house-train
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb: * To teach (a domestic animal, especially a dog or cat) to urinate and defecate only in designated places outdoors or in a litter box, and not inside the home.
Usage
This verb is used specifically for the process of teaching pets, primarily dogs and cats, to be hygienic indoors. It is a transitive verb and is often used in the passive voice. * The owner is the one who house-trains the pet. * The pet is (or gets) house-trained.
Examples
- It took us three months to house-train our new puppy.
- Kittens are usually easier to house-train than puppies.
- Our dog was successfully house-trained by the time he was six months old.
- We're still in the process of house-training the new rescue dog.
Advanced Usage
- The concept is often associated with basic pet obedience and is a fundamental step in pet ownership.
- The term implies training for cleanliness , distinguishing it from general obedience training.
Variants and Related Words
- House-trained (adjective): Describes a pet that has learned this behavior.
- Make sure the dog is house-trained before you adopt it.
- Housebreaking (noun, primarily US English): The process or result of house-training a dog.
- The housebreaking process requires consistency.
- Potty-train (verb): Used almost exclusively for human children, not pets. It is a near-synonym in concept but not in application.
Synonyms
- Toilet-train (used more for pets in British English)
- Break in (archaic or regional in this context, as in "housebreak")
Notes on Meaning
This word has a single, specific meaning related to pet care. It does not refer to training for other household behaviors like not chewing furniture. Its focus is exclusively on waste elimination.
Verb
- train (a pet) to live cleanly in a house