5 Tips to Easy Puppy House Training
14 Jun 2009
The sooner you potty train your puppy the better. You want to establish good habits from the start. And, a dog who has never gone potty in the house will never consider the house a place *to* go potty. Iâve always found the puppies we purchased from actual working farms (NOT puppy farms) were the easiest to house-train. They only ever wanted to go potty on grass or hay â as they had only ever gone in the barn or outside. They frequently wouldnât even go potty in a parking lot â weâd need to find grassy areas on the way home for them to go potty.
Here are some house training tips that will help â as long as you follow them consistently:
1. Closely supervise your pup while potty training. Do not let your puppy out of your sight while he is loose in your house! Watch him as though you were babysitting a very young child who could/would get in trouble if you didn’t watch them. A puppy is the same as a toddler in this respect. Keep your puppy in a crate to keep him out of trouble when you canât attentively watch him.
If you see your puppy starting to sniff around, take him outside (or to the selected potty area) right away. If youâd like the potty area to be outside â try to make the area outside from the start; and if for any reason you canât make the area outside from the start at least make the area near the door. This way when you are ready to house train to outside you can bring your pup outside whenever you see him beginning to sniff around near the door. *When you can’t supervise your un-trained dog, keep him in a crate*. Be sure you have the proper size crate too. Your pup should be able to stand up and turn around â but no larger. If you bring your pup with you to purchase the crate, the store personnel should be able to help you select the correct size. Some people have tied their dog’s leash to their waist while potty training - but you still need to *pay attention*. (I once told my daughter that her puppy potty training problem was that she wasnât paying enough attention. She phoned one day to tell me that I must be right â her puppy had two accidents that day â both on her foot!)
2. If you find your puppy going potty in the wrong place interrupt him by saying “NO!” in a sharp tone of voice- then immediately take him to the proper place to finish. (If you donât catch him â you arenât watching closely enough.) It could help to put the paper towel you clean the mess with where you want him to potty- so that he will have the scent there. Be sure to *thoroughly* clean and de-odorize the area where he pottied in the house. Use special products made for this purpose - or he will go there again. In fact, watch him *extra closely* and/or take him to his potty place when he starts sniffing around those areas.
3. Pick a potty place that is free of distractions. No playing of any kind until the pup has gone potty. Do NOT turn potty time into play time until after he goes potty. When he does go potty give him a treat and then PLAY with him. Reward him lavishly and immediately!
4. Set a schedule. Keeping a routine will help to establish good habits. Control when your puppy eats and drinks. Feed your puppy 3 times a day when you first bring him home (or as your breeder recommends). You can decrease this to one or two times a day as he gets older. Be sure he always has fresh water to drink. Take your puppy to his potty area about once an hour â and always take him to his potty area within 10 minutes after he eats or drinks, wakes up, and after exercise or play. Permit absolutely no playing or distractions until he has âdone his businessâ. Once he has gone potty you can begin to take him outside about once an hour for a very young puppy â and extend the time between âpotty breaksâ as your pup gets older and firmly forms good house training habits. But be sure to *watch your pup carefully* whenever he isnât either confined or in an âOK to pottyâ area.
5. Reward your puppy as soon as he does go potty in the appropriate location. Give him a bit of a very tasty special treat. Tell him, âYes! Good boy!â And play with him! Make the moment he goes potty the moment the fun and good stuff begin. Dogs love good stuff; and they will usually do whatever they need to do to get it. So all you really need to do is to make sure your dog knows what you expect of him â what it takes to get the âgood stuffâ.
This is a lot of work at first until the habits are formed. But really, it is the most effectiveâ and sometimes the only- way that it can be done. Be sure to take your puppy outside as much as possible to increase his opportunity to eliminate outdoors. If he doesn’t go outside do NOT take your eyes off him when you bring him in. Most importantly: lavishly praise, reward, and play with him when he does go outside. With the use of patience, persistence, consistence, and lavish reward - you will both succeed! For more free dog training information, advice, and tips, as well as free information on dog care, puppy care, dog health & nutrition, and free canine cuisine recipes visit: http://www.e-dog-training.com.
M Bauer Pulis
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/5-tips-to-easy-puppy-house-training-139569.html
10 Responses
2009 Jun 14
What are some easy tips for training a puppy?
It seems like my puppy doesn't understand the word "no"…
She goes outside to the bathroom a million times a day, but still goes in my house…
When will she stop biting my hands when I go to pet her?
