Potty training your puppy is an important step in ensuring that you and your pet enjoy a happy life together. There can be nothing worse for dog owners to come home from a hard day’s work and find that floors, carpets, and rugs have been soiled.
You don’t have to worry because potty training your puppy should be a relatively simple task. Most of the puppy training revolves around building the proper routine as soon as your puppy comes home.
How quickly you will be able to train you puppy depends on a number of factors. For example, the size of the dog can be a factor as smaller dogs have to go more frequently than larger ones. How the puppy has been kept also affects how long it will take you to instill new habits.
The good news is that puppies can usually be fully potty trained between 4 to 6 months. If you find that your pet is still having ‘toilet’ issues after this time, then a visit to your local vet can help to rule out underlying health issues. What are some of the best ways to potty train your puppy?
Know Your Puppy’s Routine
First of all, it’s important to know your puppy’s routine and know when usually puppies have to ‘go.’ Puppies have very small bladders and intestines. So, usually, what goes in – if that is solids or liquids – is going to come out quite soon.
Most puppies will need to be taken out when they wake up first thing in the morning and then last thing at night.
Usually, with small puppies, they will need to piddle about 15 minutes after drinking and poop about 30 minutes after eating. You can use these times as know when to take your puppy out to the garden.
Also, being excited is another reason why puppies feel the need to piddle. So after play time in the house, be prepared to go for ‘walkies.’
It’s also good to remember that in addition to those specific times, your puppy will have to piddle regularly during the day, so if possible, take your puppy out every hour or so.
Reinforce Your Potty Training Routine
When you take you puppy outside, always go to the same spot. You should also stay with your puppy because after your puppy as ‘gone’ outside, you can reinforce good behavior with a treat and some praise. This will help to train your puppy that there are ‘approved’ places to go.
So, the quicker you can get into this routine, then the quicker you will be able to potty train your puppy.
Crates – Effective for Puppy Potty Training
Crates are good tools for potty training a puppy. Dogs don’t like to piddle or poop where they sleep. So if they need to go, they will start whimpering or scratching. This is a sign that your puppy should be taken out. This can help to reinforce the fact that urinating or pooping where dogs or humans live isn’t appropriate.
Common Mistakes when Potty Training Puppies
Now that you know what to do to help potty train your puppy, it’s important to know NOT what to do. Here are some common potty training mistakes:
- Scolding your puppy if there are indoor accidents. This does nothing to train your puppy. It can even instill some fear of piddling in front of you, which can make it more difficult to house-train your puppy.
- Not feeding at regular times. Dogs need routines and the quicker you can establish one, the easier it will be.
- Over-feeding
- Waiting for the puppy to tell you he/she wants to go.
Yes, with patience and building a good routine, you can potty train your puppy very successfully.