At some time or another, every pet owner will need to house train their puppy. Even if you decide to leave your dog outside most of the time, it makes sense to train your dog at an early age where they are allowed to potty. The last thing you want your dog to do is to make messes.
While many people dread the house training process and put it off, thus allowing their dogs to get away with more than they should, house training doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Not if you do it correctly.
Rules of House Training
There are some specific rules for house training your puppy. To begin, don’t punish your puppy for having an accident when he’s young. Your puppy doesn’t know that this is wrong. You’re only going to succeed in confusing your puppy and making it harder to train him later.
Secondly, be sure that you give your puppy praise when he does things correctly. If your puppy relieves himself where he’s supposed to, then give him praise and affection, to reinforce this good behavior.
Potty Training Methods
There are several different ways to potty train a puppy, but not all of them work. However to train your puppy properly, you’ll need to keep your puppy under close supervision.
*Crate Training: Crate training can be an important and useful tool for house training a puppy. Puppies do not like to potty in their crate. The crate is their bed, where they sleep, so they will prefer to keep it clean.
You should make sure that the create is just large enough to be the puppy’s sleeping area. In many cases owners make the mistake of buying a large crate which allows the puppy to move around. If the puppy has lots of space he will potty in the crate and you will have to start over.
You should not use the crate for punishment. Your puppy should enjoy being in the crate. When you’re cooking in the kitchen or going out to the store, you will be able to place your puppy in the crate as a safe, secure place so they won’t make a mess.
*Dealing With An Accident: If your puppy has an accident, and he will, you must remember not to punish your puppy. Clean the mess and let it go. If you punish your puppy he won’t have any idea why you’re punishing him in most cases.
Even in cases where you catch the puppy in the midst of having an accident, your puppy will only wonder why you’re punishing them, especially when they have been pottying and you have not punished them. This won’t make any sense to your puppy. You will be confusing your puppy and making them anxious.
You may be frustrated when your puppy has an accident but you must be patient and work to change your puppy’s behavior instead of punishing it.
You will probably be surprised at how fast your puppy will learn. If you use a crate your puppy will learn that he can wait to potty. If you pay attention to his body language you can help him become used to going outside to potty. With patience and persistence you can have your puppy house trained in no time at all.
I have created a SPECIAL REPORT: 28 Days To A Potty Trained Dog, you can get your copy HERE.
Tell us about your house training secrets or successes in the comment section below.
About the Author: Wayne Booth is owner of Canine Behavior Specialists in Nashville, TN. Wayne has been teaching people how to become Professional Dog Trainers since 1990 and he is the Training Director of Canine Behavior Specialists Network, www.K9-University.com
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Some of my clients with smaller dogs have used the “pee pad” inside the house. In most cases it’s a hit or miss with the actual going on the pad. You can’t have the dog going inside and outside as it will never give them the clear message that outside potty breaks are the goal.
Take them out as much as possible, pay attention to the signs your pup will give to go outside, and encourage and praise during the break. People give up on their dog in the 1st five months of ownership because of house training issues. Don’t give up just get some professional help so you and your best friend can overcome those house training nightmares as quickly as possible.
Wayne,
I purchased your potty training booklet, it helped with our beagle. She’s a stray we adopted, about 1-2 yrs old. She seems to have been crate trained but never really potty trained. We have 3 other dogs so we figured they would help train her…wrong… I had to train my husband, (he’s home during the day) he wasn’t letting her out enough. Once he read your information things went smoother. we have run into her having accidents lately. We let her out and she poops, but waits until she gets back inside to pee. No matter how long we leave her outside she comes in and pees, and never in the same place. But we will stick with it. I don’t give up on dogs.
Thanks for your help
my minature daschund will potty outside if it is warm, if it is cold, snow or rain then she goes in the back bedroom. she comes and tells me what she has done. she is scared of the dark, so I leave a light on at night.
any suggestions??
Judi:
A lot of small dogs do not like the snow, rain, etc. However if you put a leash on them and walk them outside they will get used to it.
Wayne
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