Housetraining, or potty training, as it’s also called, is one of the first and most important tasks you undertake when you bring a dog or puppy home. Toilet training your puppy can seem daunting and frustrating, especially if your puppy isn’t learning quickly. This article will highlight some of the worst mistakes people make housetraining their puppy to help you avoid them!
Not Showing Your Puppy Where It Can Toilet
Puppies don’t come pre-programmed, knowing what we expect from them. As far as the puppy is concerned, it needs to urinate, so it does. Your puppy does not know it’s not supposed to pee all over your new rug or shoes.
It’s up to us to guide and teach them the skills they need to coexist in our world harmoniously. One of the first things to do when bringing home your puppy is to take them out to the designated toilet spot – the area you have decided is okay for your dog to use. Let them explore the area, and when they toilet in it, praise and reward them (a small treat).
Not Giving Praise or Rewards
For your dog to know it’s doing the right thing, you must praise it. Much like when you’re potty training a toddler, you praise for using the toilet. Praise and rewards can go a long way when training a puppy or dog.
Praising and rewarding your puppy for toileting outside will let it know it’s doing the right thing. Making the outside toileting a positive experience by giving a reward will encourage your puppy to repeat toileting outside.
Scolding, Shouting Or Hitting Your Puppy
Puppies will have accidents; they can’t help it. Physically, their bowels, bladders, and muscles are not mature enough to control the elimination of urine and faeces. Being upset about accidents will harm your puppy’s emotional state and damage your relationship.
If your puppy is anxious around you, it may actually make the accidents more frequent, such as appeasement urination. This is when your puppy urinates to let you know it’s not a threat to you. It’s a dog’s way of being very polite.
If your puppy is anxious or scared about eliminating in your presence, it may hide to toilet. Making it difficult for you to find and clean it up and causing your home to smell. This will also make potty training your puppy more difficult, as your puppy won’t want to toilet when you are near.
Instead of getting upset, quietly clean up the mess and ensure you use an enzyme cleaner to clean away the scent. Dogs and puppies will often go in the same spot if they can smell previous toileting there.
Not Having A Routine
Puppies thrive on routine. It makes them more secure when they know what’s coming, reducing anxiety. Keeping mealtimes, nap times, play times and outside breaks regular allows the puppy to know what’s coming next. It also allows you to know approximately when your puppy will need to go outside for a toilet break.
Unrealistic Expectations
It will take time for your puppy to learn not to toilet inside. Like us, puppies all learn at different paces. Some catch on quickly and some need a little more time and patience. The age of the puppy will also factor into how quickly toilet training can be mastered. It can take some puppies a couple of months to master toilet training.
As previously mentioned, young puppies have not physically matured enough to have control over their bladder or bowels, accidents are to be expected. They can only hold on to their toileting for a few hours, depending on their age.
If you are being consistent with your routine, praising and rewarding your puppy, but it is still having accidents after a few months of training take it to get checked by a vet. It may have an undiagnosed medical condition causing the accidents.
Good luck, potty training can be hard work, but avoiding these mistakes will go a long way to making it easier.
You may find these articles helpful:
Take A Crate Break: Help For The Dirty Dog
How To Potty Bell Train Your Puppy
Dog Submissive (Appeasement) Urination: Urinates When Anxious Or Nervous
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