If you are planning on house training your dog, you need to be patient and introduce a positive environment so that you will succeed in developing proper habits to your dog without traumatizing him. Factors such as age, breed, size, and condition of your dog will affect the amount of time you will spend in training them. You must’ve had asked yourself, “Where do I start on how to potty train a dog?”. Some may take a year, while other dogs can be discipline in 4 months only. Here is a complete guide on how to potty train a dog:
How To Potty Train A Dog
Develop a Daily Routine
The first thing that you should do is to establish a routine so that you can make them understand that there is only specific time to eat, a schedule to play, and time for them to do their own business. You have to consider the ability of your dog in controlling their bladder and holding on until they are allowed to have a bathroom break if you wanted to avoid nasty accidents inside your house. Some who are struggling with how to potty train a dog most likely missed out this important information:
Introduce Your Dog Outside
It is important that you keep on taking your dog outside of the house. Do not make him feel like you’re trapping him inside your house only and limit his freedom to play. Of course, you’ll want to put him on a leash when you take him for a morning walk after he wakes up.
Keep the Surroundings Clean
If your dog keeps on making accidents inside of your house, immediately clean their mess and deodorize the vicinity. In that way, the dog will learn that inside of the house is not the right place to do their business. Make them understand that there is a time for the bathroom break and indeed a place to do so.
Create a Schedule and Stick to It
Creating a plan and establishing it will make the dog realize that he cannot do what he wants anytime. Always keep in mind that most of the dogs do their business right after waking up, playing, and eating. As soon as you notice that your dog is about to do its business, take him outside until he’s finished. Your dog will soon start waiting for you to take him outside for bathroom breaks if you stick to the schedule.
Use a Pad
Puppy and dog pads are used to train your dog where to do his business. You might have encountered numerous accidents in your carpet and not on the tiles. It’s most likely because the carpet feels soft underneath the paws of your dog and so they will conclude that they are standing in the grass. Therefore, you should invest a dog pad and move the pad from time to time closer to the door and head outside the house so that your dog will be able to understand that these places are the only appropriate ones to do his business.
Do Not Overfeed Your Dog
Always remember this—overfeeding your dog is never a good idea. In fact, it can lead to long-term diseases such as diabetes and cancer if you keep on feeding him unhealthy snacks. Aside from that, he will keep on taking bathroom breaks if his stomach is always full. Make sure that you feed him at the right time with the right food so that you will know when he is going to take a break immediately and stick to the routine that you’ve been trying to establish with your dog.
How to Potty Train a Puppy
It’s great if you train the dog while it’s still young. In that way, the dog will grow up following the house manners. Here are the following guidelines that you can use in potty training your puppy. All you need to do is to be consistent and patient in doing so.
Maintain the Cleanliness of Their Area
Puppies are used to their mother cleaning after their mess right after they relieve themselves. Therefore, you should ensure that their area is always clean. Ensuring that no scents are lingering in their field, the puppy will understand that this particular place is not a place to do his business. Especially if it’s the same place where they eat or sleep, they will surely look for somewhere else to do it.
It’s okay if your puppy had some accident in the area. Just make sure that you immediately clean it up and get rid of the smell. After keeping the area clean, you should teach the puppy to have bathroom breaks outside of the house.
Introduce them to a New Schedule
Sticking with the puppy’s schedule for bathroom breaks is important. Taking your puppy outside is the best way to do so. But if you are still not allowed to expose him to other four-legged animals because of the lack of vaccinations, you should find a place where he could do his business then. This is part of how to potty train a dog–making adjustments for your puppy when necessary. Using puppy pads can be a great alternative.
As soon as your puppy gets his vaccine completed, you should start taking him outside then. Some puppies are too young to be on a leash. Just keep a close eye on your puppy so that he doesn’t run out of the house the moment you open the gate.
Consider the Digestive Tract of Your Puppy
If you are still learning how to potty train a dog, you should start by knowing his digestive tract. You need to ensure that you know the digestive tract of your pup. A regular puppy will want to defecate half an hour after he is done eating. Monitor your puppy and check it from time to time. Or you can set the alarm after you feed him so that you can take him outside shortly after.
However, it is not advisable that you expose your puppy directly outside of your house. Dogs are most vulnerable when they are doing their business. Therefore, you should set an area where you know that the puppy is familiar with it. Puppies and dogs will keep on coming back to the same spot where they eliminate. It’s because the scent will trigger them to relieve themselves.
Be Patient
As what we’ve mentioned above, it requires patience and consistency. It’s like having a commitment to your puppy. Therefore, you should make sure that you are acting the right way. Never raise your voice to your puppy, or you will startle her out. As much as possible, just let your puppy sniff around and do not talk to him. You can only pet him after he had done a good job. This is also an important part on how to potty train a dog. Let him know that what he is doing is good and should be part of his daily routine.
Stick to the Daily Routine
Make sure that your puppy will get used to the daily routine. Take your puppy outside after waking up if you are allowed to do so. Make sure that the puppy is taken outside after it wakes up because that’s the time he’ll want to eliminate. If the puppy gets the message and does his job, give him a treat. Show him a sign of approval and let him know that what he is doing is right.
Never Punish Your Puppy
If your puppy had done some accidents, of course, he would be oblivious to it. He will just happily sniff around and play. Do not yell at your puppy for that bad behavior. Quickly clean after his mess. Do not startle the puppy with a high-pitched voice. Watch out for the clock because he might want to eliminate again. That’s the time that you take him outside and then let him do his business.
