How to Use Positive Reinforcement in Potty Training
The first challenge that new dog owners often face is housetraining their puppy. It is important to understand that some puppies are more difficult to housetrain than others. The key to success is to always supervise your puppy and take him outside as often as possible.
To better supervise your puppy, it is advisable to close the doors to the rooms in the house. This is to prevent the dog from hiding to do his business.
When it is not possible to supervise the puppy, it is advisable to put him in his crate, or in a pen, or to keep him with you on a leash to ensure that the dog does not do his business in the house. When the dog shows signs that he wants to do his business (the dog gets excited, the dog smells the ground, the dog moves away, etc.), you must take him outside immediately to be sure that he does his business outside. When the dog does do his 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. Punishment will only encourage the dog to hide and do his business next time. So if the puppy has urinated in the house, be sure to clean everything with a product that completely eliminates urine odors because otherwise, the dog may be inclined to do its business again in the same place if there is still an odor. You should know that a puppy cannot hold it for more than 2 hours per month.
Thus, a 3-month-old puppy cannot hold it for more than 6 hours. It is therefore normal for the dog to wake you up during the night to go out to do its business. During the day, it is advisable to take the puppy out every hour so that it always does its business in the right place and to reward it with a treat and a sound encouragement when it succeeds in doing its business in the desired place.
The more consecutively the puppy pees in the right place, the faster the cleanliness training will be. To teach the dog to ask for the door to do its business, it is necessary that each time the dog is in front of the exit door, someone takes it outside. He will therefore associate that if he comes to the door, he will be able to go out and do his business. The earlier you establish this discipline with your puppy, the steeper your puppy's potty training curve will be!