WHEN Harley, my German shorthair point- er was a pup, he didn’t like to go out in the rain to do his business. I remember standing out in the backyard with him, under an umbrella, waiting tor him to go. He would appease me by letting outa litde squirt, then run in the heuse to finish relieving himself in the warmth and comfort of the living room. What a bugger! House maining vour new pup doesn’t have to be diffi- cult. Whether you are using a crate to assist you or not, your success will depend on three things, prevention, consistency and rewards. Teaching your pup to do number one and number two outside shouid begin the moracnt you arrive home with Fido. By establishing a routine that will anticipate the pup’s needs and minimize opportu- nities for mistakes, vou prevent bad habits from forming. The puppy routine should be such thai Fido is consistent- ly taken outside after each meal, a drink or playtime, as well as after naps, having been left alone for a period of time and as soon as Fido is taken out of the crate, if you are using one. When he/she begins to whine, sniff the ground or circle around with their fittle bum aimed at the carpet, these are subtle behav- iours which mean “Hey, I gotta go!” Fido should also be taken out before you put your head on your pillow at night. Joan canine connection him/her to a spot on a patch of grass or soil and let them do their business. As they begin to do their stuff ... toss ina command such as “get busy” or “go pee-pees.” [fused con- PETs —— The ones and twos of housetraining your puppy sistenty the pup will learn to pee on command. Once they are done, praise them profusely and reward them with affection. Try to avoid using a weat reward for pooping outside. I have seen dogs who hold it until they get a whiff of a treat. Bring Fido to the same area outside, as the smell of the urine from the previous visit will help them do their stuff this visir. Be consistent with the door vou use to take Fido outside. If you bring Fido out the front door this time, then the back door the next time, as vour pup begins to alert vou about having fo go potty, the “which door do E head to” thing may pose a problem and the pup may “get busy” somewhere between the owo. Ifvour pup does have an indoor accident, do nor rub his or her nose in it. The only thing this negative approach does is teach your pup to be afraid of you when it has to go. You may then end up hav- ing a pup that slinks off to do number owo in a closet. As ell, stinging urine or bacte- ria-filled feces jammed up a pup’s delicate nasal passages could harm them. Besides. NEWS photo Cindy Goodman Sunday, January 9, 2000 - North Shore News - 29 would anyone even think of doing something like this to a chikt who wets their bed? | didn’t think so. Den’t scold your pup, unless you catch him/her in the act. Puppies have reall short attention spans and won't associate the scold with the accident even if it ts shortly after the fact. Never hit your pup, for anything. When caught in the act, stern! y “No!” Or growl! at vour pup, as a mother dog would, to show your dis- pleasure. Then bring them outside to finish what they started and praise them Human’s name: Carlo Milano, nine years old. Pet’s name and age: Nuka is a 24 year-old samoyd. Nuka one of Favourite activitie loves to go running a Some pups may urinate submissively when upset. Don’t punish this behaviour as it will only get worse. Simply ignore the behaviour and clean it afterwards when the pup is away, Establishing consistent habits early and rewarding cor- rect behaviour can prevent indoor mistakes from oce ing. An ounce of prevention rth a pound of cure. — Joan is the owner of Sierra K9 training Acaden For advice e-mail her at sier- rah9@telus.neto. Comments in to the editor her favourite spots on the North Shore is Mosquito Creek. Favourite treat: She loves butcher’s bones from the Italian Meat Market. Pet tale: Nuka is known among family and friends as somewhat of an escape artist. Fortunately, her family lives in a friendly area and whenever she gets out of the yard th “neighbours return her gra- ciously.” if you would like to appear with your pet in Pet Pause, please write to Terry Peters c/o the North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, B.C., V7M 244. Or send e-mail to . MAGICAL MILLENNIUM EXPE reasons for wan Back in November 1999 we ran just one ad for a contest that invited our readers to send us a letter outlining their ng to spend New Years Eve in Whistler for a Magical Millennium Experience. To the many hundreds of our readers who responded, thank-you. Your letters made our task of selecting a winner an enjoyable, albeit extremely difficult, experience. Eventually, staff members from the North Shore News and the Whistler Tourism Association narrowed the field and the lucky winner was chosen. So we'd like to congratulate Chris Manley who wanted to propose to his girlfriend on the eve of the new millennium. We'd also like to say this contest was so much fun, it’s a shame we'll have to wait a theusand years to do it again. That is of course, unless you believe the new millennium doesn’t start until January 1, 2001. In which case...