Getting a new puppy home is an exciting feeling but teaching your furry friends how to behave around the household involves a roller coaster of emotions. Just like babies, puppies require attention, teaching, caring, and yes, a lot of treats. Toilet training your puppy is a slow but rewarding process for every pet parent, it teaches them to follow commands, maintain discipline, behave well around your house, and so on.
Most puppies like to ‘go’ someplace natural like a garden or a grassland rather than a road or paving as they can easily pick up their scent from before and will continue to go there itself, keeping the area clean and clearing up the mess is important so that they won’t look for another place.
Puppies are often distracted and have a mind of their own, they do what they feel like, so maintaining a calm composure will help them feel relaxed around you
Experts say that toilet training in puppies can begin when they are 12 to 16 weeks old, during that time they develop good bladder control and bowel movements which also helps them to hold it in.
Here are a few things that you can do in order to train your puppy effectively.
Be Consistent and Patient
Maintaining a routine is a vital part of the process, take your puppy outside after eating, drinking, or waking up to the same area every day, this will help them to recognize the spot as a designated “potty zone”.
Being patient is indeed a virtue when it comes to training your puppy, this process takes time and a bit of effort, even when a puppy has an accident relax, breathe, stay calm and remember this will be over soon.
Use Simple Words
Using simple words or short phrases like “let’s go out” or “potty time” will help the puppy to understand that it’s time to go and react accordingly. Using words in other instances will also help them to understand commands and follow them.
Reward Them
While rewarding them does not sound important, it plays a very huge role. Whenever your puppy goes to the toilet in the right place, make it a huge deal, pet them and give them a treat and make them feel like they have done a good job. This helps them to understand the importance of going to the toilet in the right place encouraging them to maintain this habit in the future.
While training involves all of this, there are a few things you can avoid:
Do not Shout or react aggressively
Shouting or reacting aggressively will instil a sense of fear within your puppy, remember they are just babies. The method of shoving its head in its mess was proven to be unsuccessful and is sad and degrading. Shouting or reacting aggressively will not make them feel loved. Give them time and teach your puppy patiently and it will definitely have a useful and positive impact.
Don’t Stop or Give up
As mentioned earlier, this is a slow yet rewarding process, it may seem difficult and time-consuming but this will surely come to an end. Your puppy will soon understand the importance of going out or even letting you know that they want to go to the toilet by barking or so. Be patient and consistent with your puppy’s schedule and the desired result will soon follow.
Following these steps will help your little one to be toilet trained and you can relax and realize what a ‘pawsome’ pet parent you have been!
If you find difficulties in these situations, that’s where PawSpace comes in. We provide help and care with trained, certified and verified pet trainers across the city with various packages for you to choose from.
