Best way to potty train a puppy

I was  sooo wrong...

Is there anything worse?

You wake up in the morning the sun is shining and its another beautiful day. You come out of your bedroom and discover your puppy rolling around in his poo...

Hmmm...Its everywhere...It’s going to be 30-45 minute clean up at least.

You’re going to be running late today for sure.

Is there anything more frustrating?

You take your puppy or 1 year old dog outside to pee-pee. 

After they go pee-pee, you return inside...

And... 

In a few seconds of coming inside your dog decides to continue with a little sprinkle all over your new rug...

Aaggghh!

Surely toilet training a puppy or a dog should not take this long or be so hard?

You’re right.

It shouldn’t and it isn’t.

The thing is this...

The truth is...there’s no magic wand but...

 There are a heap of little tricks that will turn your puppy’s toileting around and you are probably not using most of them.

Why?

The crazy thing is that most people don’t do any of these things
because they have never been told exactly what to do.

I'll never do this again...promise

Nobody has ever explained how important these little things are when you are toilet training your puppy.

And they are all simple and all logical.

So let me point you in the right direction with a couple of them  so you can get the idea.

And then I’ll tell you about the most awesome toilet training resource that I found for those of you who are interested.

1. Staying calm:
First thing that you have to accept is that you are responsible.

Like training a young child or baby to use a potty.

You can’t blame them for not being toilet trained and take your frustrations out on them.

In fact, it can really set you back.

Your anger and frustration will do nothing to encourage your puppy to relax and follow your commands to toilet outside.

Just imagine... how it is try to go to the toilet with an angry frustrated person standing there staring at you.

So all that rubbish about rubbing a dog's nose in it to show them not
to do it again, is just old school and so out of date.

People who do this sort of stuff have completely missed the point.

Think about it…

Why do you think your puppy pee-peed in the house? Because they needed to go.

Right?

They were holding on, maybe bursting, needed to go and so they
thought, “OK, I gotta go pee-pee…like NOW!”

And if the door was shut as well, then what do you expect?

Your puppy is not vindictive, or trying to wind you up.

So when you rub your puppies nose in it…they are still not sure where
they are supposed to go.

Repeat…

They are still not sure where they are supposed to go.

Got it yet?

image credit

So when you start telling your puppy off for going pee-pee in front of the couch all you are doing is showing your puppy that this is not the RIGHT place.

Try somewhere else…

But…

“They are still not sure where they are supposed to go!”

That’s right. You need to show them. You need to train them.

That’s why its called toilet training.

Make sense?

2. Stay focused on the goal:

Its odd that the biggest mistake that people make with toilet training is the most important one.

Most people take their eye off the goal too soon and start telling poor puppy off when they get it wrong.

The secret is this...

Keep rewarding your puppy with amazing treats every time they go
toilet in the right place…

That’s just simple.

Every single time... 

With amazing treats...

For a long time)

image credit

Nothing will motivate your puppy faster than a couple of amazing little treats immediately after they have finished.

Notice I say immediately.

Not 30 seconds later… It should be within 2 seconds. Too late and the connection to the pee-pee they just did will be lost.

Get your treat in their mouth quick and they will quickly start to
link the two.

The Ah-Ha moment is when your puppy thinks… “So if I pee-pee on the grass you give me the most amazing treat?”

“OK…Deal!”

Unfortunately most of us will reward for a week or two and then stop.

We forget, get bored, run out of treats or can be bothered.

One little tip I heard on a great 40 minute toilet training audio the other day is to leave a jar with treats outside by the pee-pee area...

So that even if you forget to take treats out with you there are already some at hand.

3. It does take time... 

Remember that puppies are still young and small.

They are still learning and it will take time. Anyone with young children will tell you…

Toilet training takes TIME and PATIENCE!

Sometimes 3 years or more for young children. Think about this for a second. 

How old is your puppy? 16 weeks!

Children can’t even lift their own heads at that age and we become frustrated that our puppy isn’t perfectly toilet trained by that age…

So take a breath and relax...

The good news is that you can do it and your puppy is perfectly normal.

image credit

So focus on the successes and learn to put the mistakes behind you. 

It's great learning for life...

Look to see what you could have done differently but don't beat yourself up. We've all been there and the good news is that its not forever.

4. The rug: 

This is just a little tip from the above mentioned audio file

 It made me smile because it is exactly what happens all the time.

Here’s the scenario…

Your puppy finds a nice thick piece of rug that is not the carpet. The rug feels nice, a bit like grass and looks like it is a good place to go pee-pee. They go pee-pee or even worse poo-poo...

Unfortunately for you it is your brand new, thick, white, shag pile rug and it's hard to get the stains and smell out of.

Even when carefully cleaned, your puppy can still smell the pee and
poo and so now it even smells like a good place to go.

And soon your beautiful expensive shag pile rug turns into a costly toilet mat.

They secret is simple...

Pick it up and put it back down in 6 months time in perfect condition. No stains, no marks, no regrets. Trust me on the shag pile rug.

Do not take the chance! It is a slippery slope.

image credit

5. Knowledge is everything:

When it comes to toilet training there are so many things to think
about and you just can't think of them all on your own.

You need to know the secrets before your puppy toileting goes wrong.

And the best place that I have found by far to get hold of all the tips
about dog and puppy training...  including toilet training is Doggy Dan’s website The Online Dog Trainer

Inside the site are over 250 videos including a whole section with an
amazing 40 minute recording on toilet training your puppy.

It’s fantastic and covers off everything that you could possibly want to know.

Here’s a couple of tips to give you an idea of what's inside:

- Those tricky times. What to do during the night and when you are at
work to prevent accidents. How long to leave them and what to leave
them with.

- Setting your puppy up to win so that they can’t make mistakes.

- Why some older puppy’s regress at 4 months old and why you need to get them back on track immediately.

- Older dogs. Why much older dogs who are several years old can
suddenly start going toilet in the house and what to do to stop it.

- Habit Breaking. How to break an old habit if your puppy is toileting all over the house.

- Crate training. Everything you need to know about crate training your puppy if you choose to use that approach.

Plus all the tips and advice on every topic to do with toilet training such as:

• cleaning up the mess,
• feeding,
• watering
• and toilet frequency and schedules.

So that’s all for now. As you can see it’s a big topic.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this and that you get a handle on your puppy's toileting sooner rather than later.

If you really are struggling and want to end all the frustration
immediately then I suggest you take a look at Doggy Dan’s site
and check out the Toilet Training section inside the site.

And today you can start with free 4 part video series from Doggy Dan.

Take care&Love your puppy,

Alex