Avoid These 13 Miniature Pinscher Housebreaking Mistakes

1. Blaming your Min Pin. Housebreaking can be very frustrating. If you’re having trouble housebreaking your Miniature Pinscher, the first thing you need to understand is that you are responsible for our dog’s behavior because you create and control the circumstances and her environment.

2. Being impatient.—This is so important.  If your dog doesn’t seem to be taking to housebreaking well, you must first examine what you might be doing wrong.  Have you been letting him out unsupervised?  Did you wait too long to take him for a walk?  It would be so much more convenient if you could train the in a week, but this usually just doesn’t happen.  Getting impatient and trying to rush him through it could cause unnecessary anxiety and stress in your new relationship.  Instead, focus on praising him when he goes outside, getting him there on time, and being consistent.  Dogs are like children – they don’t come into the world just knowing what you expect of them and how to do it.  As his owner, it’s your job to show him the ropes.  He’ll love you for it!

3. Swatting your dog.—Some Miniature Pinscher owners will swat their dog because of an accident, regardless of whether they caught their dog in the act, just after, or much later. It may be easier to swat a small dog than a larger one, but that doesn’t justify qualifying it as an effective housebreaking technique. The next time your find yourself reaching for a magazine or some newspaper, roll it up and swat YOURSELF on the head, because it’s your fault, not hers!

4. Don’t rub your Min Pin’s nose in it.— How would you like having your nose rubbed in it?  Your focus should be on encouragement and positive reinforcement, not embarrassment and shame tactics.  There’s just no need to resort to this type of punishment.  Chances are, you just didn’t pick up their signals and will have to watch closer next time to avoid another incident!  Rubbing your dog’s nose in it will only make them fearful and distrustful of you.

5. Not letting your dog out enough.—A Min Pin is not like a cat. Your dog needs to go outside. That doesn’t mean there can’t be exceptions, but as a rule, you need to take her out or see to it that someone else does.  She needs exercise, sunshine and fresh air, just like you do.

6. Not using keywords to indicate going out to take care of business.—Throughout her life, your Min Pin will develop a vocabulary. The size of this vocabulary is up to you. With practice and patience, you can teach your dog to respond to words like “OUTSIDE?” and “PEE-PEE?”  This is great for cold days when you really just want him to go pee so you can get back inside, or when you’re pressed for time.  It also helps in the training process by giving your dog a clear idea of what it is that you expect them to do when you take them out to do their business. 

7. Ignoring your Min Pin’s signals.–When your Min Pin comes to you, it could be to have you take him outside. If you’re too busy talking on the phone, watching TV or surfing the Web, you don’t leave him much of a choice…

8. Being oblivious to your dog.—Have you ever noticed your dog starting to sniff around? Maybe your heard her tap-dancing on your hardwood floors?  Be watchful and you will clue into the little signs and signals they’re giving you. 

9. Not practicing enough… and practicing too much.—Experts I’ve come across say you have to practice something with your Min Pin 4 times to help your dog “get it.” Not 3 times, not 6 times. Train too few times, and your dog doesn’t make the connection. Practice too many times, and you’ll just tire and confuse your dog, and frustrate both of you. This tip goes hand-in-hand with needing to be patient.

10. Failing to praise your dog.—When you’ve taken him outside and he takes care of business, praise him immediately, then praise him again. Praise him “GOOD PEE-PEE” for peeing, and “GOOD OUTSIDE” for pooping. Dogs love praise. If you make a huge deal out of praising your dog for going in the right place, telling her she did a good job, you should notice a difference in a short period of time.

11. Forgetting the treats.—Miniature Pinschers love praise. And they love treats just as much. Many years ago, I met the owner of several toy breeds. What struck me was how this woman always gave her dogs treats whenever they took care of business.

At first I was skeptical about this practice because I thought dogs would come to expect a treat and might skip going outside just to get a treat… Silly me.  But sometime later, I too began giving my dog a treat when we came back from his “business.” Sure enough, after several times of giving him treats, we’d return to the kitchen and my dog would stare at me then stare at the counter where treats lived. Now my dog was expecting a treat! But guess what? There’s no harm in that! The toy breeder I mentioned above loved giving her little ones the snack, and they loved her back for it.

This is now the same with me and my dog when he takes care of his business.  When your dog takes care of business and runs back into the house, follow it up by giving her a small treat. A half of a puppy drumstick snack is fine really. If I remember, I might give him one when we return from a walk, too.

12. Not cleaning up well enough.—Dogs like to do their business in the same place. Notice where your dog has his accidents. Then clean up very carefully to eliminate the scent and keep him from returning to do his business in the same spot again.

13. Being away from home too often.—When you’re trying to housebreak your Miniature Pinscher, you have to always be aware of what your dog is doing. If you let her out of your sight, you may have to start all over again.  You can’t really blame your dog if you’re gone for 8 hours of the day and they have an accident.  What did you expect?