Stay in the Same Spot Outside
Your puppy will never learn that outside is the place to do his business if you don’t pick a place. It could be near the mango tree just outside your house or a vacant lot on the corner of the street. Bring him to the very same spot every day. Once he smells the scent, he will immediately think of the bathroom break. If you tend to pick random spots every day, you may confuse the puppy. Your puppy will most likely end up playing because there are no scents to trigger him to do his business.
Do Not Give Him Water at Night
Remove his water dish 2 hours before he go to sleep. In that way, the puppy will not keep on drinking during the evening. It will also decrease the chance of you waking up only to find out that your puppy peed on the carpet.
Some puppies will wake up in the middle of the night. Do not entertain your puppy otherwise; it will start playing. Minimize talking to him and then put them back to bed. Turn off the lights and quiet down the house. The puppy will soon sleep after learning that they have to return to sleep.
Watch Out For Signs
There are also some signs that your puppy may need to eliminate. You should watch out for these signs to avoid accidents. Some puppies will keep on sniffing around, some will continuously bark, and there are some who will keep on squatting. Once you notice one of these signs, immediately take your puppy outside. The scent will soon trigger them to do their business. After doing so, gently stroke its ears or pat its head. Give him a silent approval and he will keep on doing it especially if you give a treat.
How to Potty Train an Older Dog
You know too well that potty training your dog when it’s still young is the best way to establish and make him learn everything he needs to know about toileting. However, there are instances where pet owner realizes that they need to train their dog when it’s already old. Here are the following guidelines on how to potty train older dogs because obviously, it’s entirely different from dealing with a puppy.
Leave No Traces of His Previous Areas in Doing His Business
If your dog had been doing his business in your living room or any parts inside of your house, then you should ensure that these areas are thoroughly clean and there is no trace of his feces or wees. Make sure that you also deodorized the surroundings to get rid of the smell. It’s the best start for potty training your dog because he will soon realize that he had lost the areas he’d been doing his business and will look for another one.
Introduce Your Dog to the New Routine
Potty training your dog requires consistency and commitment. Therefore, you should take your dog outside as soon as you wake up so that he can do his business there. You can also put some soiled newspaper in the grass so that he will know that this is the right place to do so. This part on how to potty train a dog most likely revolves in introducing him to his new bathroom area.
Help Your Dog in Adjusting
There are some instances that the dog will just look confused and will not know what to do once you suddenly take him outside. He will most likely want to go back inside the house for he has to do his business. Just patiently walk him around, let him sniff on the ground, and do not try to make it look like you are trying to play games with him. Stay outside of the house until your dog decides to do his business and after that, give him a sign of approval for getting the primary purpose of heading out of the house.
Always Pay Attention to Your Dog
The best way on how to potty train a dog? Always pay attention. Since your dog hadn’t gotten used to this routine, especially in the first two weeks of potty training him, you need to keep a close eye on your dog. Make sure that you supervise whenever he’s inside the house. After he had done eating, playing, or your dog just woke up, make sure that he doesn’t make any accidents inside the house again by watching him closely. Once he’s about to do his business, show him a sign of disapproval and take him outside so that he can do what he wanted to do.
How to Potty Train a Rescue Dog
You may be wondering how to potty train a dog especially if it’s an adopted one? If you’ve adopted a rescue dog, you should know that most of these dogs haven’t been able to experience living in a house, they have no idea of house manners and training. Therefore, you need to slowly introduce him to its new surroundings and start potty training your dog as well. Here are the following tips to keep in mind on house training a rescue dog.
Choose an Area
The first thing that you need to do is to introduce your rescued dog to the backyard of your house every time he’s about to do his business. In that way, he will get used to rushing outside of your house after eating or waking up.
Feed Your Dog at the Right Time
Even though you have no idea of the diet or eating routine of your rescued dog before he got under yourcare, you should make sure that you are feeding him at the right time. You will be able to predict when your dog is about to do his business. You should take him right away to the backyard when that happens. Aside from that, you are giving your rescued dog something to look forward. Free feeding your dog can put him at risk for diseases, and you will surely have a hard time house training him if you do.
Praise Your Dog Now and Then
If you wanted your dog to understand that what he is doing is correct, you should praise him then. It is one of the most effective ways on how to potty train a dog because he will feel good about what he just did. Give him a sign of approval, pat his head, stroke his ears, or give him a treat. Your dog will soon look forward to the treats. Therefore he will keep on repeating the good deeds and will get used to it over the time. This is how to potty train a dog should be.
Do Not Leave Your Dog Outside The House
Once your dog had consumed the water that you’ve provided or the food that you gave, take him outside of the house but do not leave him alone thinking that he will just do his business alone and go back inside after doing so. Your rescued dog is still adjusting to his new surroundings. Therefore, you should watch him over until his business is over. Aside from that, how are you able to praise your dog for the right deeds if you aren’t there to watch it in the first place?
Housetraining a puppy, older dog, or rescued dog can seem like a daunting and exhausting task, if you are just patient with your dog you will see that soon enough all of your efforts will pay off once your dog learns house manners. We hope this guide on how to potty train a dog can help you build a better relationship with your companion. There is nothing happier for a pet owner to see his dog following the house rules and regulations all the while establishing a strong bond with your buddy.