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An essential part of good dog ownership is teaching your pet how to do basic things and one of the most important subjects is, toilet training!
If you don’t toilet train your pooch early enough, you’re going to be in for a very bumpy ride. You will come down to dog’s doo-doo on the kitchen floor, and it will pee all over your nice, new carpet. You’ll berate the dog for its bad behaviour (even though technically, it’s your fault for not training your dog one of the most basic commands), and you’ll end up having a volatile relationship because of it.
In short, training is important. Toilet training is the most important part of training!
When should I start toilet training my puppy?
Ideally you will want to get training underway from the second the pooch enters your home. You will need to be consistent with your training as dogs react better to a schedule of sorts, and you’ll need to understand that at first, accidents will happen and there will be very little you can do about it. I’m sure even you had a few accidents whilst your parents were potty training you, right?
As a general rule, a one-month old puppy will be able to hold its bladder for about an hour. A two-month old puppy will be able to hold its bladder for two hours. A three-month old puppy will be able to hold its bladder for about three hours. When you think of things like this, you can understand how regular, consistent toilet training is important for the early stages of its life. This pooch is going to be doing its business a lot at first so you might as well make the most of it!
How should I start toilet training my puppy?
You will want to take your puppy on regular trips outside (especially after dinner time) and if possible, try to pick the same spot in the yard every time you head out there. Take it out on a lead if it helps, but always make sure you are going to the same spot. After a while, the dog will start to associate that spot with going to the toilet and it’ll lean that when you take it out there in the morning (for example), it should start doing its business.
As the pooch is going for a wee (or whatever), you should use encouraging words and try to come up with a line that the whole family will use to encourage the pup to pee. Something like “Go potty” or “Time for a wee-wee” is good – it needs to be simple, without too many syllables, and easy for the dog to pick up. If you make things too complicated, it’ll make it harder for the dog to learn.
How should I reward my puppy?
If your pup does go to the toilet when you take him or her outside to that ‘toilet spot’, you should treat the pooch – give it a tasty treat or let it play with a toy reserved for treat purposes only. If it has a favourite toy, use that for bribery!
You will want to give the dog the treat straight after it has peed or done a number two. If you wait until you get back into the house, it wont’ associate the toilet with the treat, but rather coming home from a walk instead. Your training will end up being counterproductive.
Puppy Training Pads Are Great!
There are lots of little tips and tricks you can use to toilet train your puppy such as feeding on a schedule (because what goes in on a schedule generally comes out on a schedule) and conditioning your puppy with rewards when they go to the toilet outside. But you should also consider getting toilet training pads which you can place on the floor in the kitchen (for example) to help catch any indoor messes.
Many Thanks, Adam & Laura
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Photo by freedigitalphotos.net – Mister GC