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Potty training can seem like a never-ending process, it can be a very stressful time for puppy and owner. Your puppy has been litterbox trained, to make the transition to potty training as easy as possible. Access to a litterbox has taught them from a very young age that there is an appropriate place to eat, sleep and potty. Again, remember that every interaction you have with your puppy they are learning, good or bad. When taking your puppy out of the crate, they should be picked up and IMMEDIATELY carried outside and told to “Go Potty”. Do not talk to your puppy and try to not make eye contact until they are out in the yard. Exciting a puppy that is coming out of the crate is setting them up for failure. Timing meals and trips outside is pivotal to successful potty training. I recommend feeding two meals a day, spaced as close to 12 hours apart as possible. But before feeding and watering, take your puppy outside to potty. Do not leave water accessible to your puppy, but be sure to offer water at other times throughout the day, not just at feeding times. Only give food or water when you can give them ample potty time. Here is an example of a schedule that we would recommend around feeding time.
6:00 Take puppy outside to potty 6:15 Give puppy ample food and water in a quiet area where they will not be disturbed (preferably their crate in the beginning). 6:30 Remove food and water and take the puppy out to potty. 6:45 Take puppy out to potty’ 7:00 Take puppy out to potty 7:30 Take puppy out to potty 8:00 Take puppy out to potty Potty training can be frustrating at best, but stick to a schedule and it will come as their body matures. NEVER leave a puppy that is not fully potty trained unattended in the home. At times, to ensure potty training success, I have kept the puppies leash tied to my belt loop while cooking dinner or navigating throughout the house so I could be sure to catch them if they were to have an accident. This simple trick also does wonders to train the puppy to become responsive to your body language. Continuing with litterbox training can come in handy even with adult dogs. We use washing machine pans and wood burning fuel pellets. We do not recommend the use of potty pads as this can lead to the dogs wanting to use rugs and carpet as potty pads. Puppies also tend to tear up potty pads, which can be harmful if ingested. Accidents happen and they will be frustrating at times, but this too shall pass. Keeping a consistent schedule those first few weeks and giving your puppy ample time outside will ensure success.
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Puppy Prep Common Language for Training Words that your puppy is familiar with: KENNEL UP: Go into the crate/kennel/playpen GO POTTY: Go to the bathroom COME: Come to person SIT: Bottom on the floor YES: Their reward word and encouragement to keep trying difficult things. Next level commands for your puppy: OFF: Take paws or body off of something DOWN: Lay down on the floor WHOA: Slow down WAIT: Hold position until released STAY: Remain in sit/down position until released The use of common language for all members of your household is essential for your puppy to learn and advance. Command words should be simple and clear. Never use more than one command word for the same action. For instance, if one family member is training the puppy to “Down” (lay down) while another family member is commanding them “Down” (get off the couch) the puppy will easily become confused. If you have a large family, as we do, family meetings are often necessary to orient everyone to the command words that the puppy is currently learning. We also train all of our dogs and highly recommend training to both voice and hand commands. Below are a few examples: SIT: Index finger straight up into the air DOWN: Fist held upright COME: Sweeping motion with open hand from side to chest STAY: Open hand held upright like a stop sign We recommend starting all puppies with both hand and voice command, as they grow you can use them interchangeably. Training to hand commands once saved my dogs life. You never know when your training will pay off more than you ever expected! REMEMBER: Training should always be fun! Every interaction you have with your puppy, they are learning. Be cautious of what bad habits you may unintentionally be enforcing as well as being consistent with the good habits, like waiting to go through a doorway after you. Taking just five minutes once or twice a day to actively train with your new puppy will pay off in dividends later in life. As your puppy grows the training times can become longer, but we rarely work even our most seasoned dogs for more than 15 minutes in a session. |
AuthorI am the owner of Prodigy Farms and only second to the love for my dogs, is my love for educating dog owners on canine care and behavior. I am the stay at home mom of three amazing boys that are active in the rearing of our puppies. With a background in nursing and years spent competing in the dog world, I have a few tips and tricks up my sleeve that I like to share with others here. So welcome to my blog, I hope that you are blessed by your visit and will find tools and information here that will enable you to raise and train a happy healthy dog to create a lifetime of joy with! Archives
November 2024
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