First Coast Pet

Posts Tagged ‘potty training’

When you start to train a young puppy having the right dog crate is essential. When you take your puppy home, it will be unable to cope with the whole area of your house and it will be calm and happy in the perfect sized dog crate. Dog crates are also a fantastic way to housebreak a puppy. A puppy is easily trained to use the papers in a dog crate and is an invaluable dog training tool.

If you housetrain a puppy using a dog crate, they are an excellent solution if your pup becomes overexcited, as it will calm down in a crate. All you have to do is put your puppy inside the crate in order to help it relax. If your dog has to be left in the house unattended for a few hours, then having a crate is a stress-free way for you to be gone from the house and not worry about your puppy getting into trouble around the home, or soiling the carpet.

The crate contains your puppy’s food bowl and it will eat and not be distracted. Simply put the food bowl inside where it can focus on eating its meal.

Dog Crate Training Tips

1. When buying your crate, make sure that you have the right sized one according to your dog’s height and width. Housebreaking your puppy depends on you having the correct sized crate. If the box is too large, then your puppy may use the bathroom on one side, but keep sleeping on the other side, which defeats the purpose of crate training in terms of potty training.

2. If you have a fast-growing puppy, then consider buying a large crate that is meant for an adult dog, but has a divider built into it. This way you can divide the crate in half so that your puppy will be able to lie down comfortably and still be able to turn around if needed. A divided dog crate can also be used for your larger puppy by removing the division bracket.

3. One last aspect of using a dog crate is the type of bedding that you place on the floor. Some dog owners have noticed that their puppies still use the bathroom inside, even though the crate is the appropriate size for potty training. In most instances it turns out that the bedding that they laid down was a little too thick and had a tendency to induce urination in dogs.

Older dog crate training is not a problem either. There is so much information available for training older dogs and again using a crate is an invaluable dog training tool. Any problems crate training can be rectified when you follow instructions on the house training or potty training of your dog.

Housebreaking a dog or puppy is often the most stressful aspect of owning a pet. However, the process can be less challenging if you have a few tips to help you out. This article will give you pointers on dog potty training based around the concept of accident prevention rather than punishment.

Puppies are a lot like children in that their minds are like sponges, which is why most people begin obedience and potty training when during puppyhood. The main thing which you must understand before beginning the training process is that a puppy does have limited control of his bladder, so it is best if you admit to yourself that accidents will happen, and come to terms with the idea. A good thing you can do for your puppy is to buy him a crate or similar place that will be his own “personal” space. That way, if you’re unable to watch him for a time, the accident will be in the crate and not somewhere around the house where you may not notice for a while.

Keeping to a regular schedule is the key to preventing accidents and potty training your dog or puppy. Take your dog out first thing in the morning, thirty minutes after every meal, and right before bed. Also, feed your puppy on a strict schedule. If it goes in on a schedule, it will come out on a schedule! It is important to initially praise your dog every time you take him out and he does his business. This helps reinforce to the animal that this is the correct spot to eliminate in.

Hitting your puppy when he has an accident is not correcting the problem. This can, in fact, make your puppy develop a nervous tendency in which he loses control of his bladder any time he feels he has upset you. Try your very best to take him out about 15 – 20 minutes after meal time, as puppies have very small stomachs and will be ready for the potty soon after eating. Try to keep your eye on your pup, so that if he does have an accident, you can correct him during the act and he will quickly understand the link between the word “No!” and going potty inside.

Though it requires dedication and patience on your part, training your dog by keeping to a routine to avoid messes in the first place is much more effective than trying to teach him through punishment. Now that you have succeeded in dog potty training, you can move on to teaching him to bring you the remote! Or for the little or arthritic dog, train him to use dog stairs! Even if your dog is perfectly healthy, pet steps can greatly reduce the amount of impact your dog’s joints receive.

Getting a new puppy is very exciting. It doesn’t take long, however, to realize that a new puppy takes more patience than you may have thought.  Potty training a puppy, including teaching him to go outside requires a lot of effort on your part. The biggest question new owners ask all the time is how to potty train a puppy.

If you try potty training your puppy to go outdoors too soon, say at one month, you will probably meet with little success.  Wait until your puppy is at least two months old to get started potty training in the great outdoors.  If the puppy is with its mother, you may have an easier task of training, as the puppy will tend to take its cues from the mother.  Otherwise, one thing you need to do is establish a routine.

