Potty training a puppy is a critical activity and the process must be started as soon as possible. When puppies are not potty-trained, this can negatively impact how the owners feels about the puppy. Eventually, if these negative emotions become overwhelming, the owner could give the dog to a shelter. Shelters can be overcrowded and cruel places. They should be avoided at all costs. Check out below on how to potty train a puppy!
Alternatively, even if the owner decides the keep the puppy, valuable parts of a home can be ruined if the puppy is not well trained.
In this article, some techniques are discussed that will help you potty train a puppy. Towards the end of the article, some thoughts are offered regarding the best ways to treat a puppy.
How to Potty Train a Puppy – The Top 6 Techniques
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In this section, some techniques are offered that will make the potty-training process as easy as possible. And remember, it’s always best to make training a positive experience by rewarding your puppy with lotsof praise and treats!
1. Use a Crate in the Beginning
Crates can be a valuable resource for owners in the beginning stages of potty training.
Many diverse crates can be found online. This diverse selection allows you to buy a crate that is in alignment with the kind of dog you have, as well as your budget.
Many experts recommend using a crate despite their confining nature. Dogs are often considered den animals, which means that they will seek out some kind secure setting whether or not you provide one for them.
If a dog is in a crate for a while, it will eventually have to go the bathroom. Yet, dogs are very clean and don’t want to stay in the same place where they urinate and defecate. Thus, they will indicate their needs to the owner through some form of communication. This could be scratching, barking, whining, or crying.
When this happens, it’s important for you to respond immediately, as you don’t want to make the puppy suffer for too long. Then, you can simply bring your puppy to where you want them to go to the bathroom.
Over time, this will train the puppy to use some form of communication when it needs to go the bathroom. As long as you respond to these calls quickly, you should be able to avoid any messes in your home.
If your puppy does decide to go to the bathroom while in the crate, then this shouldn’t’ cause much of problem. Many owners would prefer that situation to a puppy peeing or pooping on the floor.
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2. Feed your Puppy a High-Quality Diet
The nature of puppies’ urination and defecation is a function of what diet they are fed. If you feed your puppy low-quality food, then this could disturb their digestion, causing irregular and extra messy, discharges.
By feeding your puppy high-quality food, you can maximize their digestion and increase the likelihood that they will go the bathroom regularly.
Some people who wonder how to potty train a puppy forget that the quality of food matters. These people feed their dog extremely processed food that is often very cheap. Puppies, like growing children, need the healthiest, cleanest food possible.
Investing in high-quality food will pay dividends in the future when your puppy is well-trained and healthy. It will also minimize veterinarian costs down the road, as a healthy dog won’t require as many visits as an unhealthy one.
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3. Feed Your Puppy Consistently
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If you feed your puppy irregularly, they will go to the bathroom irregularly. This makes it difficult to work a regular job, as it will be difficult to predict when your dog needs to poop or pee.
If you feed your dog consistently, then you can predict when they need to go the bathroom. This allows you to potty train them in a way that dovetails with your personal routine.
It’s also important to note that some irregularity is common, especially when the puppy is young. Like humans, dogs are fickle animals that can’t be deciphered like some computer code. Instead, their digestive processes ebb and flow depending on a number of factors, some of which are out of your control.
For example, how much water your puppy drinks will impact how often they pee and poop. Yet, the amount of water your puppy drinks is dependent on how much exercise they get. If you take your puppy to the park, for example, then this might change how much water they drink and the times they discharge in the future.
Additionally, when you have company over, your dog might nervously eat more food or drink more water. This would also impact when they go the bathroom.
4. Use Positive Reinforcement and Love
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Many people who wonder how to potty train a puppy utilize the same techniques that their parents used when they were growing up.
Unfortunately, for many people, this entails some form of negative reinforcement through punishment.
Some owners will even aggressively place their puppy’s snout near some undesirable defecation or urination. Yet, this tends to confuse the puppy and teaches them to act out of fear in the future.
In reality, if your puppy goes to the bathroom in an undesirable location, the owner is likely to blame the dog. However, part of life is taking in fuel and discharging it. This is a natural process and the puppy shouldn’t be conditioned in a negative way. This places more stress on your dog. Just as you do not want to be treated unfairly or harshly, no animal wants to be treated harshly.
Thus, many experts recommend using positive reinforcement and love when training your pet.
Whenever your puppy discharges in a desirable way, you should make your happiness known to them. This entails petting them, giving them treats, and playing with them. Eventually, this love and encouragement will lead to a well-trained pet.
If your pet is still not discharging ideally, then you should enhance the amount of love you show them when they do discharge ideally.
Also, you should make sure you are not sending mixed signals when they make mistakes. Some owners subtly withdraw their love, which causes both the owner and dog to feel guilt. In response to this guilt, the owner might then attempt to provide love, which can confuse the dog.
5. Create a Fenced-In Yard
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One of the most natural ways to potty train puppies is to allow them to go on their own terms. The best way to facilitate this is by providing a yard for them to go in whenever they need to.
Some owners use wireless dog fences in order to foster this kind of natural environment. Other owners create an actual fence that prevents their puppy from leaving the property. Both solutions are ideal because they also allow your pet to experience the beauty of nature when they want to.
These fences can be paired with a puppy door. This would allow your pet to move from inside to outside whenever they wish.
These fencing solutions minimize the work you have to do when potty training, which will certainly be appealing to many owners.
Additionally, these fencing solutions will lead to a happier dog, especially if the weather is beautiful.
The main drawback to this method is that cold or extreme weather could prevent your dog from going to the bathroom.
Most dogs are quite resilient in this regard and can withstand cold or rainy weather. Structures can always be built that allow your dog to take cover in case of rain. However, if you live somewhere where extreme weather like snow or hurricanes are common, then this fencing option might not be ideal.
6. It May Be Time to Visit the Vet
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Our last tip on how to potty train a puppy is this – if nothing seems to be working, you may need the help of your veterinarian or a trainer.
If your puppy seems to be having accidents constantly, they may have an infection or something else that needs to be treated by medication.
And, if the vet gives the puppy a clean bill of health, you should try making an appointment with a professional dog trainer.
Dogs pick up on even the slightest visual hint, so their may be things you are telling you puppy, via body language, that you are unaware of. A trainer will be able to help you sort this, or any otherproblems, out.
Final Thoughts on How to Potty Train a Puppy
It’s important to remember that each puppy is unique and will require unique methods.
It’s also important to stay present when potty training a puppy, as new solutions might reveal themselves in the moment.
How to potty train a puppy can be a difficult process if you are too attached to the past. Like babies, puppies are constantly growing and changing, which means that different methods might be required eachday.
It’s also important to stay patient throughout the process. Dogs are wild creatures that are still adapting to living a domesticated life despite accompanying humans for many years. It could take a while to properly train a puppy to your liking, especially if they have experienced a traumatic past.
Puppies are highly sensitive beings and pick up on their owner’s emotions. Impatience could stress out a puppy, causing the puppy to use defecation and urination as a means of communication.
At the end of the day, puppies need love and appreciation more than anything.