Appendix

Other Helpful Pit Stops for Housetrainers

IN THIS APPENDIX

Bullet Finding housetraining help online

Bullet Uncovering magazines that showcase pooches and their people

Bullet Discovering new media to add to your housetraining knowledge

This book is designed to tell you everything you need to know to help you and your canine housetrainee live in an accident-free world forevermore. But if you just can’t get enough info about pooch potty protocol and doggie bathroom boo-boos, here’s a boatload of additional information designed to quench your thirst for such knowledge. As you sample these materials, you’ll find a lot not only about housetraining but also about many other important aspects of canine health and behavior.

Go Online

Not surprisingly, the Internet has countless sites devoted to the trials, tribulations, and triumphs that the process of housetraining entails, not to mention other aspects of understanding canine behavior. Here are some of the best:

  • Pet Connection: This is the fabulous website that deals with anything and everything having to do with companion animals. It’s maintained by Good Morning America’s favorite veterinarian, Dr. Marty Becker, and pet writer extraordinaire Gina Spadafori, author of (among other works) Wiley’s classic Dogs For Dummies. The website includes not only a blog that details important issues regarding animal care but also the archives from the Pet Connection column published by the Universal Press Syndicate. The archives are searchable, and they include at least six articles that cover both housetraining basics and fine points. Visit the site at www.petconnection.com.
  • Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT): This organization conducts continuing education programs for dog trainers, with a strong emphasis on reward-based (read: positive reinforcement) training. Although the site is geared mainly toward professional instructors, there's some good stuff here for the average dog owner, including a trainer database that allows the owner to search for a trainer in his or her local area. The site also includes many articles from the APDT newsletter, Chronicle of the Dog, including several that deal with housetraining issues. Check it out at www.apdt.com.
  • Merck Veterinary Manual: The Merck Veterinary Manual is a marvelous online resource for those who own all kinds of animals, including dogs. The online version includes a detailed table of contents that catalogs symptoms and ailments by bodily system, as well as a database into which you can type a search term and, more than likely, get more information about that search term than you could imagine. Of particular note is a succinct yet detailed description of canine elimination problems and how to solve them. Go to www.merckvetmanual.com.
  • The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): This humongous site not only deals with a vast array of animal welfare and advocacy issues but also includes information on a variety of pet care topics — including housetraining. Because bathroom issues are a significant reason people surrender their dogs to animal shelters, the concern of the HSUS about this subject is more than understandable. To find out more, go to www.hsus.org.
  • Zero Odor: Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman of Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine swears by this product, which its manufacturers flat-out guarantee will end pet odor problems. Of course, ending odor problems is crucial to successful housetraining — because if any odor or other residue of a doggie bathroom transgression remains, your housetrainee can be guaranteed to go back to the site of that transgression and perform an encore. I haven’t used this product myself, but if Dr. Dodman gives it a thumbs-up, I’m thinking it’s got to be good. See what you think by visiting www.zopet.com.
  • UGoDog: This site showcases a unique indoor dog potty called, appropriately, the UGoDog. I’m including this site here in the appendix not because I endorse the product but because the site contains some good basic housetraining information. That said, as indoor canine bathrooms go, it’s more stylish looking than newspaper and can accommodate larger dogs than other indoor potties can. Case in point: My 70-pound Golden Retriever, Allie, walked onto the UGoDog without hesitation when asked. Nevertheless, I maintain that indoor bathrooms are best suited to small or medium-sized dogs. For the company’s own lowdown, head over to www.ugodog.net.
  • Secondnature: This is the website maintained by Nestlé-Purina to showcase its dog litter product. The inclusion of this site in this appendix isn't an endorsement of Secondnature over any other dog litter product on the market. The site does, however, include some good basic information that anyone can apply to potty training a dog, regardless of the method used. Find out more by moseying over to www.doglitter.com.

Book ’Em!

This book probably tells you more about housetraining than you ever wanted to know. However, on the off chance that you don’t think it does or (more likely) that you want to know how to teach your dog to do other things and keep him healthy, here are some great sources of additional reading:

  • Dogs For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Gina Spadafori (Wiley): Just about the best all-around dog care book ever written. Spadafori answers pretty much every question a dog owner (or prospective dog owner) could ask. Great reference book — and a great read, too.
  • The Holistic Dog Book: Canine Care for the 21st Century, by Denise Flaim (Howell Book House): As far as I’m concerned, this is the best explanation of holistic veterinary medicine for dogs out there. The book provides terrific, detailed descriptions of how holistic veterinarians view canine health and nutrition.
  • The Power of Positive Dog Training, by Pat Miller (Howell Book House): Miller is one of the best positive reinforcement dog trainers in the United States — and in this book, she shows why. She offers a readily understandable explanation of the science behind positive reinforcement and an equally clear description of how to use that science to train your dog humanely and wisely.
  • Puppies For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Sarah Hodgson (Wiley): Hodgson deals with all things puppy in this lavishly illustrated tome, and she includes a great chapter on housetraining.

Flip through These Mags

The art of housetraining, just like anything else that employs the principles of canine behavioral science, is constantly evolving — and often, magazines can provide more timely information about that evolution than books can. Pet magazines, unfortunately, come and go, but the titles listed here have been around for a long time and are likely to stay around for an even longer period.

  • AKC Family Dog (American Kennel Club): For people who own purebred dogs but don’t exhibit those dogs in conformation shows (such as the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show), the AKC offers this award-winning quarterly magazine. The articles and columns here emphasize basic dog care and training — including housetraining — and integrating your dog into your life. The magazine is available by subscription only. To subscribe, visit the AKC website at www.akc.org/pubs/familydog or call 800-490-5675.
  • Dog Fancy (Bowtie, Inc.): Probably the most widely read dog-oriented magazine in the United States, Dog Fancy is chock-full of leading-edge information about dog health, care, and training (including housetraining, of course). It also contains breed profiles and other interesting features. It's available on newsstands at book and pet superstores, or you can subscribe at www.dogchannel.com.
  • Whole Dog Journal (Belvoir Publications, Inc.): Not only does this monthly newsletter report on trends in alternative medicine and holistic health care for dogs, but it also offers state-of-the-art advice about positive reinforcement training, including its application for housetraining. The editors pay special attention to nutrition, and the publication may be best known for its annual lists of the best and worst commercial dog foods — which can make a big difference not only in your dog’s overall health but also in his daily offloads. Subscriptions are available online at www.whole-dog-journal.com or by phone at 800-829-9165.
  • Your Dog (Tufts Media): Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, one of the finest vet schools in the United States, publishes this monthly 24-page newsletter. Articles are written by journalists but incorporate the Cummings School’s faculty’s expertise in dog health and behavior. It’s available only by subscription, by visiting www.tuftsyourdog.com or calling 800-829-5116.