Some puppies are easy to potty train. Others can pose a bit of a challenge. No matter what your dog\u2019s personality, the key to successful potty training is knowledge and consistency.<\/p>\n
Related: <\/strong>A Solid Feeding Schedule Will Help With Potty Training<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Canines of all species are naturally inclined to avoid going to the bathroom in their \u201cden.\u201d In the case of domestic dogs, they can learn to see your entire house as that den. It\u2019s not hard to help a puppy make that connection if you are diligent and persistent. The trick is to create a habit where the only place your puppy eliminates is outdoors.<\/p>\n Here is a step-by-step approach to teaching your puppy not to potty inside the house:<\/strong><\/p>\n Photo: damedeeso | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before bringing your puppy home, designate a place in your yard where you want him to go potty. A back lawn is a good spot, because dogs love to go to the bathroom in grass. If you live in an apartment or condo and don\u2019t have a yard with live grass, try a patch of artificial turf as your designated potty spot. Pet product manufacturers make artificial grass just for this purpose.<\/p>\n Help your puppy learn to potty outdoors by praising him whenever he goes outside the house. Take him outside on a leash, and when he squats to urinate, say \u201cGood dog,\u201d in a calm but happy voice. You can also start teaching him to potty on command from Day One. When you see him start to go, say \u201cGo potty!\u201d Pretty soon, he will learn that \u201cGo potty!\u201d means he needs to do his business.<\/p>\n DON\u2019T EVER punish your dog for going to the bathroom in the house. Smacking him with a rolled-up magazine, rubbing his nose in the mess or other harsh tactics are cruel and outdated. Photo: damedeeso | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Because young puppies\u2019 brains and bodies are still developing, you can\u2019t expect them to hold their pee and poo for very long. Puppies ranging from 8 to 16 weeks or more, depend ing on the puppy, will need frequent opportunities to go outside \u2014 maybe as often as every two hours, and certainly right after they eat. In between visits to the outdoors, keep your puppy in a crate that\u2019s big enough for him to stand up and turn around in, but not much larger. The puppy will see the crate as his den, and will avoid pottying inside it. This is how he will learn to control when and where he goes to the bathroom. (In situations where your puppy has to stay indoors for more than a few hours, set up a small exercise pen lined with puppy pads where he can eliminate if he can\u2019t hold it until you can let him out.)<\/p>\n When you want to give your puppy a break from the crate, spend that time outside. If you want to play with him in the house, first make sure he has just relieved himself outside.<\/p>\n Once your puppy is a bit older and can hold it for longer, give him some supervised freedom in the house. Continue to take him outside to potty right after meals, every few hours and right before bedtime. Keep a close eye on him when he\u2019s not confined, and stop him with a loud \u201cNo!\u201d if you see him start to relieve himself in the house. Immediately take him outside and praise him when he finishes his business in the yard. Photo: Courtesy Teresa Blosio | @ilovelucyaussie<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Once your puppy is reliably potty trained, he will likely figure out his own way to let you know he needs to go out. But if you want to teach him to ring a bell on the door as a signal, start by hanging a bell from the doorknob and putting a little peanut butter on it (make sure it does not have xylitol in it). When your dog unintentionally rings the bell while trying to get at the peanut butter, say \u201cBell!\u201d and give him a treat.<\/p>\n Do this over and over until he makes the association to the word \u201cbell.\u201d You\u2019ll know he\u2019s figured it out when you say \u201cBell!\u201d and he touches the bell with his nose without the use of peanut butter.<\/p>\n Once he\u2019s got this down, next time you say \u201cBell!\u201d and he touches the bell with his nose, say \u201cYes!\u201d Then, open the door to let him out. Do this over and over, and he will eventually learn to ring the bell whenever he wants to go outside. Want to try it? There are a variety of potty bells available both online and in pet stores.<\/p>\n Are you a hi-tech type of person? Then try a wireless product like the Paws2Go Wireless Dog Doorbell. You just teach your dog to touch the square doorbell \u2014 much like teaching your dog to ring the bell \u2014 and your voice (from a pre-recorded message) comes out alerting you that your dog needs to go out. Plus, it also lights up and notifies you through an app on your smartphone.<\/p>\n Featured photo: gollykim | Getty Image<\/em><\/p>\n Read Next: <\/strong>How to Survive a Puppy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The post Potty Training 101<\/a> by Audrey Pavia<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post Potty Training 101<\/a> by Audrey Pavia<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n Some puppies are easy to potty train. Others can pose a bit of a challenge. No matter what your dog\u2019s personality, the key to successful potty training is knowledge and consistency.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong>A Solid Feeding Schedule Will Help With Potty Training<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Canines of all species are naturally inclined to avoid going to the bathroom in their \u201cden.\u201d In the case of domestic dogs, they can learn to see your entire house as that den. It\u2019s not hard to help a puppy make that connection if you are diligent and persistent. The trick is to create a habit where the only place your puppy eliminates is outdoors.