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How do you potty train a puppy?
Potty training will go best when the crate
training method is used. This means that you will use a
crate (small wire crate, or plastic pet taxi) to confine your
puppy whenever you are not able to watch him for short periods
of time. The puppy will need to be taken out to go potty
every 45 min. to an hour. Take the puppy through the
same door to the same spot in the yard each time. If you
wish to litter, paper or potty pad train you puppy, take him
to his litter, paper or potty pad every hour. Puppies
will by instinct wish to keep their eating and sleeping area
(their den) clean and will hold their potty as long as they
can. By using the crate, the puppy's instinct will be
working for you, and he will be pottying when and where you
want him to.
If you are going to be playing and interacting
with your puppy, he would be free to be out of his crate as
long as you like. He will start to circle and sniff and
look for a place to potty when he has to go and when you are
watching him, you can quickly take him to his potty spot.
By watching closely, you will soon learn your puppy's
individual body language. Minimize your pup's chances of
making a mistake by predicting when he will need to relieve
himself. The critical times to watch are : as soon as he
awakens, as soon as he finishes a meal, first thing in the
morning, after a play session, and of course, as soon as you
take him out of his crate. Do NOT let your puppy run
lose when your eyes are not on him....even for a couple
minutes. Each time your puppy has an accident, he is
being trained to potty in that spot. Each time the
puppy goes in the right spot, he is being trained to relieve
himself there. Consistent training will bring consistent
results.
During the times you will be gone longer than
the puppy can hold it, I recommend placing your puppy in an
exercise pen. Put the puppy's pet taxi/crate inside the
exercise pen with the door open, or off. Cover the floor
inside the exercise pen with newspapers and leave water and
food available for your puppy. He will get accustomed to
pottying on the newspaper when you are gone (he has no other
choice as the whole area will be covered), and will become
paper trained during the times you are not at home.
After a couple weeks, gradually reduce the amount of the pen
that is covered with newspaper. The puppy will be used
to pottying on the paper, and will continue to potty on the
newspaper, even when you reduce the amount of the pen that is
covered to only one or two sheets of paper. When you are
home, continue with the routine of crating your puppy, and
taking him out to potty every hour.
I have found it very helpful to have an
exercise pen for the house, and one for the yard. The
exercise pen inside the house is puppy's safe haven when you
are not at home. Place the other exercise pen in the
spot you wish your dog to use as a permanent potty spot, both
as a puppy and adult.. Put your puppy in the exercise
pen when it is time for him to potty, and step back a few
steps (or watch him through the door or window). This
will help your puppy get down to the business of pottying more
quickly than if he was on a leash, or running loose.
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| Andrea
Arden is a nationally-recognized Professional Dog Trainer and
Author. Her pamphlet, Step by Step Kennel Training
is one I have often recommended to my puppies new owners as it
is a quick, easy read that covers all the basics of potty
training using the crate training method. Best of all,
it also covers some of the common pitfalls of potty training.
Unfortunately, this pamphlet is no longer available. I
have scanned my copy so you can read it here. If you
have additional questions about potty training, take a few
minutes to read through the PDF's of Andrea's pamphlet shown
below. If the article is sideways in Adobe when you open
it, go to View, Rotate View, Clockwise, and then it will be
easier to read:) |
