Tips for House Training your Puppy
House training can be a breeze or a nightmare. In order for it to be as painless as possible you have to commit your time to making this work and being around the puppy in those first few weeks. If you give the time and set the routines you should make very rapid progress with house training.
Define Your Puppy’s Space
First thing is to establish the areas in the house that the puppy has access to. Certainly don’t allow him/her free access to all the rooms in the house, at least until you’re making good progress with house training, and then with close supervision.
Indoor Kennels or crates are the real key to house training. Puppies love the security of their own personal space and will not soil near their bed or food bowls if they can possibly avoid it. Puppy should certainly spend his/her nights in the crate and daytime periods when he is sleeping. There are many types of crates you can purchase. I have a few you can view on www.kentpremiumdogaccessories.co.uk.
Routine
Your puppy will want to relieve him/herself when he/she wakes up and after meals. Always take him/her straight outside after naps and meals, and encourage him/her with your voice to perform. Choose a word the whole household will use so training is consistent. Watch him/her carefully, but don’t interact with him; it’s not playtime and distractions at this point will prolong the learning period.
The command word will remain useful through his adult life; you can use it as a question and his/her reaction will tell you whether or not he/she does need to go outside.
Anticipation
House training will be accelerated if you learn to pick up on the signs that the puppy needs to relieve him/herself. He/she will start sniffing the floor, then circling and lifting his/her tail.
Stay Calm
I know it’s difficult sometimes, but don’t ever get cross with a puppy who’s had an accident. Remember, it’s not his/her fault – it’s yours for not anticipating his needs. If you see him/her starting to relieve him/herself inside, use a firm ‘NO!!’ – don’t frighten him/her, just get his attention, then pick him up and get him outside to finish off, at which point you will provide with heaps of praise.
Puppies are fed three times a day because they have small tummies; likewise, their bowels and bladders are small and need to be emptied regularly. Add to this that bowel and bladder control is a skill that has to be learned, and you will understand why patience is the key to successful training.
Reward Based Training
Your puppy’s weak spot, which you must exploit, is that he/she is constantly seeking your approval. Therefore training based on a rewards scheme is the best incentive. By rewards, I mean praise, cuddles and play. The more you reward him/her, the more rewards he/she will seek.
Dogs can be made to obey through fear, but dogs who are rewarded for their behaviour will seek more rewards by pleasing you, rather than fearful dogs whose priority will be to stay out of your way.
Aids to Training
Training Pads are an excellent idea; they are scented to attract puppies to use them and lock in the moisture so paws and the floor stays dry. Young puppies can’t be expected to be clean overnight, so a training pad, with or without a tray in his crate will keep his sleeping area clean and dry.
Pheromone Sprays are scented to attract a puppy to urinate in a particular area, whether to enhance the attraction or a puppy training pad or an area in the garden you have chose for him/her.
Pee Post is a permanent marker in your garden to attract your puppy/dog to a specific area for toileting.
Odour Remover Cleans and neutralises the area where there have been accidents. Unlike standard disinfectants which have chemicals that mimic the smell of urine and attracts the puppy to use the area again, odour neutraliser completely neutralises the smell and chemicals.
How long will House Training take?
If you commit yourself, then within a week you will have a puppy who understands what is required of him/her, even if he doesn’t always succeed.
It will be some months before he is close to reliable, and even then some dogs are naturally cleaner than others. With a little effort it shouldn’t be too difficult to make those accidents a rare occurrence. Be conscious of his/her needs.
Problems
There will be setbacks along the way, but with your help your puppy will make fairly steady progress. There will be accidents, but don’t punish the puppy; if there is an accident but you don’t see it happen then don’t reproach the puppy, just clean it up. He won’t understand why you are annoyed and at a time when you are learning to understand each other – he will get confused.
Try seeing it from his view point – you have just come into the room, he is so thrilled to see you and instead of responding likewise you start telling him off. He has no idea why, he/she has completely forgotten about the little heap you have just stood in and has no idea it’s anything to do with him.
Winter Puppies
It is much harder to house train a winter puppy; neither you nor he/she wants to leave a warm kitchen and stand around in the cold and rain. These are not the conditions for success, and at this time of the year it makes very good sense to use puppy training pads. They are scented with pheromones to attract the puppy and the urine is locked in in the same way as a disposable nappy.
FINALLY – DISPOSAL
It is essential to dispose of faeces safely, toxocara canis is a common parasite which uses the human as a host and eggs are spread through faeces. One solution is to open a drain cover in the garden that carries foul drainage and flush it through with a bucket of water. An easier solution is to acquire a dog loo. These are sunk into a prepared piece of ground with good drainage and the faeces are added, together with a bioactivator to break them down.
GOOD LUCK !!
