It is important to start potty training before your puppy is four months old. It’s all about control and if you let your puppy take control, you will never make him obey you, and you’ll have all kinds of mess to clean up! So start making use of the following puppy toilet training tips for your potty training.
It’s hard to be sure that you have control over your puppy when you allow him to run freely all over the house. There’s nothing worse than having a mess in your kitchen or soiling your carpet.
For most dog owners, a portable crate that is only big enough for the pup to turn around and lie comfortably in a reasonable posture may be the best way to save your carpet while potty training the puppies.
Many people also use kennels or barriers to keep their pups in certain rooms or areas of the house so as to “control” the potty area.
I would suggest to use a crate, or something similar, to toilet train your puppy. This should be used as a safe place for him not to go around soiling your house. Do not ever use the crate as a punishment for your puppy if accidents happens. Keep the crate near you during the training sessions so that your dog will not get too stressed.
You should only keep your dog in the crate for a short period of time. Puppies cannot stand the long hours in the crate. If a puppy does have an accident in his crate, it can cause major problems for him. He may even self mutilate themselves by chewing at the cage.
If you aren’t sure when your puppy needs to go potty, spend some time with him to learn his potty schedule. Usually it would be right after each meal or upon waking up from a nap. Of course, the breed of your dog and his age play a role as well in his potty habit. Old puppy tends to be able to control his bladder quite well.
If you find him needing to go for toileting, take him outside for potty immediately. This will get him into a habit to go outside to pee and poop and he won’t think of looking for a place in your home for potty.
Should he have an accident, do not make any physical punishment on him. If you do find a “mess” in the house, scold him with a firm, low tone. If you don’t catch him in the act, don’t make any scolding as this will only confuse him and he won’t know what he had done wrong.
Clean up the area with a pet deodorizer as dog urine stains are difficult to remove. Ensure that the urine scent is not longer there after the cleaning else it will attract your puppy to go back to the same spot for his potty.
You can use a spray deterrent to keep your dog from wanting to go to that area again for his “business”. There are many sprays available, and even ceramic dishwasher detergent works!
Make sure that there is nothing around the house that can catch your dog attention such as plastic bottles. These can act like a “magnet” and attract your puppy to do his potty on it.
Take your dog on potty breaks often – young puppies especially need to go as often as an hour or two after eating or drinking. If you feed your dog at a certain time every day, then you’ll have to take him out at around the same time every day to avoid accidents.
Try to make your dog do some walking or exercise as a tired dog is less likely to go for potty in the house.
Overweight dogs are particularly prone to bladder control issues, so your dog may end up having accidents simply because he isn’t able to hold his urine any longer. If you want to prevent your dog from having accidents in the house, you’ll need to help him lose weight. Getting regular exercise can be a particularly way to help your dog lose weight, and this is something you should not overlook.
You could also make use of a treatise to encourage the correct behavior from your dog (clicker training). Every time your puppy goes to the toilet outside, you should click, then reward him with a tasty treat. Soon he will associate the correct behavior (to go outside for potty) with reward and will be more than willing to repeat that action again.
It is important to establish your role as the pack leader as soon as possible. Praise, Praise, Praise! When your puppy does his “business” correctly, give him hugs and feel great joy in the process. He’ll love you for it.
Some people choose to begin training their puppy later in life, but this is not an ideal choice. It is much easier to house train a puppy early on, before he had developed any bad habits.
As you had learned from this post, the process of toilet training your puppy is not as daunting as it may sound. You just need to be consistent and establish a schedule to take your puppy outside for potty on a regular basis. Every time he does his potty correctly, praise and reward him with a treat and spend a few minutes playing with him before putting him back in the crate.
Whatever puppy toilet training approaches you decided to adopt, please remember that you will need to be patient and consistent while training your puppy. Its not going to happen overnight, but it will happen!