House training a puppy without tears.
"Potty training a puppy"
House training a dog can be a very frustrating job if you go about it the wrong way. Two things are important to remember when you house break a dog is “consistency” and “space”.
Most people fail at this because they give the puppy the run of the house. Then when they see the puppy squatting they run for it full force and scare the pee out of it right than and there. All the puppy learned was how fast or slow you move and how loud you can be. This way will never work, it is frustrating for you and confusing for the puppy.
House Breaking Dogs
Dogs want and need to have a clean area. They do not want to potty where they eat or sleep. So we can take advantage of this natural instinct they have and it will make house training easier. When you give them the run of the house or any large area they can move about and go as far as they need to go potty and keep their living area clean. They will have plenty of places to potty.
Plan for your puppy’s arrival the same as you would for a baby. There are items you will need immediately. Food, water, dishes, a crate and bedding are some of the items you will need.
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House breaking puppy
Before you bring your puppy home buy a playpen. You will not need a new one. Go to a yard sale or thrift store and buy a mesh playpen second hand. Your puppy won’t be in it that long but it will be the easiest way to begin. While there buy some old blankets or towels. Get a few of them so you can change the bedding often.
Above is Tiffany when she first came home. I put a warm blanket on the entire bottom and a potty pad in a corner of the pen. The pen will keep the puppy confined to a small space when first arriving home. They will instinctively go potty as far from their sleeping area as possible. Hence the potty pad on the opposite side. They will begin using it right off. Keep the pad clean as soon as the puppy has pooped clean it up.
When he is too big for the playpen. Move him to an area that is fenced off in a room with tile or linoleum floor. I used a 5 X 6 area of my kitchen. The puppy had her bed in their and her potty pad. I like the kitchen because the puppy wasn’t alone and the floor was easy to clean when an accident did happen.
Do not free feed the puppy. Give him food and water four times a day at first. After he is done eating make sure he is on the potty pad or outside if you are that far along. I never took my puppies outside until they had all their shots. Stray and wild animals would go through our yard at night so I was careful as to what I exposed them to until fully vaccinated.
House training a puppy
I know some people say you can’t paper train a dog and than teach them to potty outside when house training, because it confuses them. I have never had this problem with house training any of my puppies. Once Hanna was trained she would never again use the paper but Tiffany will still use both if I left potty pads out, which I no longer do.
NEVER, never rub their noses in the accident. I think that is down right cruel. If the puppy had an accident it is your fault not the poppies. They can’t go outside unless you take them and they won’t use the pad if you don’t teach them, accidents will happen. Yes that is just part of learning. Just clean it up and move on. Remember “clean area” is the key phrase here.
Puppy crate training
At night I put my girls in a crate. House training and crate training go hand in hand. I first take them out right before bedtime. Once a puppy is old enough to hold it all night this is an easy way to train them. But I have seen this crate usage abused. As puppies I do not put them in a crate during the day for more than a couple of hours at a time. If I run to the store I will put the puppy in the crate until I get back. When I return I take the puppy out side to potty or place him on the potty pad. They usually have to go by than. Now that my girls are grown I do not place them in their crates during the day.
They will need to go potty when they wake up from a nap, a little bit after they eat or drink, after playing, first thing in the morning and last thing at night. These are times you should especially watch the puppy closely.
When they do their business make a big deal out of it. “Good girl.” Always use the word “Potty” when they are doing their business. He will soon realize this is a good thing and their main goal in life is to please you.
I trained my girls to go potty on command because of our traveling. When we travel I can tell my girls to go “potty” and they know what I mean. Yes they also know when I say, “Go poop” and they will. This is important when you are on the road and stop for gas and need the dogs to do their business. Okay, they also know when we stop at McDonalds and they want their plain hamburger.
Yes I used the potty pads at the beginning and then trained them to go outside. They say it confuses them but we never had a problem. House training a dog is very much like potty training a child. It is done over a period of time and accidents are inevitable.
As the puppy learns potty training open the house to them room by room. Again you wouldn’t let a toddler wonder the entire house without watching her. Our canine kids are no different. It will take time and consistency. But it will be far less frustrating if you limit their area.
House training starts before you bring the puppy home. Plan well and stick to it and you will have a fun happy puppy that grows into a wonderful canine kid.