Puppies aren't as easy to train in comparison with grown up dogs, therefore as an owner we will need to have patience and sufficient amount of time, puppies need lots of affection and love. Most affection that you shower on your pup is fine, but at certain times you should refrain, even in the face of that cuteness.
When to begin potty training
Experts recommend that you begin potty training when he is between 12-16 weeks old. At that moment, he has enough control of his bladder and bowel movements to learn to hold it. If your buddy is older than 12 weeks and he's been eliminating in a cage, training might take a longer time. You will then have to reshape its behavior, using encouragement and reward.
Learning how to potty train your dog at the right time and place is one of the most important steps you can take for a long and happy life together. When deciding how to potty train your dog, there are two options, train them to relieve themselves outdoors or having them indoor on a tray or pee pad and then transition them to the outdoors.
Continous rewarding cannot be performed as next time if you don't reward your dog, he will not execute that command and will demand the reward. The correct way is after the dog understands and executes the command properly, you will need to use an alternated reward. The timing of reward is crucial to understand more, you may attend our course for clarification.
Introducing its home
Introducing your pup to its new home, family and role. For the first time, your pup might feel excited, scared, curiosity, fear or joy just like when we are in a new environment, place or group. For a puppy to settle in and learn, trust and respect you, it is important to be in consistent with them and establish your expectation of them.
- Only show them places where they are allowed to be at. Initially, puppy can be curious about the new environment where they are at, do not let them roam around and explore on their own as you don't want them to have business there. For an example, places like bedroom, and upstairs area. Close them off and do not let your puppy to explore there.
Understand your puppy's breed
Breeds like Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier, Pug they tend to have smaller bladder than other dogs. Therefore, if you own a puppy which has a smaller bladder, make sure to keep an eye of them and often take them out for a leash. It is a problem where we expect them to understand our commands. In Hence, as an owner you will need to understand how they communicate with you, such as barking, looking at a certain direction or even just by sitting next to you.
Choose a potty spot
To avoid any disaster, choose a potty spot beforehand. It is recommended to choose a potty spot outside and take your dog there every time he needs to. Pick a spot that is not visited by other dogs and easy to clean up. Pick an area which you and your puppy is able to get to quickly, as you will be visiting this area frequently during the training process.
Owners have to consider a spot where it's able to keep fleas and ticks away, places like backyard and dog house are places where fleas and ticks usually loves to be at. Therefore place your dog at indoor if possible. As an owner you should keep your dog and its house clean, bath your dog once a week, and apply tick dips after every bath.
[blockquote font="3"]Puppies are sensitive to smell, they will remember the smell of urine and start to associate the area as its "bathroom".[/blockquote]
The right potty training set up
Owners' will just have to create a potty area just enough space to potty and rest. You may increase the space only when your dog understands how to potty on a tray, also if your dog does its business on a tray, remember to praise and reward your dog, this is to mark and imprint into a dog that they're doing the right thing.
If your dog does its potty on the tray, you may expand the area with a fence around the area and see if the dog still goes and does its business on the tray. Do not allow your dog to free reign and roam the entire house, otherwise, they will start to pee around.
Clean up accidents right away
When your dog has an accident that's not its potty spot, it is important to clean it immediately. This will prevent the dog from wanting to go again in the same place. Here's how you should clean it
- Use enzymatic clean that doesn't contain ammonia. This will get rid the dog's attraction to that area .
- Urine has a strong smell of ammonia which attracts them to smell and mark with their own .
- If you aren't able to find enzymatic, you able to use White vinegar as it has the same function .
Learn how often your dog needs to go
For the first few weeks, pay attention to how frequently it needs to urinate. This will help you to learn their its routine and predict when to take your buddy out for a leash.
[blockquote font="3"]When you're potty training a puppy, give the dog to alleviate themselves from to potty outdoors and not indoors. In order to help your puppy, you will have to set a schedule of taking them out frequently [/blockquote]
Establishing a Routine
Be consistent. You should always take the dog to the same spot when its time to leash, and use the same command to help it to associate the area. Here's a guide on when you should take your puppy out for a leash.
When a dog starts getting restless or springs up suddenly when they are lying down, or starts to circle around, sniffing at corners, or barking. Those are the signs that a dog needs to go for a potty. You should immediately lead back the dog to its pee tray area. When a dog does it on the tray, praise and reward them crazily!
Frequency of Urination
Puppies tend to urine frequently, if the frequency increase rapidly, owners should pay a visit to the vet as soon as possible. As there might be a bladder issue. But there are certain reasons why they urine frequently, such as :
Fear of punishment
Tone of voice could make your dog afraid especially if you don't use positive reinforcement training. It is possible to gain some compliance through punishment training, but it doesn't serve a dog owner well in the long run. An example of punishment training would be hitting a dog with a rolled up newspaper for having pee accident.
Urine accidents aren't discovered immediately, therefore your pups might not know the reason why is he getting hit with a newspaper. All he knows is when the owner is back home, he might get hit. This increased his fear, which increase his submissive urination frequency.
Loud Noises and Chaotic Situations
Some dogs are more fearful of loud noise than others. Sounds like fireworks and thunderstorm can be very stressful for them, as the frequencies of this sound aren't heard by us but they are able to. Dogs rely on humans to keep them safe in home when there is a thunderstorm or firework.
Separation Anxiety
Separation Anxiety simply means when someone is afraid of being separated from a particular person or pet. In as short as 15 minutes of their owner leaving, a dog with separation anxiety can be so stressed that they are inconsolable by anyone except the person that they are attached to.
Mistakes happens
Having your puppy to have a few accidents in the house is a normal part of housetraining. Here's what to do when it happens
- Clean the accident immediately. There are highly motivated to continue soiling in areas that smells like urine
- Don't punish your puppy, as it will only make them afraid of you
- Interrupt them when you catch them in the act
- Make a startling voice, but be careful not to scare them. Immediately take them to their bathroom spot. Praise your pup after or give them a treat after they finish their business there.
Training a puppy takes time, so don't lose your patience. Whichever method you choose stick to it and develop a routine. With positive reinforcement, your pet will begin to recognize when they are showing good behavior.
