HOW
TO POTTY TRAIN PUPPY: 10 E-Z STEPSBY KAREN REARDON TAYLOR, My Best Friend
Obedience
The first rule is... Never let the puppy out of your
site.
The second rule is... The first rule is impossible,
so expect mistakes.
The third rule: Your puppy needs a separate small
space of its own in which to eat and sleep, and a potty area separate
from the designated “puppy space,” so that you can break the first
rule when necessary.
The fourth rule: Start out having the puppy sleep,
eat and play in his own area. Stay
nearby at first until it is used to being in its space alone.
Expect a few mistakes at first, but if the mistakes continue
that may mean the sleeping and eating area are too large.
The fifth rule: Create a potty schedule so Puppy can
get to the area in which you intend it to relieve itself for five to
ten minutes at a time, as often as it needs to which at first will be
every few hours. As the
puppy poops and pees during the day, look for a pattern in the time of
day. The length of time
between poop or pee breaks will increase with your puppy’s age.
At eight weeks old, Puppy may not be able to go more than four
hours during the day or six hours at night without a potty break.
The sixth rule: You control your puppy’s playing,
eating and drinking habits to help you manage the fifth rule more
conveniently. You will
notice there is a predictable amount of time between your puppy eating
and/or drinking, and its need to poop and/or pee.
Additionally, puppies almost always have to go potty after a
vigorous play session. Again,
the amount of time it takes for digestion to occur will usually
increase as the puppy ages.
The seventh rule: Let your puppy know how unhappy
you are when it goes in the wrong place.
Make sure your reprimand is not over done, thus causing Puppy
to be afraid, or underdone, causing pup to continue making mistakes.
Most importantly,
praise Puppy lavishly when it goes in the designated area.
If Puppy
still does not quite understand, put a “sample” of what you want
him to do in his potty area. Never
let him see you clean up his mistakes.
The eighth rule: Consider the location of designated
potty area in relation to the distance between where you usually are
and where the puppy’s area is located.
You should not have to run a marathon between where you are,
your puppy’s area, and your puppy’s potty area.
The sleeping/eating area, and potty area, should not be so
close that it conflict with the puppy’s natural instinct to go as
far away as possible from where it sleeps, eats and plays to relieve
himself. As much as
possible, these two areas should generally be where they will remain
for the life of the dog. Try
to use the same “potty exit” whenever possible, not just any door.
The ninth rule: Begin to notice what the puppy
“does” when it needs to go potty.
When trying to teach puppy how to let you know when it needs to
go out, it is often easiest to expand on the puppy’s natural signals.
If your puppy gives no apparent signals, teach the puppy to run
to you and to the door as a signal.
You do this by running back and forth with puppy, from where you
are at “potty time” to the door used as the “potty exit.”
This signal will also serve to stimulate elimination upon arrival
at the potty locale.
The tenth rule: As
Puppy begins to understand your “bathroom etiquette” requirements,
slowly begin to expand its sleeping, eating and playing space until all
it has left is sleeping, eating and playing space, i.e. your entire
house and yard, and ITS OWN, SEPARATE, POTTY AREA.
Stick to the rules without variation, except as
instructed by a professional trainer.
Do not assume that a friend who has raised a dog, or the pet
store clerk, knows how to help you with your new puppy, or that you can
combine multiple recipes for housebreaking and get the same end result.
This method works--if followed exactly.
Then you can focus on all the fun stuff--obedience training,
agility courses, hikes, etc. Oh,
and don’t forget to call the trainer about that garbage raiding habit,
or that leash pulling issue. After
all, if you follow the 10 EZ steps to the letter, you certainly will not
need us for housebreaking.
P.S.
If your dog or puppy does not respond to some part of this
instruction, do not despair. Each
housebreaking situation has special circumstances.
If your special issues were not addressed here, contact
me.  |