<\/p>\n Here is a step-by-step approach to teaching your puppy not to potty inside the house:<\/strong><\/p>\n Photo: damedeeso | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before bringing your puppy home, designate a place in your yard where you want him to go potty. A back lawn is a good spot, because dogs love to go to the bathroom in grass. If you live in an apartment or condo and don\u2019t have a yard with live grass, try a patch of artificial turf as your designated potty spot. Pet product manufacturers make artificial grass just for this purpose.<\/p>\n Help your puppy learn to potty outdoors by praising him whenever he goes outside the house. Take him outside on a leash, and when he squats to urinate, say \u201cGood dog,\u201d in a calm but happy voice. You can also start teaching him to potty on command from Day One. When you see him start to go, say \u201cGo potty!\u201d Pretty soon, he will learn that \u201cGo potty!\u201d means he needs to do his business.<\/p>\n DON\u2019T EVER punish your dog for going to the bathroom in the house. Smacking him with a rolled-up magazine, rubbing his nose in the mess or other harsh tactics are cruel and outdated. Photo: damedeeso | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Because young puppies\u2019 brains and bodies are still developing, you can\u2019t expect them to hold their pee and poo for very long. Puppies ranging from 8 to 16 weeks or more, depend ing on the puppy, will need frequent opportunities to go outside \u2014 maybe as often as every two hours, and certainly right after they eat. In between visits to the outdoors, keep your puppy in a crate that\u2019s big enough for him to stand up and turn around in, but not much larger. The puppy will see the crate as his den, and will avoid pottying inside it. This is how he will learn to control when and where he goes to the bathroom. (In situations where your puppy has to stay indoors for more than a few hours, set up a small exercise pen lined with puppy pads where he can eliminate if he can\u2019t hold it until you can let him out.)<\/p>\n When you want to give your puppy a break from the crate, spend that time outside. If you want to play with him in the house, first make sure he has just relieved himself outside.<\/p>\n Once your puppy is a bit older and can hold it for longer, give him some supervised freedom in the house. Continue to take him outside to potty right after meals, every few hours and right before bedtime. Keep a close eye on him when he\u2019s not confined, and stop him with a loud \u201cNo!\u201d if you see him start to relieve himself in the house. Immediately take him outside and praise him when he finishes his business in the yard. Photo: Courtesy Teresa Blosio | @ilovelucyaussie<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Once your puppy is reliably potty trained, he will likely figure out his own way to let you know he needs to go out. But if you want to teach him to ring a bell on the door as a signal, start by hanging a bell from the doorknob and putting a little peanut butter on it (make sure it does not have xylitol in it). When your dog unintentionally rings the bell while trying to get at the peanut butter, say \u201cBell!\u201d and give him a treat.<\/p>\n Do this over and over until he makes the association to the word \u201cbell.\u201d You\u2019ll know he\u2019s figured it out when you say \u201cBell!\u201d and he touches the bell with his nose without the use of peanut butter.<\/p>\n Once he\u2019s got this down, next time you say \u201cBell!\u201d and he touches the bell with his nose, say \u201cYes!\u201d Then, open the door to let him out. Do this over and over, and he will eventually learn to ring the bell whenever he wants to go outside. Want to try it? There are a variety of potty bells available both online and in pet stores.<\/p>\n Are you a hi-tech type of person? Then try a wireless product like the Paws2Go Wireless Dog Doorbell. You just teach your dog to touch the square doorbell \u2014 much like teaching your dog to ring the bell \u2014 and your voice (from a pre-recorded message) comes out alerting you that your dog needs to go out. Plus, it also lights up and notifies you through an app on your smartphone.<\/p>\n Featured photo: gollykim | Getty Image<\/em><\/p>\n Read Next: <\/strong>How to Survive a Puppy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The post Potty Training 101<\/a> by Audrey Pavia<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"puppy](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/2012_PottyFeat_Dachshund_GettyImages-653201762.png\")
<\/p>\n1 Find a potty spot<\/h3>\n
2 provide praise<\/h3>\n
![\"puppy](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/2012_PottyBells_PointingDog_GettyImages-846742230.png\")
<\/p>\n3 Consider age<\/h3>\n
4 Provide gradual freedom<\/h3>\n
\nIf you catch him in the act indoors more than once, or find accidents he\u2019s left behind, you are giving him too much freedom, too soon. Go back to confining him in his crate in between potty breaks, or set up an exercise pen with pee pads where his freedom indoors will be limited.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/2012_PottyTrainingFeat_TeresaBlosio_LucyBells.png\")
<\/p>\n5 Teach a cue<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n1 Find a potty spot<\/h3>\n
2 provide praise<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n3 Consider age<\/h3>\n
4 Provide gradual freedom<\/h3>\n
\nIf you catch him in the act indoors more than once, or find accidents he\u2019s left behind, you are giving him too much freedom, too soon. Go back to confining him in his crate in between potty breaks, or set up an exercise pen with pee pads where his freedom indoors will be limited.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n5 Teach a cue<\/h3>\n