When bringing a new puppy into your family you will have many concerns. One of them will be house training. Some will not have as much time to spend on house training their puppy as others but our goal is the same; we all want a fast and easy way.
House Training your puppy will be a challenge but there are ways to make the process easier. They are: Patience, Consistency, Praise, and Crate Training.
Patience and Consistency is the key to housetraining your puppy. You will want to make sure you take him/her out often. This should be about every 45 minutes or after eating, sleeping, playing, or taking naps. Doing so will help eliminate the amount of accidents your puppy will have. You will also want to get your puppy on a regular feeding schedule and take away his/her water at night.
Focus on praising your puppy for urinating and defecating outdoors. This will make the process go faster. Always go out with your puppy so you will be there to reward him/her. Treats are always a good way to reward your puppy.
You will want to learn your puppy’s signals. This will tell you when you need to take him/her out. Most dogs usually sniff and walk in circles when they need to go. Eventually you will not have to watch anymore as he/she will tell you by whimpering or scratching at the door. A good way to teach your puppy that he needs to go outside is when you see that he/she has to go take him/her to the door and teach him/her to scratch on the door, but only if this is how you want your puppy to tell you. Don’t show him/her this method if you know it will damage your door. At times some puppies will just stand at the door and not say anything so you will want to check often to make sure he/she goes out.
One of the best ways to train your puppy that is highly recommended by a huge number of veterinarians is cratetraining. This will be the place your puppy will be when you are not able to keep an eye on him/her. Make sure your puppy’s crate is inviting. Put toys and a blanket or pet bed in there. You may want to line his/her crate with papers for times where you will be gone for long periods. Your puppy will get to know this as his/her own bed. This will teach your puppy to hold it until he/she can go outside. Eventually he/she will view the whole house as his/her own. For nighttime, place crate in your room so the puppy does not feel afraid away from you. Not all puppies will be able to hold it all night so be ready to get up in the middle of the night to take him/her out.
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New Puppy?
Using training pads is no longer advised. You need to teach your puppy only one step and that is to go outside. Training pads can confuse him/her and delay the process.
Don’t get upset or worried if your puppy seems to make progress and then goes back to his old habits. It can take puppies up to six months to get control of their bladders. Never punish your puppy after the fact if he/she has gone in the house. Not all puppies are the same; they all have different personalities; but with the steps above your puppy will come to learn that the house is their home and the outside is their bathroom.
About the Author: Heather Todd is a work-at-home mother of 2 children and one lab retriever puppy. In her spare time she is a rep for Stuff a Friend Workshop, a mobile stuffing workshop that lets you make your new stuffed animal friend, and studing to be a photographer.
