How To Potty Train A Puppy

Puppy Potty Training should begin as soon as your puppy gets home. Puppies urinate frequently and success in house training a puppy depends on anticipating their needs - they should be given the opportunity to relieve themselves at least every two hours. You can usually tell when a puppy ‘wants to go’ because it will begin looking around, walk in circles and start sniffing for a place. That’s your cue to take your pet outside or to the designated area.

• Learning how to potty train a puppy? and how long does it take to potty train a puppy?, are two common questions regarding puppy potty training. The answer and length of time it will take is different for each puppy, just as it is with each child. It will take time, patience and consistency to be successful at house training a puppy. To make the process of puppy potty training successful you need to use positive reinforcement methods.

• Designated Toilet Area - The first step to successful puppy potty training is for your puppy to be given a designated toilet area or plenty of opportunities to go outside. You can paper-train small breeds and young puppies by placing newspapers or ‘wee pads’ in a specified area. Remember that puppies go to toilet around 12 times a day, and sometimes even more! Over time, move the newspapers towards the door and then slowly move them outside into the garden. Take a small piece of soiled paper outside, as the puppy recognizes its own unique scent and will want to reinforce it.

• Rewards - The second step to successfully house training a puppy is to reward the puppy every time, or as often as possible when it successfully goes to the toilet in the designated elimination area. The puppy potty training reward must be given immediately after the event and not when the puppy comes back inside, as the puppy will not make an association between the correct elimination process and the reward, unless it is given at the time of the successful elimination.

• Praise - The puppy potty training reward can be in the form of praise, a pat or saying ‘good’ dog in a pleasant tone of voice, plus offering a food treat or giving the dog their favorite chew toy.

• Supervision - This system relies on you supervising the puppy as much as possible throughout the day, so as not to miss the opportunity to reward the puppy for the good behavior. The more often you can do this, the speedier you will be successful at house training a puppy.

• Look For The Signs - With puppy potty training you should look out for signs showing that the puppy is about to go to the toilet, then you can take them outside or to the designated toilet area and be ready to praise them as soon as they have done their business. When puppies are about to go to the toilet they tend to sniff the area, circle and then pause in the spot, though individuals may vary so owners may watch their dog to get an idea of what they need to look out for.

• First Thing In The Morning - Remember to take your puppy to the designated toilet area or outside first thing in the morning, as dogs will need to go to the toilet at this time.

• What Not To Do - Positive reinforcement when learning in puppy potty training, also involves ignoring ‘unwanted’ elimination. If the puppy goes in the wrong place, it is best to display no reaction. You should clean the area thoroughly with a non-ammonia based cleaning product (these can be found at your local veterinary clinic or animal supplies store) to take away the scent and reduce the likelihood of the puppy re-offending in the same place next time.

Remember you must stick to a strict routine, when house training a puppy, so it will quickly learn to be clean within the home. It is also important when learning how to potty train a puppy, that you don’t get complacent, or your dog’s toilet training can take a back-slide. Continue with the toilet training routine until you are sure that your puppy knows that indoors is not the place to go. Gradually decrease the number of outdoor trips and newspapers inside, but if there are any accidents, just increase the number of visits outdoors again.