How to Train Puppies
Develop a routine for your puppy., Get your puppy’s attention if she tries to eliminate in the house., Limit your puppy’s space within your home while your puppy is housetraining., Pick a designated bathroom spot outside., Praise your puppy for a...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Develop a routine for your puppy.
To begin housetraining your puppy, create a routine to help your puppy learn.
Puppies need a consistent routine in order to learn when and where they are supposed to relieve themselves.
It's important to start teaching your puppy to go outside when she feels the urge as soon as you bring her home.
Plan to take her outside on a set schedule every day: first thing in the morning, after every meal, after playtime, and right before bed.Puppies should be taken out every hour, as well as shortly after meals, naps, and playtime.
You should always take your puppy out first thing in the morning, before you and the puppy go to bed at night, and before you leave the puppy alone for any extended period of time.
Feed your puppy at the same time every day so you can predict when she'll need to go outside.
Very young puppies have to go to the bathroom as often as once an hour.That means you or a family member will need to be available to take your puppy outside that often.
If you aren't available to housetrain your puppy during the day, it's important to hire someone else to do it professionally.
If you don't start early, it may take your dog a long time to learn not to go to the bathroom in the house. -
Step 2: Get your puppy’s attention if she tries to eliminate in the house.
If you notice your puppy going potty inside the house, don't overreact by yelling at her or scaring her.
Interrupt her while she's doing her business by clapping your hands together.
Then pick her up or get her to follow you right away and take her to her bathroom spot.
When she finishes going to the bathroom there, reward her with some praise.If you find a mess behind the sofa or somewhere else in your house, it's too late to discipline the puppy.
Don't rub her nose in it; she'll just get confused and scared, and she won't understand what you're trying to teach her. , For the first few months you will need to keep a careful eye on your puppy so that you can take her outside as soon as she has to go to the bathroom.
If you give her too much freedom around the house at first, she'll learn to go to the bathroom wherever she wants, and you won't always be able to catch it in time.Use baby gates to limit your puppy’s area within your home.
For example, you could put a gate up at the bottom of the stairs to prevent your puppy from roaming around the upper level of your home or put gates up to limit your puppy’s movement between a couple of rooms in your home.
Allow your puppy more freedom as she becomes better at controlling her bladder and bowels.Try putting your puppy on a leash when she is exploring a new room.
It will be much more difficult for your puppy to get into trouble when you are attached to the other end of the leash. , Having a place that the puppy associates with going to the bathroom will help her learn not to go in the house.
She'll start wanting to go to that spot to relieve herself, and over time she'll learn to wait until you take her there instead of going to the bathroom inside.Use language to strengthen the puppy's association with the spot.
Say "go potty" or just "potty" when you set her down.
Don't use the word anywhere but in that spot.
Many people choose a far corner of the yard, sometimes a place that is fenced off, as the spot where their dog goes to the bathroom.
If you don't have a yard, choose a spot close to your home or apartment.
It doesn't matter where the location is as long as you take your puppy to the same spot every time.
Bringing her to the same spot will associate the smells of the spot with going potty.
Smells can often prompt a puppy to eliminate.
Keep in mind that some puppies will go potty as soon as your take them outside, while others may need to move around a play a bit before they can eliminate. , When the puppy successfully goes to the bathroom in her designated spot, praise her, pet her and give her a treat.
Doing so will help your puppy to understand that this is good behavior and that she should keep doing it.The promise of a reward will encourage her to perform the same good behavior again.
Give your puppy her reward immediately after she goes to the bathroom and while she's still in her bathroom spot.
If you wait, she'll associate the praise with something else.
Wait until your puppy finishes going potty.
If you praise your puppy before she has gone to the bathroom, she may get confused. , Your puppy will have accidents from time to time and it is important to clean them up right away.
Cleaning up your puppy’s messes right away will to help prevent further messes in your house.Use an enzymatic cleaner rather than an ammonia-based cleaner to clean up your puppy’s messes right after they happen.
Ammonia based cleaners smell too much like urine, so your puppy may confuse the smell with her own urine.
If the area smells like urine, your puppy may want to go to the bathroom there again., A crate helps with potty training because dogs do not like to soil their dens.
A crate should be a safe place where your puppy can retreat to during the day if she becomes overwhelmed or that she can go to feel safe when you are away.Make sure the crate is big enough for her to stand up in and lie down with her legs stretched out.
If it is too much bigger than this, then she may choose a corner of the crate as a bathroom spot.
Make sure not to use the crate as a punishment.
Take her out regularly for a game or to offer a toilet break. -
Step 3: Limit your puppy’s space within your home while your puppy is housetraining.
