Puppy Potty Training Tips

From the Desk of Sharda Baker

Good day and welcome everyone!

This is Sharda with another potty train newsletter.

Let’s get to know some puppy potty training tips!

Here we go!

As a new puppy owner, there are some basic training principles that can be helpful in working with even a very young puppy when potty training.

One of the biggest considerations is that you are working to mold or shape a puppies behavior, and this takes time.

It would be unreasonable to expect a baby to be potty trained the first time you put them on the toilet, and it is unreasonable that a puppy will the potty trained the first time you take them outside, put them in the litter box or placed them on the potty pad or newspaper.

Patience and constant monitoring of the puppy is what is needed to make this process as stress free as possible for both you and the puppy.

The following basic principles for puppy potty training can be kept in mind to help modify what you may be doing to make it work for you and your puppy:

• Different breeds mature both physically and behaviorally at different rates. Don?t assume that every puppy will hit the same milestones at the same time. Just like people, dogs have different abilities and intelligence levels. Some puppies will need additional time, attention and praise to understand what is expected of them with regards to potty training.
• Remember that it takes time for bladder control to develop fully, with some breeds this can be up to several months. If the puppy seems to be urinating too frequently, be sure to have a vet examine the puppy as it may have bladder infection or genetic condition that is causing the frequent elimination.
• Housetraining a puppy should be as consistent as possible. Ideally one person should work with the puppy until they understand the concept, then other people can start working with the puppy. The more variances there are in the training, the longer the process will be.
• Never punish a puppy for an accident. This will only cause the puppy to distrust and stay away from you, resulting in more messes in the house. The puppy must love and trust you to make housetraining successful.
• Never restrict a puppy’s access to fresh, clean water. Dehydration can happen very quickly with puppies, especially in hot climates, and can result in severe health conditions and even death in extreme cases. Limiting water before bedtime may be acceptable as long as the puppy has free access during the day.
• Praise should be the cornerstone of the puppy potty training routine. Praise given after the puppy has used the designated toilet area reinforces the desired behavior. Since a puppy loves to know they have done a good job, this will be a very powerful motivator to go to the correct area next time.
• Keep a journal or log of when the puppy eliminates and when it eats and drinks. This will help you determine when the puppy may need to go outside.

Finally, remember that an accident on the part of the puppy is due to lack of attention on the owner’s part. If the owner had noted the puppy’s pre- elimination behavior and taken them to the potty area, the accident would not have happened.

Clean the area completely and then begin again, being sure to attend more to the puppy to catch them when they are starting to indicate that they have to go.

I hope that you learned a lot from today’s puppy potty training newsletter

All the best and take care

Warmly,
Sharda Baker