Potty Training a Puppy: The Basics You Need to Know
Potty training a puppy is not difficult to understand, though it does require patience to do! There are just a few simple points that cover the basics, and I will describe them here. Keep your puppy right with you as much of the time as possible. Take him or her to his pottying spot at certain times. Clean up any messes calmly. Repeat this over and over. Sooner or later, you will have a potty-trained puppy.
Here is more information on each of these four points:
1. If you keep the pup close to you as much as you can, you are more likely to notice if he needs a potty break. Even when you catch him just as he starts to do his business, your potty training is enhanced. Tell him “no” in a firm voice and take his to his potty place.
One method for keeping your puppy close is to put on a belt and then attach one end of his leash to it. If you do this, wherever you go, your little guy will go right along. The two of you will be bonding too!
Whatever method you choose, do keep your puppy nearby. You may want to use crate training for those parts of the day when you have to be apart. That topic isn’t covered in this article, but I do write a lot about it at my dog training website.
2. Potty training a puppy means creating in him the habit of going to his pottying spot whenever he needs to. You are going to spend a lot of time in your early days together helping him to form this habit. How will you do this? By taking him to his place at all the times he is likely to need to go there. These times are:
*** Each time he awakens, whatever time of day. Since puppies nap a lot, there will be a lot of awakenings!
*** Every time he eats or takes a big drink.
As you will soon discover, he wakes up, eats, and drinks many times in the course of a day! It’s also a good idea to take him out just before you go to bed.
A word about his pottying spot: If you have a fenced yard, that is great and you can even take him to a particular part of it if you wish. If you will be walking him on leash in your neighborhood, take a plastic bag or two for cleanup. You can also train him to use papers or even a litter box indoors, and this can be the best choice if you live in a high-rise apartment, for example.
3. Cleaning up his messes is a big part of caring for your puppy before he is fully potty trained. Don’t yell at him or express your displeasure in any way. He really won’t understand. Even if you think he looks guilty, he is just upset because you are. Would you expect a human infant not to need diapers for a long time? Well, potty training a puppy takes way less time than potty training a human, but still be patient!
4. Repeat these steps over and over, even when you don’t feel like it. The more consistent you are, the faster the puppy will get the idea.
There’s lots more to say about potty training a puppy, but these tips will get you well on your way to a successfully trained dog!
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