How to housetrain your puppy
The breeder
Dogs are innately clean animals and will not soil their nest if they can help it. That’s why the first step to housetrain a puppy is often made by the breeder. The breeder needs to make sure that the puppy’s have enough space so they don’t have to soil their sleeping place. That’s why it’s important when selecting a puppy to pay attention to how clean the nest is and where the puppy’s can do their business.
At home
As soon as your new buddy arrives in your home, it’s your responsibility to train him where to do his business. When housetraining your dog, the key is to try to prevent ‘little accidents’ and to reward good behaviour. In the beginning it might be wise to lay down a few newspapers on the floor near crucial spots like the front and backdoor. Furthermore, it’s important to make sure that you regularly go outside with your pup so that he has enough opportunity to do his business there.
Behaviour
It can also be useful to watch your pup’s behaviour right before does his business. If you know how your dog acts right before he takes a leak, you can prevent little accidents from happening. Common traits of a dog that is about to pee are sniffing in the same place for a longer period of time and spinning circles in the same spot. If your pup shows this behaviour, take him outside as soon as possible. If everything goes well he will do his business there, after which you can reward him with a delicious snack. This way you learn your puppy to always do his business outside, in a positive manner.
Command
You can choose to learn your puppy a command to do his business. This can be very useful when you’re traveling with your four legged buddy. Here’s how you do it: When your pup pees outside, you say ‘go potty’ (or whatever you want the command to be), after which you can reward him with a snack. If you keep this up every time your dog does it’s business, your dog will ‘go potty’ on your command after a while.
Playing
Since the whole world is still new and exciting for your pup, there’s a great chance that he wants to go play as soon as you take him outside. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with playing, but here’s the catch: If he finally does his business after playing for a while, and you immediately take him back inside, he might learn to postpone doing his business so that he can play for a longer period of time. After a while you could find yourself waiting for half an hour before he finally does his business. That’s why it’s best to only take your pup outside for a very short period of time in the beginning. Start with taking him outside for only a minute at a time. When your pup does his business within this minute, you can reward him with a snack and by letting him play outside for a few more minutes. Maybe even letting him off the leash. If he doesn’t do his business in this minute, take him back inside and try again after a little while.
Little accidents
Of course it’s always possible that a little accident happens and your pup pees or poops inside the house. When this happens, it’s important to not get mad at the puppy or even to use a higher pitch, reassuring voice. Doing this, you could teach your puppy the wrong behaviour. It’s better to completely ignore the little accident and take your pup outside as soon as possible.
Cleaning up
When an accident happens, it’s important to clean it up very thoroughly. Not only because of hygienic reasons, but also because your pup is more likely to have another accident in the house when he smells the scent of urine. Keep in mind that a dog’s nose is a lot better than that of a human, so just because you can’t smell anything yourself, doesn’t mean that your pup can’t either. Luckily there are special products that make cleaning up accidents very easy and simultaneously take care of the scents.
Puppy won’t become potty trained
If your pup just keeps on getting little accidents and won’t make any progress, it could be wise to pay a visit to the vet. There could be psychological or medical reasons behind it. He could suffer from submissive urination or it could be possible that he can’t hold in his pee because of a bladder infection. The vet can often help your pup overcome this.
With this guide your pup will become house trained in no time. Good luck!
