What is the best way to potty train your puppy?

Answer 1

House training is a major worry for most new dog owners. However, housetraining does not need to be difficult. With a little knowledge and a lot of consistency, your dog will be thoroughly house trained in record time.

What works:

Dogs have a natural need to keep their den (your house) clean. You don’t want to live in an unhealthy environment, and neither does your dog. To ensure that he does not claim a corner of your living room for his own personal toilet, put him in a crate while you are away from home during this initial phase. This crate becomes his own personal “den” where he can go to have some alone time, and where he always feels safe. Few dogs will willingly mess in their “den.”

Dogs respond best when they know what to expect. Set up a routine and stick to it. The following excerpt is by trainer Matthew Margolis from his website, www.unclematty.com

“Puppy Housetraining Schedule

7:00 AM walk the dog
7:30 AM feed, water and walk
11:30 AM feed, water and walk
4:30 PM feed, water and walk
8:30 PM water and walk (last water of the day)
11:30 PM walk the dog

“If you can't come home mid day and early afternoon, have a friend or neighbor help you out for a few days or hire a dog walker. House training can take as little as three or four days or perhaps a week or more. The more consistent you are, the quicker your puppy will catch on. Dogs really like to keep their dens clean and your house is the den.”

Develop your own routine. Let your dog out every time you return home. Bear in mind that this may mean your dog goes outside after checking the mail. Teach your dog a signal that means we are going outside. For instance, hang a bell from the doorknob within the dogs reach. Ring the bell before opening the door to take the dog outside. Soon your dog will catch on and you’ll find yourself running to the door every time the bell rings.

Once outside, use a phrase like “Go Potty!” as your dog performs. Soon you will find that saying the word causes the desired effect. Remember to spend more time outdoors after successful elimination. If you go directly indoors once done you will teach your puppy that the only way to get to go for a nice long walk is to hold it as long as possible.

Biology plays a factor. Certain things will cause your dog to need to go outside. Use them to your advantage.
•A dog generally needs to eliminate 20-30 minutes after eating. Feed on a regular schedule, and be ready to go 20 minutes later.
•A young puppy will urinate after a period of play or heightened emotion. When the play slows down, be headed towards the door.
•What goes in, must come out. Limit water when the puppy will not be able to go outside for an extended period or overnight. Give plenty of water once you return to avoid dehydration.
•A puppy’s bladder is only so big, and he needs practice to be able to hold it. To determine how many hours he can go without a break, take his age in months plus one (i.e. a three month old puppy can hold it four hours.)

Watch for the signs. A dog will usually have behavioral signals he gives indicating that he is looking for a good place to eliminate. Watch for those signals. If you have a hunch that the erratic wandering and sniffing means puppy might need to go, chances are your right. If you wait to find out, you’re too late. You should keep your dog within easy reach until you feel comfortable that he will let you know when it is time. If necessary, leave him on a leash attached to you so that he stays within six feet at all times.

Scent marking will come back to haunt you. Dogs have a long lasting scent marker they leave when they eliminate. It is used in the wild to mark territory, sort of like a doggy signpost. Once he eliminates in your house, that spot holds the scent -- even if you cover it up with a perfumy cleanser -- for a long, long time. He will return to remark the same place repeatedly. After all, you have allowed him to do this by not covering his mark with your own urine! To eliminate the problem of remarking, you must eliminate the scent. Have your carpets professionally cleaned using professional odor eliminators. You can also try a bacteria or enzyme odor eliminator, such as Simple Solution or other products recommended by your pet store. Follow the directions carefully.

What doesn’t work:

Punishment. You come home from work and your puppy comes bounding over to greet you. Just then you see the wet spot that wasn’t there when you left. You take the puppy to the spot, shout and swat him on the butt. The puppy is unable to connect the dots between what he did earlier and what you are doing now. All he knows is when he came to you, you hurt him. Congratulations, you’ve just taught the puppy that you are unpredictable and mean. Punishing during the act will only serve to teach the dog not to eliminate in your presence, since you’ll hurt him when you see him do it. Instead, if you catch the puppy in the act, give a loud “No!” and immediately go outside. Give praise and/or playtime when the puppy successfully eliminates outdoors.

