House training rarely presents a problem with puppies who have been reared under proper conditions, puppies instinctively want to be clean and they are eager to please their owners. You should begin toilet training as soon as you bring your puppy home, normally at about 6 to 8 weeks of age, as any delay in establishing a proper routine can make training more difficult later on know more. Patience and perseverance are required!
Follow these guidelines for trouble free training
- A young puppy will want to urinate and defecate frequently as it has a small bladder and bowel. If you have an enclosed garden, take your puppy out and place it on a suitable spot whenever it indicates that it wants to relieve itself.
- In addition, take it to the same spot first thing in the morning, last thing at night, after every meal and whenever it has been inside for long periods.
- Make sure that you go with your puppy and stay with it until it is finished. If you do not stay the puppy will be nervous, will fail to relax sufficiently to do what it needs to and will hold everything until it gets safely inside again.
- Use the same word or phrase over and over again, for example be clean or hurry up, until the puppy begins to perform, then praise your puppy lavishly. Eventually the puppy will know what is required when brought to the familiar place. Using the same phrase each time means you can teach your puppy to perform on command, a very useful lesson!
- You will not always have time to reach the garden when your puppy needs to go, so lay some newspaper down inside – in an area which is part of your puppy’s territory and preferably near the door. Place your puppy on the paper when necessary and it will begin to associate the paper with toilet functions. Gradually reduce the amount of paper you put down until it can be dispensed with entirely.
- You should also leave paper down for your puppy to use at night – a young puppy will not be able to last the whole night without relieving itself. If you do not have a private garden, you will need to train your puppy to use paper until it can venture outside following the completion of the vaccination course.
- If accidents do occur, do not scold your puppy unless it is caught in the act. Never rub your puppy’s nose in it or hurt it if it makes a mess – this will only lead to confusion and fear. A puppy who is regularly scolded for what is, after all, a natural function, may learn not to go in front of you. This will make house training extremely difficult.
- If you catch a puppy in the act interrupt it by saying no or making a noise such as clapping your hands or banging a door – anything to distract it from what it is doing. Then get it to its appointed spot straight away and wait there using whatever command you have decided on.
- If you come across a puddle or a little pile clean up the mess and spray the spot with a deodorant – this will deter the puppy from using that spot again. Lemon juice on the spot will leave a scent which is off putting for most dogs.