Potty Training A Puppy

There are a lot of very easy things you can do when potty training a puppy – none of which cost any money or require expensive puppy training or housebreaking classes, and all can be achieved with relative ease and a little patience. HEre’s a couple of puppy potty training tips that have worked well for me in the past.

Schedule a puppy’s meals to help prevent accidents

If you let your puppy drink too much right before bed, you make it much harder for her to get through the night without a housetraining accident. The same goes for meats. Eating can stimulate a puppy to eliminate. Feed your puppy right before bedtime and you raise the likelihood that she’ll need to go out again before morning.

Of course you have to make sure your puppy has plenty of water, so give her access to water during the day. But put the water dish away an hour or two before bedtime. And schedule your puppy’s last meal of the day earlier in the evening as well.

Potty first – walk later

Dogs can be very tricky sometimes. They can learn to train us! For example, suppose you combine your dog’s walks with his bathroom breaks. You get home from work, leash him, and take him outdoors. You walk a bit, he relieves himself – and as soon as he does, you head back home.

Well, guess what? For most dogs, walks are highly rewarding. So by following this pattern, you may inadvertently teach your dog that pottying means the walk is over – and your clever dog may just learn to put off relieving himself for as long as possible!

But suppose you turn this around and make the walk a reward for him getting his business out of the way? Here’s how you do it; instead of setting out for your walk first thing, begin your outing with a bathroom break. Leash your dog. Wait until he relieves himself. Then start your walk.

If you remember this when potty training your puppy, you are using the walk to reward fast pottying behavior. You’ll have a dog that does his business quickly – and you are in charge when it comes to the length of the walk.