase, like, "Hurry up, Fido, Hurry up." No yelling, no increased animation on your part, normal voice, with possibly a tinge of command to it. Say nothing else. Nothing. (And never use the "Hurry up" phrase otherwise, either.)
(F) As soon as he completes his "stuff," praise him like you've never praised him before! Now get animated!!! Then, whisk him right back into the house. Release him to do whatever he wants. Give no treat, your praise should be his reward. (Go and clean up his deposits later, when he's not around to be confused by that activity.)
(G) Remember, puppies have to urinate IMMEDIATELY upon awakening from naps, as well as from lengthy sleep and they'll likely need to poop 2-4 times a day. Of course, both should be done just prior to being tucked in the crate for the night.
(H) During housebreaking, crate him when he is left alone. He won't mind and will probably sleep anyway. (I used to have trouble with this confinement thing, until professional breeders and handlers, who I respect, convinced me the pups appreciate the solitude the crates provide.)
TEMPORARY SEQUENCE BREAK FOR OTHER STUFF:
Even with a fenced in yard, or a doggie-escape door, it's best that the regimen be followed as layed out, here. Including the trainer standing quiet and still near the puppy with a fairly short leash attached. If you need more convincing, accompanying the puppy will unmistakenly let you know if he has, in fact, pee'd and/or pooped out there! The alternative practice of just opening a door and letting the puppy outside, leaves too many distractions and choices to confuse even the most well-intentioned puppy. (Should that be done, even while commanding, "Go out and do your stuff," could result in the puppy interpreting it all as meaning, "Yeha, it's playtime outdoors! No one will know if I didn't poop and pee, so I'll do both later, indoors.")
Since we're dealing with Welsh Terriers, even after the training, you may find your dog's "I-gotta-go-outside" signal to be very subtle. Oftentimes, our male will just stand still and stare at one of us. On the other hand, our female will quietly walk to our front door, turn toward one of us ...and then stare. We have learned that, because these actions are a little out of character for them at that particular moment, they are communicating to us. ...And it works! Of course we've occasionally erred, but we erred on the side of the carpet!
END OF TEMPORARY SEQUENCE BREAK:
(I) The high initial frequency of trips assures the puppy you'll be there when needed. It also reinforces the outdoor toilet facilities and starts the imprinting of the cue words.
(J) On some of those trips, the puppy will fire blanks. After waiting (not playing around) an adequate amount of time (determined much by your patience - 5 to 6 minutes and after a few, "Hurry ups"), simply stop the drill by saying something like, "OK" and walk him away from the specified spot ...back into the house, to a play area, or wherever. The "OK" will essentially indicate that you have stopped expecting the performance of a particular task. This is a common signaling technique used by some successful obedience trainers. Let's face it, the puppy has to have some clue as to when he's freed of a challenge or he'll think the task still has to be completed wherever he's subsequently taken. The puppy desires praise, right? Just don't praise him for firing blanks, but don't act disappointed, either. It was a valuable trip anyway, because...
(K) The spacing of blank shot trips will give you some indication as to the "for real" frequency you'll have to abide by. It could take you days/week/longer to fairly accurately determine the required trip frequency, so you gotta pay attention. Thankfully, the for real frequency will diminish as you go along and as the puppy matures. But remember, if you overshoot the interval and wait too long, you pay. Meaning, don't blame the puppy if you miscalculate. Still, showing some disappointment for an indoor accident is an appropriate response and sends the right message to the pup. However, any hollering or rubbing his nose in it is terrifying and threatening to the puppy, is counterproductive, and is simply wrong.
(Any yelling and physical abuse will only frighten the puppy into forgetting what the original offense was and will trigger a horrible "fight or flight" response and, over time, may even cause the youngster permanent physical and emotional damage.)
Because Welsh Terriers are so bright, the puppy could figure out this whole housebreaking scheme before you realize it has. Just don't forget, something as inconspicuous as just standing still, when you expect the puppy to continue romping around, might be all the signal you're gonna get!
THEORY:
We have a theory that: The quickness of catching on to a new challenge, or training objective, is much more affected by the degree of affection (desire to please) the puppy has for the trainer and by the consistency and repetitiveness of the instructions/cues, than by the complexity of the task to be learned. We believe "complexity" is a human assessment which usually gets in the way. We've seen dressage horses and obedience/trick trained dogs do some breathtaking things, but each was taught using simple and consistent cueing techniques, over and over.
Maybe unsuccessful housebreaking trainers weren't as focused on the details as they should've been. Maybe they didn't think the learning process, even in animals, is as complex as it really is. And this training, if started before the puppy has had time to physically mature, may have long range positive rewards, but it will not totally eliminate the short term accidents from occasionally occurring.
NO SUMMARY, JUST AN APOLOGY FOR THE LENGTHINESS.
It's hoped this helps you look at all training from a different angle. Your persistence will pay off. You'll be developing another family member who will give back unconditional love and affection, along with years and years of fascinating enjoyment.