Potty training a puppy can be unbelievably frustrating. It takes time and patience for everyone involved. But with the proper structure and boundaries, your puppy should pick it up in no time.
Here is some helpful information to make the potty training process more efficient:
Your puppy should not have free reign of your house… ever.
Hear me out. I get that you want to make your puppy feel part of the family. But allowing them to go wherever they want, whenever they want, is setting them up for complete failure to potty in the house. Your puppy should be in one of three places inside the house: the crate, the stay bed, or actively engaged with you. No exceptions. Being actively engaged could mean several things: playing on the living room floor, cuddling while watching a movie, or it could be fun training games. You wouldn’t leave a two-year-old toddler alone for hours with full access to your house. The same concept should be applied to owning a puppy.
Consistency is key.
Keeping your puppy on a consistent schedule is key to potty training. This is where you, as the owner, have to take the initiative of keeping track of time. The rule of thumb is however many months old your puppy is, is typically how many hours they can go between potty times during the day. Set the alarm on your phone and ensure your puppy can go outside simultaneously every day. Naturally, your puppy will start to learn they are supposed to potty outside, not inside.
Dogs are den animals.
Dogs instinctively thrive in a den-like space (crate). It is a learned behavior if an adult dog throws a fit while in a kennel. Your puppy may whine and cry the first few times they are in a crate, but that is only because the space is new, and they must adjust. The crate is going to provide boundaries. (My house is my space, and your crate is yours). Dogs naturally do not want to mess on themselves; if they do, it is also a learned behavior. It is crucial to get a crate that is appropriate for the size of your dog. Too much space inside the crate allows them to create an area where they can go potty. They should be able to stand up, lie down, and turn around in their crate. That’s it. Being in a crate they don’t want to potty in, during some periods of the day will encourage them to hold it until the next potty break comes along.
The leash is your best friend.
I wrote in a previous blog that a leash is one of the essential tools you need when you get a puppy. They need to have a leash attached to them when inside the house unless they are in a crate. This is helpful for many reasons. You can follow up with what you ask them to do the first time you ask it. For example, if you ask them to recall and they do not respond after the first time you have asked, you can use the leash to reinforce the command.
You also need to keep them on the leash when you take them outside until they have gone potty. Freedom to run around outside is a privilege. If your puppy wants to run around, they must go potty on the leash first. The first couple of times, it may take a few minutes for them to understand the concept. Once they realize the faster they go potty, the sooner they can play, they will recognize that walking out of the door means potty first. The list of benefits from this simple task is endless. You can tell almost everything about a dog’s health from what comes out of the “other end.” Taking them out on a leash to go potty lets you know what their poop looks like and how often they poop, enabling you to catch onto possible health problems before they grow out of hand.
The products you use matter.
It can be frustrating when you have 10 people telling you different things you need to get for your puppy. I want to make things easier by giving you a list of all the products you need, including their food. That’s right. It’s all in one place. I want the best for my dogs, and these products I am recommending to you are the only ones I trust. Potty training your puppy can be as complicated or easy as you make it. Believe it or not, your products can have a considerable impact. You want your puppy to be as healthy as it can be with minimal issues as they mature. What you feed them basically determines how well their digestive system functions. If their digestive system is not working right, you have an entire list of issues beyond that.
Below is the link to the puppy products. Enjoy!
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