Potty Training Your Puppy

Holly, my sister's Chiweenie, going potty.

Puppies are fun, adorable, and sweet... until they leave a stinky surprise on your fresh clean carpet! The solution is to house-train your pup. House training is beneficial to all dogs and their owners, even if the dog will be an outside dog. Training your dog to relieve themselves on command will come in handy during severe weather when they are trapped in the house, during long car trips, and during vacations to name a few.

There are many equations trainers use to predict the amount of time puppies can wait to relieve themselves based on age, size, time of day, or activity. I say forget the rules and use my thirty minute method. The trick to potty training is catching your pup relieving them-self in an appropriate place so that you can reward them.  From the moment they wake up take them outside or to your choice of potty area. Make sure you carry treats to support positive reinforcement and increase their motivation. As they sniff around say "Go Potty" in a high happy voice. The second your pup starts to relieve them-self get excited and say "Good Boy/Girl, [name of puppy]." and give them a treat. My general rule with young puppies is to initially take them out every 30 minutes they are awake until you get a feel for their potty patterns. Other times you should take them out are after your puppy eats, drinks a lot of water, or after naps. Pay attention to your puppies behavior right before they relieve them-self to recognize the signs that they might have to go. Eventually you will get a feel for how often they need to go and the whole process becomes easier.

The amount of time it takes to potty train a puppy depends on your persistence and the puppies motivation to be rewarded. The more you catch and reward your puppy for relieving them-self in the appropriate place, the sooner they will begin to associate going potty in the right place with the word "Potty", and with a reward. NEVER PUNISH your puppy for accidents in the house! Doing so can teach the puppy to hide when they need to relieve them-self, which will increase the dirty surprises and make potty training more difficult or unsuccessful.

Potty trained dogs have better things to get in trouble for.

• For other potty training methods visit PerfectPaws.com.
• For tips with adult dogs or other house training problems visit 101-dog-training-tips.com.
• Need help cleaning up those accidents? Visit DoodyCalls.com for great advice.