Train My Puppy: A How-To on Puppy Training
Nearly all of the puppies owned by Americans make their home indoors. You need to do some housebreaking with them if you are considering having them live in the home. The process of potty training a puppy is a prospect that intimidates many dog owners. It is not that difficult, it doesn’t have to be messy and housebreaking can be accomplished without a struggle. You have to keep in mind though that this is a training issue and you have to put in a little more than just casual effort. It requires time, involvement, and some tools of the trade such as puppy training pads.
The New Doggie is the Boss
For those who own dogs or puppies, there are two major puppy training guidelines to follow. First and most importantly, don’t punish your pup for something you did not catch him do! Two, always remember to praise your puppy for good behavior. Don’t fall into the trap of only responding with ‘no’ when you see your pet doing something you don’t want them to do. Praise them or offer them a reward when they do the right thing.
Housebreaking Guidelines for Your New Puppy
There are many different techniques to house train your pup. When starting indoors, encourage your pup to use puppy training pads or papers to go to the bathroom on. Puppy pads generally are treated with scented chemicals that lure pups and get them to use the pads. When you notice them doing their pre-potty routine of sniffing and walking around, take them gently, without saying a word, to the puppy training pads or newspaper and praise them for going to the bathroom correctly.
After things are progressing well and the puppy is using the puppy training pads or newspapers regularly, you can then locate them a little closer to the door and eventually outside. This transition is done from focusing toilet habits at one spot inside the home to one spot outside the home. Soon, you’ll have no use for training papers and pads inside the house.
The biggest issue with this method of puppy potty training is that is requires more time to get the puppy to go indoors. Other popular methods of house training puppies involve puppy crate training or the use of cages plus constant pet owner supervision.
The maximum amount of time that dogs can hold their bladders and bowels is between seven and eight hours, so you should keep that in mind when using a crate or a cage, trying to housebreak your dog. Crate training usually works because dogs do not like to mess their sleeping places, then have to lie in it. It is not a good idea to crate a puppy for long periods of time.
This is not to say, though, that continual supervision involves crates or cages, and paper or puppy pads. It is here that dog owners opt to spend whatever time is necessary with their pups. This is very ideal for people who work at home, retired persons, or owners who can afford to spend a lot of time with their puppy. This method usually allows the owner to get their puppy out of the house when they first recognize the signs that the puppy needs to go to the bathroom. A constant watch must be kept on puppies to make sure that there are no accidents or slip-ups.
In summary, housebreaking your puppy should be considered a part of command trainings like ‘come’ or ’stay’. However, housebreaking and potty training a puppy are always the messiest lessons, and will usually give you more problems than any other form of dog training. Have faith!
Youngsters grow up so quick!