House Training and Potty Training a Puppy / Dog

 

Feeling hopeless, frustrated, or angry about the lack of success in housebreaking your puppy?  Believe it or not, there is hope!  House training a puppy requires a great deal of patience, time, and consistence.    A puppy is considered house broken or potty trained when 2-3 months have passed with no accidents in your home.  Don’t get discouraged!  With persistence, it will happen!

 

Supplies needed:

  • Crate
  • Treats
  • Leash
  • Pet odor neutralizers, carpet cleaners, and scrub brush

 

Puppies should be taken out:

  • After meals
  • Upon waking up in the mornings
  • Before bed
  • After naps
  • After playing or training
  • After been crated or left alone

 

How to house train a puppy:

  • Make sure your pup has a clean bill of health.  Some medical problems can hinder the potty training process.  Have a veterinarian complete a medical exam on him.  If the pup is healthy, please proceed with the following steps.

 

  • Designate a specific place for your puppy to go potty.

  

  • Establish a routine.  While at home, taking the pup out hourly will speed up the training process.  Puppies can hold their urine for only so long:
    • 2 – 4 months – 2-3 hours
    • 5 – 6 months – 4 hours
    • 6 – 12 months – max of 8 hours

 

  • Establish a feeding and watering routine.  Offer food and water at scheduled times during the day until the potty training is complete.  Take the puppy out after meals and drinking fluids.

 

  • Observe your pup for signs that he needs to potty such as pacing, sniffing the floor, whining, circling, and leaving the room.  Some dogs, especially puppies, know they need to go outside to potty, but don’t know how to let you know their need.  Most pups display the same signs over and over that they need to go out.

 

  • Teach an elimination command.  I like the word “potty”.  Puppies understand 1-2 syllables the fastest.  When you take him out and during the elimination process, use the same word over and over.  He will learn when he hears that word what you expect from him.

 

  • Praise! You can never praise enough for the behavior you want.  Dogs want to please; praising encourages them to repeat the desired behaviors.

 

  • Supervise the pup.  Puppies should never be left alone.  If you can’t constantly supervise the pup, a play pen such as a crate works well for small periods of time.

 

  • Catch in the act.  Discipline will not help if you don’t catch him in the act of going potty.  Dogs live in the moment and won’t understand the discipline if the mess didn’t just happen. 

 

  • Expect accidents.  They will happen!  When you catch him, firmly let him know the behavior is unacceptable.  I don’t use words to correct him.  I use a special noise with all discipline.  It sounds like a buzzer that you would hear at a basket ball or board game.  I make the noise loud enough to get his attention.  Since I use the same sound for all discipline, he has learned very quickly that the behavior is not acceptable.  Calmly and quickly pick him up and take him to the designated potty area.

 

  • Consistency is key, even when you don’t feel like it.  The only way the puppies learn the behavior you want is to teach them over and over again.  Inconsistency = confusion and prolongs the training process.

 

  • Submissive/excitement/ nervous urination – puppies will urinate when excited, especially with visitors or when you come home.  They may dribble a few drops or small puddle.  This is involuntary, they can’t help it.   Never punish for this time of urination, it only makes matters worse.  You can try not to get the pup as excited when you come home or teach the pup to sit and give him a treat when visitors come over or you come home.

 

  • Paper training is optional. With smaller breeds, it can prolong the house training and confuse the pup. 

 

  • Spend as much time as you can with your pup.  This will speed up the potty training process.

 

 

What not to do:

  • Do not rub the don’s nose in his stool.
  • Do not scold the dog – firmly let him know the behavior is not acceptable. 
  • Never hit the dog with anything, including your hand or a newspaper.
  • Do not crate the dog for long periods of time.
  • Don’t bring the dog in immediately if he likes to be outside – he will learn to hold his stool longer just to be outside longer.
  • Be careful what type of cleaners you use to clean up the messes.  Ammonia is found in urine and the dog will come back to that spot if you use ammonia based cleaners.
  • Lose your temper and patience causing a stressed and fearful pup.

 

House training is the first of many disciplines your puppy will need to learn.  Once you are trained on how to train your pup, success is inevitable!

 

Have you tried everything and still not having much luck with house training/potty training?  Did you know you can successfully house train your puppy in a short amount of time with the right tools? Stop the frustration and constant clean up of messes!   Visit: The Ultimate House Training Guide and SitStayFetch - Dog Training To Stop Your Dog Behavioral Problems!


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