The decision to buy a new puppy comes with some important responsibilities. In fact, the first few weeks of having a dog at home can test your patience. The good news is that there are some simple ways to handle the responsibilities of raising a new dog. One of the first things you should do to turn your puppy into a well-mannered dog is potty training. Here are the top five potty training tips you can follow to make at least one part of dog training that much less stressful on you and your dog.
1. During the day, limit your dog’s activities to an area where it wouldn’t be a big problem in the event of an “accident.” For example, let him play alone in an area with a tile floor where it will be easy to clean up his mess. If there isn’t a tiled area in your house or apartment, you can cover a portion of the floor or carpet with polyethylene sheeting and newspaper and then cordon off that area. If your dog urinates or defecates in that area, simply replace the newspaper cover. This will help make sure you don’t go crazy while your pup is still learning to control his bladder and identify the designated elimination area.
2. Stick to a bathroom schedule. Remember that puppies do not have much control over their bladder yet, and since they are very small, they usually have to relieve themselves more frequently. For this reason, you will need to take your puppy to the designated disposal area every two hours. If you can’t, you will have to expect to see a disaster from time to time.
3. As the weeks progress and your puppy slowly learns to go to the designated elimination area whenever he feels the urge to urinate or defecate, you can increase the area where he is allowed to roam freely within your home.
Four. One of the most important and useful tips for potty training a puppy is to use positive reinforcement and avoid punishment as much as possible. Dogs thrive in a positive environment and love to receive praise and rewards from their owners. On the contrary, punishment tends to make them withdraw into themselves and sometimes even to exhibit aggressive behavior.
5. Above all, you need to be patient when potty training a puppy. Remember that positive training results don’t happen overnight. Puppies are like very young children in the sense that they need enough time to learn new things. This is why you need to be patient and consistent in potty training. Your patience will definitely pay off when you see your mature pup into an affectionate dog with excellent manners.
As long as you follow these five potty training tips, you will soon realize that it is actually not as difficult as you first thought. Soon enough, you will be able to enjoy every minute you spend with your dog and he will become a welcome addition to your immediate family.