Instead of running your puppy outside every few minutes, start with thirty minute intervals.  The times between going outside can be longer or shorter depending on your dog.  Then, take your puppy out around mealtime, so that your own meal will not be interrupted to jump up and run outside with your puppy.

Get a routine going and maintain it and you will have your puppy potty trained in no time.  Trust me; it seems to take forever if you don’t work with your dog on a schedule.  You and your puppy will be more happy with a schedule which you intend to stick with.

Some people feel that establishing a routine is just too excessive.  The reality is that it is a fairly simple thing to do, and it will help get your puppy trained.  It is the best way for your puppy to learn.  Just like potty training a child, your puppy will need to see and complete the process a number of times before it actually “clicks” that going outside means time to potty.

If your puppy refuses to go outside try your best to figure out the problem.  The first thing the dog has to learn to do is potty outside, not inside.  Once that is mastered you can begin to work on other puppy issues, like barking. Keep up and be persistent. In doing so, you will learn how to house break a puppy.

Puppyhood is the “formative” period for your dog. The things your puppy learns during this period will most likely stick with him the rest of his life. One of the most imperative things you will be teaching him is where to potty.

Probably the most helpful tip to ease both your pup’s stress and your own is to develop a routine early on in your pup’s life. You can start by accustoming your puppy to a sleep/eat/potty routine. Begin by feeding your puppy around the same time every day, making time for frequent trips outside to relieve himself. He will soon adjust his body to the routine.

A good way to save your sanity is to admit right off the bat that your puppy will have accidents. You can help lessen accidents by keeping some newspaper in a dedicated spot so that your pup can at least familiarize himself with going in one area if he can’t make it outside. This works particularly well if you don’t have a “doggy door” and your puppy relies on you to let him out.

The earlier you get to know your puppy’s “eat/potty” schedule, the easier potty-training will become. A good rule to go by is to estimate that your pup will be ready for a trip outside around 15 – 20 minutes after he has been fed/watered. If you can, try to have your puppy outside at this time so he will familiarize himself with the proper “potty surroundings”.

It is important that you are careful to separate “potty time” from “play time.” As it is natural for puppies to want to explore, you should only encourage them at the appropriate times. Nothing is more frustrating than to be up at 2 am with your little guy running around the yard for twenty minutes, only to potty as soon as you get back inside.

Puppyhood is a great time to begin using the praise and discipline techniques you intend to use throughout your dog’s life. a lot of people prefer the terms “good boy/girl” and “no,” both of which can be still be used when your dog is an adult. Although puppies need a lot of repetition, routine, and firmness, remember that your pup will soon grow up, so enjoy his puppyhood while you can!

Housetraining

No training is more basic for pet owners than that first important lesson: Do it outside!

Teaching your puppy to potty outside the home, not in it, usually starts between six and eight weeks of age. Dogs as young as four weeks have been started on the program, but at that age few have the muscular control to succeed.

With any dog training regimen, trainer patience is as important as the dog’s temperament. ‘Sit’, ’stay’ and other behaviors can often be learned in a few days. ‘Potty’ training your puppy may take weeks – perhaps as short as two, often a month or more.

As with other learned behaviors, it helps to watch for signs of the desired elimination and enforce and direct them with a voice command followed by praise. In this case that technique works even more to the trainer’s advantage, since all dogs will naturally eliminate. The secret is to get them to do it when and where you want!

Watch for circling or squatting, then pick up the pup, say ‘outside’ and dash outside. The puppy may circle some more, but will often squat soon after. As it starts, say ‘Go potty’ ( or some other unique phrase) in a clear, firm (but not angry) voice. Once the puppy has finished, praise her lavishly.

You won’t always be able to catch the puppy about to begin, but don’t become angry or impatient when the dog has an accident indoors. It takes time for your puppy to learn to tell you it’s time to ‘go potty’. It also takes time for the puppie’s muscles needed to control bladder and bowels to develop.

Puppies need to potty every 2-3 hours, on average. If you haven’t spotted pre-elimination behavior within that time, take the dog outside anyway. Issue the command ‘Go potty’ and wait. At first, usually, the dog will have no clue what you want.

