Puppy Toilet Training
Toilet training is an important skill to teach your new pup.
In the wild dogs will instinctively refrain from using their den to toilet and instead relieve themselves outside. As domestic owners, we can, therefore, take advantage of our dog’s natural instincts to the toilet outside.
The key to successfully toilet training your puppy is routine. In a similar manner to humans who will go to the toilet when waking up, before work, after lunch, and before bed. Our puppy will develop its own routine for needing to relieve itself around the same time each day. Dog’s learn through repetition and consistency. So it’s important that we as owners don’t become lazy and support our puppy by sticking to their routine as much as possible.
This can be done by following four easy steps:
1) Set your puppy up for success
Restrict your pup’s access to certain areas of the house. Allowing your puppy to reach only select areas of the house will mean fewer accidents. Baby gates are a simple tool which can be used to block off areas of your home.
2) Watch your puppy.
Your pup’s body language is a clear indicator of their intentions. If he/she is sniffing the ground, walls or door your Dog is telling you it needs to go to the toilet. Circling or squatting are other telltale signs your pup is getting ready to relieve themselves.
3) Make use of crate training
In addition to the many other benefits of crate training, this universal training space can be used to reinforce toilet training.
Every time the pup is let out of the crate, lead it outside to toilet. Once your pup has completed it’s business ensure lots of praise is given. Do this enough times and eventually, your pup will begin to associate each time it comes out of the crate as its time to go to the toilet.
4) Accidents
Toileting mishaps are an inevitable part of toilet training and punishing your pup for doing so, will not support the goal you are trying to achieve. As much frustration as a wet carpet patch may cause, punishing your pup will only be detrimental in the long term.
If you do catch your Pup going relieving themselves inside, try to interrupt the behaviour. Then take your Dog outside at once, and once completed, reward them with praise.
Top tip: When encountering an accident, don’t clean up in front of you’re dog. Many see your attempts to quickly salvage the situation as a form of attention and may, therefore, continue the behaviour.
It is important to remember, every puppy is unique and toilet training can be a frustrating experience, especially for house proud owners. If you feel your puppy would benefit from the guidance of a qualified In-home dog trainer, please feel free to get in touch here.
