Find Out About Dog Potty Training Methods

Is it easy to potty train your pet? The answer is yes and no.

If you have patience, are consistent and take the time needed to correctly train your puppy, then the answer is yes. That is the bare minimum required to be successful at dog potty training. Puppies learn at different rates but you can expect to invest a good month housebreaking your pet. There are right ways and wrong ways to train your puppy. Your dog will need supervision and positive reinforcement. First things first:

• Designate an outdoor potty area
• Take your dog there many times a day
• Praise will go a long way to help your puppy learn

Once in awhile, give your dog a treat after the job is done correctly. Your puppy will remember this and be encouraged to approach the same area to do his business again. The odor left from previous visits will mark the designated spot.

A puppy that is six to eight weeks old should be taken out every one to three hours. Control over eliminating is poor at this point. An older puppy finds it easier to wait a little longer between outings. The following is a general guide on when puppies should be taken out.

• First thing upon waking in the morning
• After naps
• Within a half hour of meals
• After playing or other training
• After being left alone
• Immediately before bedtime
• If puppy whimpers during the night

You may want to teach your puppy to go on demand to avoid spending a lot of time waiting for him to potty. In order to do this, simply repeat a command such as "go potty" or "hurry up" when he is in the act of eliminating. You should do this in a kind tone of voice. After several weeks of this, you will notice him sniffing and circling an area just before you give the command. Always praise him for a job well done.

An untrained puppy is very likely to make mistakes. Your puppy will not be considered housetrained until he goes four consecutive weeks without an accident. Close supervision is extremely important in dog potty training. It is a good idea to use baby gates to control your pet's movement through the house. Keep your puppy in a crate when you are not able to supervise him. When you are not at home or are sleeping, it is best to confine your dog to a small, safe space. Crates are perfect when confining a puppy.

After an accident, odors should be removed thoroughly lest your pet returns to the same area to make a mess again. Use a product specifically made to clean up doggy odors and follow the manufacturer's directions. If the accident occurs on a carpet, you must be sure to saturate the area with the cleaning product. You should close off any room that your puppy makes frequent mistakes in for a few months. He should be allowed to enter only with a family member.

Do not rely on harsh punishment to correct mistakes. The appropriate correction when finding your pup in the act of pottying in the wrong place is to make a sharp, loud noise. A stomp on the floor or a clapping of the hands is all that is required. Often a loud "no" will do the trick too. Quickly take puppy outdoors to finish in the appropriate area and then praise him. Never rub your dogs nose in the mess.

This is a very viable means of housebreaking your pet. Living in the city on the 20th floor of an apartment complex can be a big hindrance to potty training your pet. Weather conditions can make it almost impossible when it is freezing out and the sidewalks are covered with ice. Many people have physical impairments that dictate how often and when they are able to take their pet outside. If you are older, taking your pet outside alone in the evening for him to produce can be an unsafe and scary thing. Many people must spend long days at the office and cannot be home at consistent hours each day and that can cause real problems in potty training your dog. Today, most families live extremely hectic lives so adding a pet to the equation is often a hard thing to do. Along the way there have been many methods used to train pets. In addition to taking your dog outside, people have used the paper training method and dog litter box method. These methods often can promote the spread of germs, urine and feces to be spread throughout the house. Cleanup can be time consuming and refilling the litter box is expensive.

If you are interested in having the necessary tools for indoor training, please visit here. As stated above, there are many reasons why this method of training is beneficial to pet owners. For more information, please check out this article.

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