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Training Tip #83
Power of Opposites
When trying to eliminate a bad behavior, focus on the new behavior you want your dog to do instead.
If you want to eliminate jumping, reward sitting as an incompatible behavior.
Happy Healthy Dog?
- Trained properly
- Fed correctly
- Groomed regularly
- Exercised daily
- Spoiled constantly
Puppy Potty Training
Puppy potty training can be accomplished with ease if you follow these principles. Typically when training your puppy to go potty the old training style used to dictate that you punished the dog for going potty inside the house by rubbing their face in it. When puppy training you do not want to rub your puppy’s face in their potty accident or it will impede your potty training schedule. Many people argue that this is how to potty train a puppy because it teaches them what they have done wrong. When punishing a puppy for going potty in the house you will teach your dog that going potty in front of you is dangerous so they will hide future potty accidents.
For successful dog house breaking you must supervise your puppy while potty training if they are out of a crate or a pen in your house. When your puppy looks like they have to go potty you can immediately take them outside and let them go potty. After your puppy goes potty you can praise them verbally and with a small treat. Next you must let your puppy play outside for another 5-10 minutes. Should you ignore this rule it will set back your dog house training schedule. What will happen if you bring your puppy in immediately after going potty your puppy will notice a trend that as soon as they go potty they are brought back inside. Soon your puppy will hold their potty session for as long as they can to spend more time outside. If your puppy really has to go potty then your dog may go potty a small amount in which you will recognize as your puppy having completed their potty session outside. When you bring your dog back in the house with a mostly full bladder a potty accident is sure to occur.
After bringing your dog back inside after a sufficient play time you should give your puppy 10 to 30 minutes of supervised playtime inside. This puppy playtime must be supervised 100% and if your puppy looks like they have to go potty again you must take them outside to relieve themselves. The purpose of supervised puppy playtime is to ensure that your dog enjoys coming back in the house and doesn’t recognize a trend of immediately going into a kennel or pen. In the future your dog may not come to the house when called.
After your 10 to 30 minutes of supervised playtime you must put your puppy in a crate or exercise pen. If you are gone for a long period of time you should leave them a potty pad in the corner of an exercise pen.
When dog house training, it is important to start recognizing your puppies potty schedule. You can regulate water and food to help keep that potty schedule. By rewarding your puppy for going potty outside, providing play time and indoor supervised playtime you will greatly reduce your house breaking time.
By the time your puppy is 6 months of age, most breeds can hold their bladder and bowels for up to 10 hours. The biggest mistake and set back for potty training is not supervising your puppy 100% when they are out of their kennel or exercise pen. Should your dog have a potty accident make sure you clean it up with a cleaning solution that is designed for pet accidents such as Nature’s Miracle.
The rule for dog house breaking is 14 days in a row with no accidents means your puppy most likely understands where to go potty. If there is a potty accident indoors then that sets you back three days.
The next biggest problem after puppy potty training is chewing on household items because your dog has more freedom. Check out www.MyDogSpots.com for more articles on how to prevent this problem.
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