Top 10 Tips for Potty Training Dogs

1. Start potty training as soon as your puppy comes home. Starting early will help your puppy to realize what you expect from them faster, and will help make potty training much more successful.

2. Be consistent in your training. Decide what type of potty training method you are going to use, and stick with it. Puppies learn from repetition and consistency. By continuously using your training method and not switching the routine, your puppy will learn what you want faster.

3. Utilize a crate for training. If used correctly, crate training can be a very powerful and effective tool. Use a crate to contain your puppy when you are not home, and it will help to deter the puppy from using the bathroom in parts of the house where they are not supposed to.

4. Establish a potty spot early on. If you establish a designated potty spot in your yard early on, and encourage your puppy to use the bathroom only in that spot, your dog will quickly realize where you want them to go and will go there as soon as they go out to use the potty.

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5. Keep track of your puppy’s behavior. Learn your puppy’s schedule. Most puppies will go to the bathroom within a certain amount of time after they eat. If you learn what your puppy’s schedule is and how long it takes for them to go to the bathroom, and will be better suited at keeping accidents from happening.

6. Praise your puppy enthusiastically. When your puppy goes to the bathroom, praise them enthusiastically. Let them know that they have done exactly what you want them to do, and let them see how excited you are. This will encourage good potty behavior, because your puppy will want to continue to please you.

7. Do not physically punish your puppy. If your puppy has an accident, do not hit your puppy or rub their nose in it. This will actually make potty training more difficult, because your puppy will become afraid to go to the bathroom in front of you. If your puppy has an accident, use firm commands to let them now what they did was wrong, but do not make a big deal of it. Instead, focus on the positive reinforcement when they do something right.

8. Realize that some accidents are unavoidable. If your puppy has an upset stomach and has diarrhea, you can’t punish them for going to the bathroom if it is unavoidable. Likewise, some puppies display what is known as spontaneous urination. This occurs when they are scared or very excited. It is completely uncontrollable for them, and you should not punish them for it.

9. Use a deterrent spray. You can purchase a deterrent spray to spray areas of your home and yard that you do not want the puppy to go to the bathroom in. These sprays are generally inexpensive, and normally not noticed by people in the home.

10. Clean up any dog mess immediately. If your puppy does have an accident in the house, pick up the mess immediately and remove it. Leaving it in place for too long may make your puppy think that it is OK for them to go in that spot, and cause a set back in potty training.

Want to Know More About Potty Training?  Click Here to Learn from The Dog Training Expert.