Housetraining tips for a "Real Housewife"

Did you see last night’s installment of Bravo's  Real Housewives of Washington DC?  Early in the episode, cast member Mary Schmidt Amons of McLean discusses the problems she's had since her daughter Lolly moved back home and brought her Bernese Mountain Dog, Kona, with her.

“I love having my daughter home,” says Mary, “But having her hairy, pooping dog around … I’m having some adjustment issues.”

As Lolly notes, coping with hairiness and shedding are part of dog ownership—and is nothing that regular brushing wouldn’t help reduce. But then there’s the pooping in the house. Kona appears to be fully grown, so there’s really no excuse for such pooping. All the family needs to do is to institute a good housetraining program so that Kona learns that pooping should take place outdoors only. Here are some tips for putting together such a program:

Get a crate. A crate that’s big enough for Kona to stand up, turn around and lie down in will help the dog learn to hold her poop and pee long enough to do her business where and when the family allows her to.

Designate a bathroom area. Pick a place in the back yard where Kona’s allowed to do her business. Take Kona to this area for every bathroom break, and give her a small treat every time she does the doo in this area.

Create a schedule. Generally, the adult canine housetrainee needs a bathroom break first thing in the morning, after breakfast, mid-day, before dinner, after dinner and before bedtime. In between bathroom breaks, the dog should be in the crate when someone’s not watching her.

Clean up the right way. When Kona has an indoor accident, no one should scold her. Instead, whomever comes upon such accidents (and that includes everyone, not just Rosa the maid) should use a cleaner that’s especially made for dealing with pet stains—and resolve to watch Kona a little more closely in the future.

There’s more info in Housetraining For Dummies (yes, we wrote it).

As for the outdoor clean-up, props to Rosa for performing that task. In doing so, she and the Amons family are doing their bit to protect the local water supply.  However, Rosa doesn’t need to wear a surgical mask when performing the job. If Kona’s poop smells that bad, a change of diet–or, if that doesn't work, a visit to the vet–might be in order.

(Photo credit:  Bernese Mountain Dog,  from Encyclopedia Britannica)