Toilet Training Your Dog–Vital Puppy Potty Training Tips
by Evan Davis, Admin
Filed under Dog Training
I’d like to say a few words on that age old yet ever present subject, potty training your dog. You may think that unless you are clairvoyant, you can’t predict when and where your dog is going to pee and poop. That is true–to an extent. However, if you observe your puppy, you will begin to make accurate, educated guesses about its potty needs. And this is important because toilet training is your first major training obligation. It is absolutely essential that your dog learn to tell you when it needs to “go.” So, the first rule of dog toilet training is to pay attention to your puppy.
For many people, toilet training means swatting the dog on the nose or pushing his nose into his mess and scolding him. However, you should never punish your puppy. When you catch him in the act, take him outside if possible. As you observe your puppy, you will also start using your educated guesses about when he needs to go out. Take your dog out at regular times, and when he goes, be sure to lavish your puppy with praise.
When you begin toilet training your dog, it is important to give the dog a place of his own in your residence. If you are starting out with a young dog or puppy, you may want to keep the dog in a kennel. This does not mean imprisoning the dog in a kennel, but allowing the dog to make the kennel his special place all his own. I will talk about kennel training in other posts, but my point is basically to give the dog a well defined space of his own. You will need to cover it with newspapers or some other protective covering so that the dog can pee and poop when you have to be away from your house or apartment or during the night when you are asleep. If you are toilet training a puppy, I suggest making the dogs space smaller rather than larger, such as using a kennel, but again, it is vital that you allow the dog to “make friends” with the kennel.
When you are at home spend as much time with your dog as possible. Dog toilet training will be much easier if you do. Every 45 minutes or so take your dog outside and whenever he does the toilet outside make sure he is praised very happily and excitedly with lots of enthusiasm, and do this everytime that he “goes” outside. He will realise that this is where he needs to go to the toilet and when he can control his bladder a little better he will wait until you come to let him out. It does take a lot of time and patience though.
Believe it or not, later, you will be able to have your dog pee on command. This may sound absurd, but when I take my dogs over to visit friends and relatives, before going inside, I tell my dogs,”go pee,” and they do. If you use a gentle touch in training combined with lots praise to acknowledge their rightnesses, they will be happy to do what comes naturally with the encouragement of a friendly command.
Again, never scold your dog for going to the toilet in the house. It does not know any better and is only doing what must be done. We, too, peed and pooped with abandon until we were potty trained because there was nothing else we could do about it. Dogs are not so different in that respect. And remember, no dog is properly toilet trained until he is about 6 months old so it is a lengthy procedure but a vital one, and proper training will reap great results.
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