There are many lessons for a new puppy to learn and understand in the house. While these are important for every puppy, most owners will include potty training as one of the most essential lesson for all dogs. Potty trained dogs will relief owners on the problems to clear up his mess in the house which can be unbearable.

There are numerous ways to potty train your puppy, depending on your circumstances and dog type. Puppies that did not go through any vaccination yet are recommended to stay indoor to learn potty paper training, it is also suitable for apartment living dogs.

Crate training will train your puppy to control his bladder and relieve outside by making use of a dog’s instinctive nature of not dirtying its sleeping area. This training is suitable for dogs living in apartment.

The common choice would be to train your dog to go outside to the back yard or the garden to relieve.

A suitable time to start potty training as recommended by most experts is when your puppy is eight to twelve weeks old. Can you remember about the adage on old dogs that learn new tricks? It is not completely true but right in some ways because it is much easier to train a younger dogs when undesirable habits are not formed. So, don’t take any chances.

There are many ways and things you can do to achieve the right results. Of them, there are hard ways and easy ways, right ways and wrong ways. The best course of action is to use the easiest and fastest way to get the right results. Much effort, time and positive reinforcement is needed. Let’s see what are the things you can do to train your dog fast and effectively.

To begin, you should allocate an area for your puppy to eliminate outside or inside the house, you should show him the way to this spot and praise him generously after he finishes

If you praise and reward him immediately after he finishes his job, it encourages him to eliminate in that area alone. The urine odor will be detectable by your puppy and he will learn to associate it as the place to relieve himself.

To help the puppy to remember, always use the same door and spot where you want your puppy to eliminate. Use soiled newspaper to mark the area and hint your puppy on where is the right spot.

The next part is to start an elimination routine and make your puppy familiar with it. Dogs are habitual animals, they are born instinctively to keep to routines. When your puppy is six to eight weeks old, you should bring him out to relieve after every few hours. The frequency will reduce as he grows older and can control his bladder better. During puppyhood, take him to the allocated elimination area at the following times of the day - Upon waking in the morning, after naps, meals, play, training session and just before bedtime.

Taking your pup out at around the same time every day will be very beneficial for the both of you. This is vastly useful in setting up a routine for your puppy and will help him to learn and control his bladder until you take him out.

Now, you need to pick up signs your puppy displays when he needs to relieve. This is important especially when he is used to running around freely. Be attentive and observe your behavior when he needs to relieve himself, such as sniffing heavily, circling around, and staring at the door intensively to get out.

You can train your dog with two more commands to help him understand potty training faster. Use “Hurry up”, or “Potty now”, command to associate it with potty time. So, say “hurry up” or “potty” in an encouraging tone just when he gets the urge to “go”. He will soon learn that when you say the command, he will begin to sniff, circle and then get down to business. Once he’s done, praise him lavishly.

It is common for puppies to make mistakes during the process of potty training. In part 2 of this article, you will learn how to excuse his mistakes and more tips to help you train your puppy in double quick time.

Potty training your dog should start as early as possible while he has not yet caught up on bad habits like urinating anywhere he likes.

If you are bringing home a puppy then you are lucky because there are better chances of potty training your dog at this age. However, do not expect a puppy to immediately learn how to control his bladder in a few weeks because you will only get frustrated.

Your task in potty training your dog is to take him to the specific areas where you want him to do his thing. But when he commits a mistake do not shout at him or hurt him because he will not learn from this. The best way to deal with accidents is to just wipe the urine or poop immediately and then continue potty training your dog.

Here are a few important tips to remember if you want to succeed in potty training your dog:

•Try using newspapers while on the training process to protect your house from dog urine. Potty training a dog can be done in various ways like taking him inside the house but confining him in a room or a small space with newspapers until he learns how to do his thing properly.

•Always remember the times when your dog has to urinate or defecate to avoid accidents. One way of potty training your dog is by taking him out at specific periods to enable him to associate urinating and defecating with going out. Potty training a dog especially puppies can be easy if you know the times when they are expected to urinate.

•If you have puppies then take special notice of their irregular potty habits. Puppies need to urinate often because their bladders could not hold out their urine for longer periods. Take out your dog the moment he wakes up or a few minutes after he finishes his meal.

•Be vigilant of your dog’s actions as they might indicate a desire to urinate. Watch for other signs that your dog wants to urinate or defecate like irregular barking, sniffing or circling the floor.

•Always give a reward when your dog successfully does his thing right. When your dog is successful in giving you a signal that he wants to go out to urinate or if he is successful in doing his thing in the proper area then reward him for it.

•Consistency is the key. It may take a lot of effort on your part but being consistent will help a lot in potty training your dog. Training your dog today and then allowing him to urinate on the rug the next day will not teach him to urinate in the proper area.

Success in potty training your dog can be so sweet after you have tried your best and sacrificed a little of your time in potty training him.

Dog Behavior Problems - Common Questions answered.

Q 1

My dog and puppy pees when I pet him - what can I do?

A 1

 

Your dog is doing what is known as submissive urination. This is a Housetraining issue and your dog/puppy is actually trying to tell you that you are superior to him. Dog’s communicate very differently to humans and when a puppy or dog is approached by a bigger or more dominant dog - the lower ranking dog may pee to let them know that he respects him. When you lean over your dog you are in a very assertive position - so your dog well pee to tell you that you are more dominant. Don’t shout at him otherwise he may pee more as he doesn’t think you got the message the first time he peed. You may notice submissive urination in certain breeds - it happens to be quiet common in Spaniels.

 

The cure

Dog’s often do submissive urination when you have been gone for a while and come back - consequently the dog maybe excited.

 

The next time you come back from going out - ignore your dog - don’t pet him or greet him - or make eye contact with him - tell any visitors to do the same. As soon as your dog has calmed down after about 15 mins or however long it takes - quietly acknowledge him - make it very matter of fact - don’t get excited otherwise your dog will start peeing. The calmer you are the calmer your dog/puppy will be. Continue to ignore him when you get back and he has calmed down and eventually your puppy/dog will start to get better control of his bladder.

 

Q 2

My dog is doing well in his outdoor training regime but as soon as it rains he will go outside but not potty - what should I do?

A 2

 

Some dogs are able to pee outside in a force 10 hurricane but others see a spot of rain and just won’t go. Think about it though - it’s not very appealing to your dog (and it wouldn’t be to you either) to go outside in the rain and pee. Consider taking him outside with an umbrella - you may feel this is a bit indulgent - but you will have clean carpet. Maybe build a small shelter for him to pee under. Use rewards - use a reward so that as soon as he pees you give him lots of praise and a nice dog treat - a nice piece of beef or liver - this particular trick worked on a Yorkie I was training.)

 

Q 3

I take my dog outside to potty but he takes forever - how do I get him to do his business quicker?

A 3

 

You have quite allot of control over how long it takes your dog/puppy to pee. If you are letting your dog/puppy take 30 minute to find the right spot - then you are teaching him to take 30 minutes to find the right spot. If you want him to take 5 minutes then take him out on his leash and use a cue word that you have decided on - (you may need to refer to one of my other articles) and use the cue word “go potty” or whatever you chose - if he doesn’t go then bring him inside and confine him to his crate for 15 mins. Keep doing this and he will soon realize that he has an allotted time to pee. Continue practising these dog obedience training techniques until you and your dog or puppy have mastered the puppy potty training process.