Rubbing his nose in it. Again, he has no idea why you are doing this. Dogs routinely smell feces and urine for markers left by others. What do you want him to read from his own markers? This serves only to confuse the dog and possibly to hurt his sensitive nose. It might also lead to coprophagia, eating his own excrement. Instead remove all scent from the spot as indicated above and redouble YOUR efforts to consistently follow a schedule. He wants to be clean; you need to help him know what to expect.

Answer 2

ok i have a two yr old aussie and a four month old aussie we just got. i can tell you how i potty train and it seems to work good. 30min. after eating, playing,or drinking alot of water take the dog/puppy outside use a leash while outside constanly tell it "go potty" or what ever comand you have chosen then when it does do its buisness praise him/her even maybe give a treat once inside take the leash and hang it on the door knob let the metal hook hang low enough so the pup can reach it over time with praising it for going outside it will soon go to the leash and hit it with its nose thats your time to go. never spank the pup for makeing a mistake fact is it didnt you did ...you missed the clue. if you catch it in the act say "NO" get the leash and hurry it out side if it pottys outside praise it .if you catch it after the fact to late just let it go..clean it up with something that removes scent and try try again. my two year old when she was a pup was completely house broken in 2 weeks useing this method.

Answer 3

My 8 week old Golden was potty trained in a week by doing this.

Whenever he would fall asleep, we would put him in his crate. He would wake up and whine and we'd take him out. We put a little bell by the door and we'd ring it as we walked outside. We'd watch him for signs; sniffing, running around like a wild man. Right after eating, after/during exercise, after a nap, we'd take him outside. We'd end up taking him outside every 4 hours or every 5 minutes. Now he rings his bell or just goes to the door and sits whenever he needs to go potty.

Answer 4

It depends on the age of your puppy, as to how many times per day it is fed..but, the best way to set a puppy up for success is to feed on a strict schedule. for an 8-12 week old, this should be 4 times per day...Put the food down, and pick it up in 15-20 minutes..5 minutes after pup has quit eating, take him outside, and stay with him until he poops..When he poops, use the same word every-time....Praise him cheerfully...good boy! go poo-poo! (or whatever you are comfortable with saying)
Older than 12 weeks, do the same for 3 feeding per day..Be consistent, and don't ever take it for granted, but continue the praising each time...NEVER scold for indoor mistakes..

If you see him restless or whiny at other times, he likely needs to pee...again, don't scold him if you miss the signals, but scoop him up cheerfully and take him out..even if he is through..

Many owners use a bell hanging long from the door..(after he has the general idea)..Jingle it each time you take him out, and soon he will jingle it when he needs let out.

Answer 5

My best friend has a dog and potty trained him herself. See what u have to do is if he goes on the carpet tell him kno and give him a little spank on the butt. Then u take him outside and say "This is wear u go!". Just keep doing that and he should start to get it and before u kno he will be potty trained.

Answer 6

They have puppy training pads at walmart. At first when my puppy had accidents I would rub his nose in it and put him outside. I never leave my dog in the house without someone in it. If he has to go to the bathroom during the night or when I am home he scratches at the door to be let out.

Answer 7

I would use a combination of a crate and "buzz word". For example, when my Golden was a pup, we would take her out and have treats in our pockets. We told her to "potty". When she did her business, we gave her a treat for positive reinforcement. Also make sure you take your pup out once every couple of hours. If there is an accident inside, never push its nose into it. Just take the dog outside and clean up mess inside. Always keep it positive.

Answer 8

potty pads are the quickest i have had my babies trained in less then a week using them and i have 5 dogs

Answer 9

crate training.
we did it with our lab puppy and never regretted it! it was hard at first b/c he didn't like his crate and BAWLED, but after a day or 2 he got used to it and will readily go into his crate, now. it's his safe spot.

so, look up some sites to describe crate training. good luck!

Answer 10

i feed and water them on a schedule........if nothings going in nothings comming out.........get it? as soon as their done eating wait about 10 minutes and take them outside............never just leave their food and water down all the time or it will be harder to potty train. if you know when they have ate or drank then you know they need to go out. good luck!