Potty training is one of the most important things your puppy should learn. Common sense should tell you why it is the most vital part of raising a puppy and must be done consistently to be effective. Aside from maintaining the hygiene of your home, trained dogs are happy dogs.
There are numerous ways to potty train your puppy, depending on your circumstances and the type of dog. Paper training is suitable for puppies that have not yet been vaccinated and for those who live in high-rise apartments where access to the garden by the dog is almost impossible.
Cage training, suitable for urban living dogs, makes use of the dog’s instinctive nature of not messing up his sleeping area to train the dog to control his bladder and relieve only when he is out of the crate.
The common option would be to train your dog to go outside to the backyard or garden to relieve himself.
A good time to start potty training, as recommended by most experts, is when your puppy is between eight and twelve weeks old. Remember the saying that old dogs can’t learn new tricks? It is not entirely true, but it is correct in some respects because it is much easier to train a younger dog when no undesirable habits are formed. So, don’t risk it.
There are many ways in life to achieve the same desired results. Of them, there are hard ways and easy ways, right ways and wrong ways. The best course of action is to use the easiest and fastest way to get the correct results. This requires a lot of supervision and positive reinforcement. Let’s see what is the best way to achieve what we want to potty train our new puppy.
To start, you must assign an area for your puppy to relieve himself outside or inside the house, you must show him the way to this place and congratulate him generously after he finishes.
If you praise him and reward him immediately after his job is done, it encourages him to eliminate only in that area. The puppy will detect the smell of urine and learn to associate it as the place to relieve himself.
To help the puppy remember, always use the same door and the same place where you want your puppy to relieve himself. Use dirty newspaper to mark the area and hint to your pup where the right spot is.
Next in line is to have your puppy learn about your elimination routines. As creatures of habit, it is in their nature to keep schedules. When your puppy is six to eight weeks old, you should take him out for relief every few hours. The frequency will decrease as you get older and you can better control your bladder. During the puppy stage, take him to the assigned elimination area at the following times of the day: upon waking in the morning, after nap, meals, play, training session, and just before bed.
Taking your puppy out around the same time each day will be very beneficial for both of you. This is very helpful in establishing a routine for your puppy and will help him learn and control his bladder until you take him out.
At this time, you must learn to look for clues, if your puppy is used to roaming freely around the house, look for signs that indicate that he has to do it. Be vigilant and observe his behavior when he needs to relieve himself, such as sniffing hard, turning around, and staring at the door to get out.
Teach your dog the command “Hurry” or “potty” to speed up the dog’s potty time, teach him to eliminate when you give the command. So say “hurry up” or “potty” in an encouraging tone just when you feel the need to “go.” You’ll soon learn that when you say the command, you’ll start sniffing, circling, and then getting down to business. Once he’s finished, praise him generously.
It is common for puppies to make mistakes during the potty training process. In part 2 of this article, you’ll learn how to excuse your mistakes and more tips to help you train your puppy in twice as fast time.