Potty Training Puppies - 4 Hints

So you want to get a puppy? How exciting! Unfortunately puppies don’t come with a user’s guide and your puppy will definitely need some training. The most important thing you need to do is learn about potty training puppies. Most new owners dread this and think it will be a difficult, unpleasant project for all involved. Not so if you know what you’re doing! Here are some suggestions to help.

* You’ll need to take your puppy outside right after he eats, sleep and plays. Most puppies will need to go to the bathroom after each of these activities. Its also important that you do this every time. If your puppy doesn’t go right away it doesn’t mean he doesn’t need to relieve himself and you can take him out again later. It just means the urge hasn’t struck or he’s distracted. Take him back inside and try again in about 10-15 minutes.

* Set up a schedule for when you need to take your puppy out. Make sure everyone in the house knows the schedule if you have family members helping with the training. Your puppy needs consistency to learn faster.

* Decide on an area where you want your puppy to do his business. You’ll need to take him to the same place every time so your puppy learns this is the area to relieve himself. Also, the scent of previous visits will tip him off about what he needs to do there.

* Come up with a command you want to use to tell your puppy what you want him to do. You’re going to use this command for the rest of your dog’s life, so make sure its something you won’t be embarrassed to use in front of others! “Go potty” is a good one. Use this immediately when your dog starts to relieve himself and keep saying it until he’s done. He’ll soon associate the command with going to the bathroom.

* When your puppy does what you want him to, praise him! Give him a good pat or a small treat while telling him how good he is. Do this as soon as he finishes so he knows exactly what made you so happy.

* Never punish your puppy by yelling or “rubbing his nose in it” when he has an accident. If your puppy had an accident, you need to accept that you missed something and it’s your fault. Its an unfortunate wives tale that you need to rub their nose in their mess. This will just teach your dog to be weary of you. In addition, your dog may learn to eat his own feces, which isn’t pleasant for anyone.

This covered a few techniques and tips for potty training puppies. The things you really need to understand are that consistency and praise are going to be critical for your puppy to learn well. There are actually quite a few more techniques you should learn before you get your puppy. Get started as soon as you can so you’re ready and waiting when you bring your puppy home.