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Step 4: Pick a designated bathroom spot outside.
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Step 5: Praise your puppy for a job well done.
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Step 6: Clean messes up right away.
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Step 7: Consider crate training your puppy.
Detailed Guide
To begin housetraining your puppy, create a routine to help your puppy learn.
Puppies need a consistent routine in order to learn when and where they are supposed to relieve themselves.
It's important to start teaching your puppy to go outside when she feels the urge as soon as you bring her home.
Plan to take her outside on a set schedule every day: first thing in the morning, after every meal, after playtime, and right before bed.Puppies should be taken out every hour, as well as shortly after meals, naps, and playtime.
You should always take your puppy out first thing in the morning, before you and the puppy go to bed at night, and before you leave the puppy alone for any extended period of time.
Feed your puppy at the same time every day so you can predict when she'll need to go outside.
Very young puppies have to go to the bathroom as often as once an hour.That means you or a family member will need to be available to take your puppy outside that often.
If you aren't available to housetrain your puppy during the day, it's important to hire someone else to do it professionally.
If you don't start early, it may take your dog a long time to learn not to go to the bathroom in the house.
If you notice your puppy going potty inside the house, don't overreact by yelling at her or scaring her.
Interrupt her while she's doing her business by clapping your hands together.
Then pick her up or get her to follow you right away and take her to her bathroom spot.
When she finishes going to the bathroom there, reward her with some praise.If you find a mess behind the sofa or somewhere else in your house, it's too late to discipline the puppy.
Don't rub her nose in it; she'll just get confused and scared, and she won't understand what you're trying to teach her. , For the first few months you will need to keep a careful eye on your puppy so that you can take her outside as soon as she has to go to the bathroom.
If you give her too much freedom around the house at first, she'll learn to go to the bathroom wherever she wants, and you won't always be able to catch it in time.Use baby gates to limit your puppy’s area within your home.
For example, you could put a gate up at the bottom of the stairs to prevent your puppy from roaming around the upper level of your home or put gates up to limit your puppy’s movement between a couple of rooms in your home.
Allow your puppy more freedom as she becomes better at controlling her bladder and bowels.Try putting your puppy on a leash when she is exploring a new room.
It will be much more difficult for your puppy to get into trouble when you are attached to the other end of the leash. , Having a place that the puppy associates with going to the bathroom will help her learn not to go in the house.
She'll start wanting to go to that spot to relieve herself, and over time she'll learn to wait until you take her there instead of going to the bathroom inside.Use language to strengthen the puppy's association with the spot.
Say "go potty" or just "potty" when you set her down.
Don't use the word anywhere but in that spot.
Many people choose a far corner of the yard, sometimes a place that is fenced off, as the spot where their dog goes to the bathroom.
If you don't have a yard, choose a spot close to your home or apartment.
It doesn't matter where the location is as long as you take your puppy to the same spot every time.
Bringing her to the same spot will associate the smells of the spot with going potty.
Smells can often prompt a puppy to eliminate.
Keep in mind that some puppies will go potty as soon as your take them outside, while others may need to move around a play a bit before they can eliminate. , When the puppy successfully goes to the bathroom in her designated spot, praise her, pet her and give her a treat.
Doing so will help your puppy to understand that this is good behavior and that she should keep doing it.The promise of a reward will encourage her to perform the same good behavior again.
Give your puppy her reward immediately after she goes to the bathroom and while she's still in her bathroom spot.
If you wait, she'll associate the praise with something else.
Wait until your puppy finishes going potty.
If you praise your puppy before she has gone to the bathroom, she may get confused. , Your puppy will have accidents from time to time and it is important to clean them up right away.
Cleaning up your puppy’s messes right away will to help prevent further messes in your house.Use an enzymatic cleaner rather than an ammonia-based cleaner to clean up your puppy’s messes right after they happen.
Ammonia based cleaners smell too much like urine, so your puppy may confuse the smell with her own urine.
If the area smells like urine, your puppy may want to go to the bathroom there again., A crate helps with potty training because dogs do not like to soil their dens.
A crate should be a safe place where your puppy can retreat to during the day if she becomes overwhelmed or that she can go to feel safe when you are away.Make sure the crate is big enough for her to stand up in and lie down with her legs stretched out.
If it is too much bigger than this, then she may choose a corner of the crate as a bathroom spot.
Make sure not to use the crate as a punishment.
Take her out regularly for a game or to offer a toilet break.
About the Author
Ann Simmons
Creates helpful guides on pet care to inspire and educate readers.
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