It’s essential that you understand how your puppies body works in order to train them on potty effectively. Dogs are naturally simple animals, and they basically just do things that they like, as long as those things are not against their nature. Read on to learn the steps to potty training a puppy.
Puppy potty training should never be looked upon as the impossible. It is not your burden. Instead, it is your task to teach your puppy what is acceptable behavior. You lead, and he follows. Don’t blame your puppy if you can’t immediately train him to do the things right. He’s not bad. He just hasn’t been taught the right way yet.
To train your puppy where to go potty, you will need to look at a number of things.
Firstly, you cannot rush the potty-training process. Secondly, all dogs have different personalities, habits and needs, so you have to consider these things before you start the process of potty-training.
You must take your dog outside when you first wake up in the morning, as this is the first thing (potty) that your dog will do in the morning. If your dog is young, you will probably need to take them out in the middle of the night as well.
Take your puppy out after he’s eaten and then wait for him to go potty by giving him a command. This is very important. It could be “do your potty” or “potty time”or any simple wording that you wish. However, you must include the word “potty” so that he will associate the word with the action. Be sure not to give him a treat until he’s gone potty otherwise he’ll think he’s being rewarded for going in the house.
You would also need to put your pup on a feeding schedule. That means that you feed him at the same time every day. You want to be sure to feed your dog twice a day, roughly once in the morning and once in the evening.
The amount of food you give to your puppy determines how long he needs to go potty. So the first thing in his morning meal, and the last thing at night should be at about 6 to 8 hour apart. Don’t allow your puppy any food whatsoever after 2 hours until he’s done eliminating.
It is important to note that you want to treat your dog to a snack (dog biscuit) after he is done with his potty. That gives him positive reinforcement that helps him to learn what to do when he have to go potty.
You should also remember that positive reinforcement works better than punishment. Punishment, especially fear based, can cause aggressive behavior in your dog.
If you reward your dog for using the designated potty area, he’ll get used to using that area. But if you punish and/or scold your dog every time he eliminates somewhere else other than where it’s supposed to, he will probably get confused and not grasp what you’re trying to teach him.
By potty training your dog where you want him to go potty, you will know that he will go potty on a consistent schedule. This will help you to know when your dog needs to go out and when they won’t be able to hold it.
You have to keep an eye on your dog at all times, especially when he’s not crating. He’s teething, and will squeeze his paws against anything to help relieve the pain. It’s also natural for him to eliminate on the floor, which is why he needs to learn to do his “business” outside the house.
You have to be patient. I’ve been potty training dogs for years and I still get upset when my puppy eliminates in the house. Once a puppy eliminates in the house, it becomes very difficult to reverse the damage. If you discover a mess that he did minutes ago, then you have to clean it up before he can learn anything. Otherwise, he will eliminate again in the same spot.
You have to let your puppy know that eliminating in the house is an unacceptable behavior. Don’t expect him to give a graceful performance when you take him outside. Punishing your puppy for eliminating in the house isn’t teaching him anything. It will just make him afraid of you.
A simple rule to remember when you are potty training your puppy is that “you don’t want to go in front of him”. For example, you never want to put your face in your puppy’s face when he is doing his potty. But, you do want to reward him when he had done his potty correctly. How often do you catch a dog in the act of peeing or pooping? I’m willing to bet it’s never.
If you are just starting out with your potty training efforts, you will need to do so carefully. That being said, even old dogs can be trained, so don’t think that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Potty training, from a puppy to an older dog, can be done with persistence and patience.