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What is potty training your puppy?
How to potty train a puppy is training that requires consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement. It takes about 4 to 6 months for a puppy to be trained but
some may take up to a year. Size is a strong predictor; smaller breeds have smaller bladders and a high metabolism so they tend to go to frequent trips outside.
Questions like how to potty train a puppy? What are the signs that your puppy wants to relieve themselves? What are the steps taken to teach your puppy how to potty train? These are questions that many owners have regarding this issue.
Signs that your puppy needs to go potty
There are signs when your puppy needs to go potty. A puppy or a dog would whine, circle, sniff, bark, and scratch at the door. When this happens, go out with your puppy.
Puppy potty training tips
Keep it clean
Keep places clean by doing so puppies learn that this place is clean and it is not used for potty. Puppies are conditioned that this area isn’t for relieving them so when they have an accident, make sure that you clean the place.
Keep a schedule
The best way to keep things organized is through organizing their time through a schedule. Schedules should include feeding, sleeping, training, and bathroom times.
By doing so, a puppy knows the time for each activity and learns when to potty and when to not.
Keep it away from carpets
Puppies tend to go potty when they are running loose and find a carpet that is far from where they sleep and eat. They target carpets because they are soft under their paws and makes them think they are standing in grass.
Pay attention to your puppy all the time
Keep your attention to your puppy all the time to know what they have. A quiet puppy signals trouble because you don’t know what they are experiencing. So make sure that you keep checking on your puppy to know what they have.
Use a crate when your not home
If you are not home, then the best option is to use a crate where your puppy stays in it. By doing so, you limit accidents that happen in the bedroom, living room, or any other parts of the house.
Steps for the best way to potty train a puppy
- Keep a consistent feeding schedule for puppies and remove food between meals.
- When your puppy goes to relieve themselves, choose the same place that they normally go to.
- When your puppy succeeds in doing potty outside, you can reward them by giving them treats and praise.
How do you potty train a puppy
The Indoors to Outdoors Method for potty training
If your puppy is still learning how to potty train and is in the beginning, you can make them learn how to relieve themselves when they are inside the house by using pads.
Determine a confined area to start potty training such as bathroom or any place that has floors that are easy to clean. Cover the floor with pee pads away and place your puppy’s bed on the corner.
- Change pee pads often but place a piece of the soiled pad on top of the clean pad on the area that you want train your puppy to potty in.
- Remove the pads near your puppy’s bed when your puppy is peeing on the same area for a while.
- Continue removing all pads but leave only one or two in specific places.
Crate training
It is important to get a crate that is of the proper size. It must not have a lot of space so that the puppies don’t use this space to relieve themselves. Puppies must be able to stand up, turn around, and lie down.
To get your puppy used to the crate, you can toss treats and give them praise when they enter the crate. Allow them to enter and come out of the crate on their own.
Let your puppy sit for a while and slowly let them become accustomed to sitting there for a long period of time.
Puppies and dogs instinctively have an instinct to not ruin their den or home so they won’t relieve themselves in their dens and homes. Instead, they will wait until they can relieve themselves somewhere else.
Outdoors potty training
Teach your puppy the potty cue
Teach your puppy to let you know when they want to potty through cues such as barking to let you know that they want to go or ringing a bell. Then, open the door and let them out.
Determine a set potty area
Put your puppy in a leash, go outside, and walk to the part that you want them to relieve themselves. Don’t continue walking, instead let your puppy decide where they
want to relieve themselves. Reward them with treats and praise so they would understand that this is a positive experience and learn through positive reinforcement.
Let your dog out every one to two hours
Every one to two hours, let your puppy out so they can that accidents don’t happen. Sometimes, they may not relieve themselves but that’s okay. It’s better than having accidents inside.
Although most puppies and dogs can handle time sleeping without peeing, sometimes accidents may happen while they are sleeping because their bladder is still small so they can’t hold it for a long time.
It’s best that you make sure they relieved themselves before they go to sleep.
The dos and don’t’s to do and not to do
- You should not punish your puppy for having accidents. They will learn to fear you and become afraid.
- You should not let your anger affect you that you become angry at your dog.
- If you catch your puppy doing the act, then clap loudly to let them know that what they’ve done is unacceptable. Then take them by calling out their name and take them out gently through their collar and give them praise or a treat.
- Stay outside for a longer time to prevent accidents.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it takes lots of time and consistency so you can potty train your puppy. There are different methods, tips, and steps used to teach your puppy how to potty train.
