House Training Your Puppy – House Training Dogs – 4 Steps to Getting it Right
House training your dog or puppy successfully can be broken down into four easy to follow tips. The method is not different if you are house training a puppy or trying to remedy an existing problem in an adult dog. You are still going to need to follow these 4 steps to successfully have your dog or puppy house broken.
1. make sure you stop your dog from making mistakes (eliminating in areas other than its designated toilet spot)
2. Teaching your dog that there is a time and a place for toileting. that is,your dog has a Toilet spot, and your dog has learned when it can and cant go.
3. Rewarding your dog for getting it right
4. Teaching your dog exactly where the toilet spot is and making sure that it understands this is the ONLY place it is allowed to go.
Once you have recognised that these are the 4 rules that you must abide and teach your pup or dog, then house training or potty training your pup or dog will be so much more effective. Let’s look at them in more depth:
1. Preventing Mistakes
The first time your dog makes a mistake with its toileting, it will create a precedent that will become more and more difficult if you are not faster to react to the pups needs. Dogs have an acute sense of smell and will choose to toilet in the same places again and again. You need to have the mess cleaned thoroughly ( please see my article on HelpMy Dog has Wet On my Carpet and it Stinks-How To Rid Your Home of The Smell) Included in that article is a very effective home remedy that will remove the stain and the smell so that the pup does not return to the same spot. Watching your pup constantly when it is first home should reduce the chances of the pup making mistakes.
If you cannot supervise the pup constantly, then you should create an area for it where it can eliminate on a non porous floor, such as the laundry or the kitchen. Placing paper down should encourage the pup to toilet on that rather than the bare floor. Placing the pups bed in the same area, slightly away from the paper for toileting will have the pup regarding the area as its den. Dogs, once taught, will rarely soil their own den. If the pup is inside and able to wander freely, this will also encourage the pup to seek out its area and eliminate on the paper. As the pup gets older it will be important for you to introduce toileting outside.
2. Teaching your dog that there is a time and a place for toileting.
You need to draw a firm line between good and bad behaviour, or rather: appropriate and inappropriate behaviour. Teaching your pup the difference between the two will have further commands and tricks easier understood as the puppy gets older. Each time your pup wakes, eats, drinks or plays it will need to eliminate. this is usually signalled by the pup sniffing in a particular area and circling. it is imperative that you take your pup at that very moment, or even if it has started the process, to its toilet area. You need to use the command you have chosen for your pup to do its business.
This may be something like Toilet time or go Potty. Whatever the phrase, you must use that exact wording and place the pup in the designated area. After the pup has finished you must praise it enthusiastically. If your pup makes a mistake and you have not caught the signs in time, then you must use a phrase that you have chosen to represent unwanted behaviour, such as Naughty Boy/girl. Smacking or yelling at the pup will only make the process take far longer and the chances of success are greatly reduced if you make it a frightening experience for the dog.
3. Rewarding your dog for getting it right.
When your dog gets the action right, go nuts Tell them they are the smartest thing the Lord ever put breath into. Pat them, hug them, play with them, keep telling them how fantastic they are. Your pup will associate the act of toileting in a certain area as a positive experience and instinctively seek to please you again and again by going there. should your pup get it wrong, remember, it will always give the signals that it needs to go so therefore you should be the one being scolded for not acting faster Your pup isn’t doing this to upset you, there is nothing personal involved here.
It has just not learned that it may only relieve itself in one spot and therefore you need to be more consistent with your watching of the pups signs in order to get your pup to the correct spot. Using the command as listed above is suffice for the pup to understand and learn from that. If you haven’t caught your pup in the act, then you lose the right to reprimand it. Pups will not recall what they did wrong 10 minutes earlier and you will confuse the pup by being cross at it. clean up the mess with the home-made product I mentioned in my other article and move on.
4. taking your pup to the designated spot the moment it wakes, or after it has eaten or had a drink will make it associate the actions of waking and feeding with then relieving itself. As your pup gets older, taking it to an outside spot will replace the paper on the floor area. be sure to continuously say the words that you have chosen for your pup to do its business.
You need to have loads of patience when toilet training a puppy. it most certainly can be a difficult task if you aren’t sure how to go about it. There are some great products available on the web that should not cost an arm and a leg to purchase that will walk you through step by step on how to get your pup trained. Remember, for every mistake your pup makes, you will have another mistake to fix. Consistency and patience are most certainly the most vital ingredients.
House Training Your Puppy – House Training Dogs – 4 Steps to Getting it Right