She's a 6 month old Peke-a-Poo
2009 Jun 14
As the famous philosopher once said : pissing in the shower is easy.
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2009 Jun 14
How old is she and what breed? My 13 week old pitbull just got her adult teeth and has stopped biting. However, she hasn't had any accidents in the house since 10 weeks (im lucky) and she is very smart. She knows sit and shake and heel. I am home with her all day so I try and spend at least an hour a day training. If you don't have that time, make sure you work with her at least every day. With understanding the word "no" my older dog is not so smart so we used a spray bottle. Just spray her if she doesn't listen the first time and say no at the same time.
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2009 Jun 14
Some easy ways are bringing it to a intown dog class or just buy books to help you. also get little "prizes' to help reward your dog when it did whatever u said correctly : )
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2009 Jun 14
once you've fed your pup about 15 mins later she will need to go take her out every time and wait until she does her buisness, then make a fuss and reward her for doing it outside, every time you feed her make sure you take her out and wait until she does her buisness, it takes time but the dog will soon realise that outside is the toilet.is it biting or playing?
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2009 Jun 14
With potty training you want to take the pup out side on a leash, even if you have a fenced in yard have lots of treats on hand, once pup is out side she will be wanting to play but don't, let her sniff around and when she finally goes potty heavily praise her for it "good girl" real uppity and cheerful then give her a treat and let her off the leash to play. then in about 2 hours take her out again and repeat the whole thing except when you go to take her out say let's go potty and take her to the exact same spot she did her business. She will go, repeat the praising and treats and let off leash once again to play, puppies love praise and rewards, their minds do not comprehend fully till they are about 4 months old but if you start early so will they. This has worked on all 5 of my dogs so Good Luck.
Crate Training is good for them but is NOT neccesary, if you want to crate train you can but you don't have too. Puppies that are crate trained tend to be really excited when out. If you crate train do not put puppy in there for bad behavior because this will only make her dislike the crate. Put her in there at night to go to sleep with a little blanket or a flat doggy bed you don't want the cage to be huge or too small, if the cage is too big then puppy will more than likely potty in it, You want the puppy to have enough room to be able to turn around and stretch, but you don't want her too cramped up. Only 3 of my dogs are crate trained and I rarely ever use them. My babies sleep with me (even though I am supposed to be the leader in the pack) I know but I cant help but not to let them do it. But don't let them sleep with you unless you want to make it a permanent habbit, If there is anything else I can help you with feel free to e-mail me.
*The biting issue you can try to get her some toys and play with her that way then when she bites you tell her no firmly and ignore her, They don't start comprehending things fully untill they are about 4 months old but the earlier you teach the earlier they learn Good Luck
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Professional Pet Groomer and Owner of 5 dogs
2009 Jun 14
puppys always bite, they need to to grow they're teeth strong so have alot of chew toys available. She will stop when she is older.
When she gos to the bathroom outside give her a treat right away and praise her and when she goes inside, bring her to the spot she went and yell at her. When she is standing over it she will know why you are mad at her, but it is better to catch her doing it and then yell at her.
When you say "no" you need to yell it and sound very angry, then if she stops what she is doing wrong reward her. Love and affection will make your puppy love you and want to please you so always reward her when she does something right, but dont give in when she does something wrong. Good luck!
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2009 Jun 14
I suggest you get into a good obedience class with an experienced instructor who will teach you how to handle and train your puppy. Now is the best time to get started too.
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2009 Jun 14
If your puppy is under 10 weeks' old, it's difficult for her to understand the word "no". What she will understand is the way in which you speak to her. Be firm if she's not co-operating and be happy when she does what she should. Always reward good behaviour rather than punishing bad behaviour. Be prepared with treats in your pocket when she does something good - every time she does. If she likes treats, she'll learn quickly. Also, if she's going to the bathroom that often, I would check with my vet to be sure she doesn't have a physical problem.
She'll probably stop biting your hands when she's a wee bit older - I give my puppy a toy and distract her when she does that, after saying "no".
Good Luck - patience is a blessing!
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2009 Jun 14
if you want her to understand the word "NO" all you need to do is say it so that she understands, say it in a low voice and grab the scruff on the back of its neck and shake the dog while you say no. It sounds mean but thats what the mother would do and it works really well and your dog with still love you!
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