Potty Training a Puppy: How to Get Started
Potty training a puppy is one of the first projects to begin once you bring the pup home. The basic steps are easy to understand, though following them will take some patience. The steps are: Keep the puppy close to you whenever you can. At particular times, quickly get him to the place where you want him to potty. Do any clean-up in a calm manner. Repeat the first three steps many times. Eventually your puppy will be potty trained!
Here is more information on each of these four points:
1. Have your puppy as near to you as you can, as much of the time as you can. That way, you will be more tuned in to when he needs to go out. Sometimes you will catch him just as he starts something and you can firmly say “No” and carry him or walk him to where you want him to be.
One method for keeping your puppy close is to put on a belt and then attach one end of his leash to it. If you do this, wherever you go, your little guy will go right along. The two of you will be bonding too!
However you do it, stay close to your puppy. Crate training is also very useful for the times you can’t be together. That is beyond the scope of this article but I discuss it at length on my website.
2. When you are potty training a puppy, you are helping him to understand that when he feels an urge to urinate or defecate, he should go to his specially designated place for these activities. How will he learn this? By your taking him there:
*** Every time he wakes up.
*** Every time he eats or takes a big drink.
You may be surprised to notice how many times a day he does these things! He probably won’t pee or poop every single time you take him to his place, but the habit is being created. Taking him out right before your bedtime is a good plan too.
Where will his pottying place be? If you have a yard with a fenced part to it, you can actually teach him to use a part of the yard by taking him there. If you have no yard, or an unfenced one, walking him on leash is another good way to potty train him. A third option is to paper-train him inside… often good if you live in a very cold climate or many floors up in an apartment building.
3. Cleaning up his messes is a big part of caring for your puppy before he is fully potty trained. Don’t yell at him or express your displeasure in any way. He really won’t understand. Even if you think he looks guilty, he is just upset because you are. Would you expect a human infant not to need diapers for a long time? Well, potty training a puppy takes way less time than potty training a human, but still be patient!
4. Repetition is a very important part of the potty training process, as dogs learn that way. So keep on doing each step, as often as you can.
So these are the essential points in potty training a puppy. Best wishes to you and your puppy!
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