blog 1 - Potty training your puppy
The first challenge that new dog owners often have is potty training their puppy. It is important to understand that some puppies are more difficult to potty train than others.
The key to success is to always supervise the puppy and take him out as often as possible.
To better monitor your puppy, it is advisable to close the doors to rooms in the house. This is to prevent the dog from hiding to do its business. When it is impossible to supervise the puppy, it is advisable to put it in its cage, or in an enclosure or even to keep it with you on a leash to ensure that the dog does not do its business in the house.When the dog shows signs that he wants to do his business (the dog gets excited, the dog smells on the ground, the dog moves away, etc.), you must take him out immediately to be sure that he does his needs outside.
When the dog does its business outside, you can reward him with a treat to let him know that this behavior is encouraged on your part.
If the dog makes a mess in the house, do not punish him. The punishment will only make the dog hide to do its business next time. So if the puppy has urinated in the house, make sure to clean everything with a product that completely removes urine odors because otherwise, the dog may be inclined to do his business again in the same place if there is still a smell.
You should know that a puppy cannot hold back for more than 2 hours per month of age. So a 3 month old puppy cannot hold back for more than 6 hours. It is therefore normal if the dog wakes you up during the night to go outside to do its business.
During the day, it is advisable to take the puppy out every hour so that he always does his business in the right place and to reward him with a treat and sound encouragement when the dog succeeds in doing his business in the determined place.
The more consecutively the puppy pees in the right place, the faster potty training will go.
To teach the dog to ask for the door to do its business, each time the dog is in front of the exit door, someone must take him outside. He will therefore associate that if he goes to the door, he can go outside and do his business.
The sooner you establish this discipline with your puppy, the steeper your puppy's potty learning curve will be!