Again, even when outside, it helps to wait and watch for the desired behavior then issue the potty command. That helps the dog associate the command with the behavior. If the dog hasn’t gone after a few minutes and a few ‘Go potty’ commands, take it back inside for an hour. Of course, if you notice the pre-elimination behavior sooner, go outside again immediately.

Puppies have an astounding ability to quickly learn what their ‘alpha’ (the leader of the pack) wants. This is almost always accomplished by associating a verbal command with behavior, followed by praise. Punishment is usually counter-productive, and nowhere more so than in waste elimination training. Never rub a dog’s nose in the mess.

Paper and/or crate training is preferred by some. A pup can be trained to potty on a newspaper, or on one of the chemically treated housetraining pads designed for the purpose. Some small breeds that live all day in apartments may not need to go outside at all.

The technique has a couple of downsides however. Unlike cats, dogs will seldom go in a perfumed litter box. Newspapers (even with the top layer removed after the dog goes) will eventually create an unpleasant smell in the house.

Also, long before the odor becomes foul smelling to humans, dogs can smell their own attractive aroma. They don’t find the odor unattractive – quite the opposite. And that’s the problem.

Dogs that are paper trained will often prefer to eliminate indoors. Sometimes your puppy may miss the paper by just a little bit, resulting in a mess to clean up.

Once the odor is in the carpet, the dog will often seek that spot out as its proper ‘place to go’. This makes training the dog to eliminate outside even more difficult. Best to suffer a few accidents than to create a hard-to-overcome habit.

Patience, praise and consistency are the keys to any dog training. Elimination training is the first order of business for you and your dog.

Get more tips and advice on housetraining or dog training at Luvurdog.com/dogtraining

As humans and the more intelligent of the species, we must learn how dogs communicate in order to communicate with them. The human half of the pair is usually the smarter party, but watching the usual training sessions one can have legitimate reason to wonder.

Dogs understand and respond at roughly the mental level of a human two-year-old, but there the similarity ends. Their senses operate differently – their color vision has a different response pattern to reds and greens, for example, and obviously their noses are infinitely more sensitive – and their minds process information differently as well. Anyone training dogs has to take this into account in order to avoid human frustration and canine misbehavior.

Dogs are by nature pack animals. Descendant from wolves – where even the ‘lone wolf’ is an anomaly – they’re social and function best with active interplay and within a strict hierarchy.

So, set aside half-an-hour per day, an hour would be better, for at least the first few months of training. Start your training as young as possible. Four weeks is not too early with some breeds, provided one doesn’t expect too much.

Elimination (’potty’) training details we leave for elsewhere, but all training follows similar guidelines.

Establish dominance early on. The Law of the pack – there are alpha dogs, beta dogs and on down to the omega. For a sane household, and a well-adjusted dog, the human (whether male or female) must always be the alpha male of the pack.

Each dog or dog breed will make it easier or more difficult. Like humans, some are simply more assertive than others. Collars, leashes, verbal commands and other training aids are usefull with the most important being your attitude. You are the “alpha dog” in your house, not your dog.

That guideline doesn’t imply you must enforce your dominance with physical force. Sometimes, used appropriately, that will be necessary. Usually, simply being firm and willing to wait for compliance will be enough.

For many, placing them on their backs when young and placing a firm hand in the middle of the chest until they lower their paws – a sign of submission – will be enough. With some, reinforcing this by putting your face close to theirs, emulating dominant dog behavior, can help.

By keeping the leash short, your dog will pay more attention to you and less attention to his surrounding enviroment. Allow plenty of time for free running behavior, essential to dog health, but that’s before or after training, not during. At least, not at first.

Start simply by choosing short, clear commands that sound distinctly different: sit, stay, down, come. Use a firm, but not harsh voice. You’re in charge, but not angry. Avoid double-word commands like ’sit down’ or ’stay down’. This sounds too much alike and may confuse your dog.

Show consitency with each verbal command by using the same tone, look and hand gesture. Eventually these can separate, but at first it’s essential to provide the simplest, most consistent form of communication.

Just like two-year old humans, dogs have limited capacity for grasping the subtleties of language. Assist their understanding by rigid consistency. Don’t use a single command word to mean more than one thing. ”Down’ needs to mean only one thing, you must choose if it means ‘don’t jump on me’ or ‘lay down on your belly’.

Be clear, be patient and be committed and the result will be a dog who trusts and listens to you. And that makes it worth the effort. Find more on dog training at Luvurdog.com/dogtraining