Have you ever experienced waking up to a pup that has made a lot of mess in his area? You would never even expect that he had spread it somewhere in other parts of the house.
For dog owners who had not yet experienced this, then you are very lucky, or you have probably potty trained your puppy immediately. For others, you might have to consider potty training your puppy.
Potty training is a training method for dogs and puppies alike to help them go potty on selected areas that helps their waste to be easily manageable by their owners. For owners experienced with training, this could be easy.
But for beginners, it may prove difficult to make your canine companion follow you. The trick is to have lots of patience and real consistency with the training regimen.
If you are one of the doggie parents who wants to stop his/her puppy from having accidents inside the house, below are some tips that could help.
1. Stay calm
We understand that it is frustrating that your puppy is causing mess inside the house. But you have to remember, that these accidents do not make your puppy the enemy. Even they themselves do not think of it that way.
Why? For them it is natural to go when they have the urge to go. Of course, they need your help. As an owner, you have to teach them the way things are inside your home.
Some owners would recommend rubbing the dog’s face in the mess. But this act in itself is just cruel and inhumane. Also, it would be counterproductive as it would just cause your dog to find another spot inside the house. Whether you like the new place or not, they would still go there. It just prolongs the situation that you are in.
This face rubbing is usually done by owners who can’t stay calm and focus on the matter at hand. The real answer to this problem is total potty training.
2. Stick to your goals
At the start, it is easy to get distracted when you have started training. You have to understand that training may take a long time, and even in a short while things may get a little out of hand, which could keep you away from your goals. You might become bored or you might get a little disheartened about how it’s going to take so long.
As you notice in potty training your puppy, associating the action with a treat to make it a positive association makes it easier for both you and your puppy. Most pet owners would tell you that dogs would learn in a positive way, not in a negative one. Thus, giving a treat after a successful action is the correct way of making your dog learn.
Somehow, the frequency of giving treats is also important. If you are rewarding your dog, you should be mindful of the time frame that your dog will associate the action in a positive way. If it takes too long before the reward comes, then your dog might misunderstand where to associate the treat with.
One quick tip for this is to place a bag of treats ready near the place where you want your dog to go potty. That way, you can respond immediately to good behavior and be consistent. Just make sure that it is not reachable by your fur baby.
3. Know that it will take some time
You may have high expectations for your puppy to learn fast, but like it was told earlier, this will take some time. Your advantage is that a puppy has a young mind. It wants to learn, explore, and play with the world. Thus, you can shape it properly at such a young age.
However, although it proves to be an advantage, it could also be a disadvantage since this vigor could somehow make his mind distracted with the training. You might end up working a little bit harder to get your puppy’s attention.
Thus, a lot of trial and error during the preliminary stages of the training may happen. This trial and error could take some time, but remember to stick to your goals, and for sure the sight of your puppy going potty at the right place is a sight for sore eyes.
4. Avoid using a rug, or use it to your advantage
This is a common tip for most owners that had experience in potty training their puppies. Puppies love rugs, especially the shaggy ones. When inside your home, a nice, clean, and white rug could entice him to poop and pee there. You will notice that your pup will still go potty there even though you have cleaned it very well.
One thing you can do is to keep the rug away while you are potty training him. After potty training, you can place the rug again, and observe just to make sure that he is not using the expensive rug as a place to go potty.
Although, thinking about it, you can use the rug to your advantage. If you are willing to not use your rug again, then you may use it like a potty pad for your puppy. this potty pad will serve as the place for your puppy to go potty in. Combined with the reward system, and voila! Your puppy is now potty trained.
5. Knowledge about your puppy
Your observational skills will be put to a test with this one. Although this is common sense, you should realize that having a bit of more information about your puppy is vital to the training.
At the start, you might notice your puppy showing some specific behaviors prior to going potty. If you notice your puppy showing these body behaviors, rush him to the place you want him to go potty and wait there. Once he successfully goes, reward him. Do this repeatedly and your puppy will come to learn that this is the place for pooping and peeing.
Remember the tips above to make it easier for your puppy to do potty training. Just be consistent and patient with your puppy, and you will be rewarded with an adorable and potty trained canine companion. Good luck with potty training!
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