House Training

I get asked by so many people, so many times about house training, I thought that I had better write a page about it. Like all training, it takes patience, consistency and time but if done correctly, puppy will learn in a matter of weeks. House training is one of the things that seem to cause some new owners problems.

House Training Your New Puppy

House training should start as soon as you get your puppy home. Once you have allowed puppy to have a look round his new home and he has, had a nap if he wants one, take him straight outside to the area you want him to relieve himself in. I always find an area of grass rather than concrete and I find that as puppy gets a little older, he will always prefer grass and will avoid 'going' on concrete in preference to waiting until he reaches a grassy area. In the current climate where it is severely frowned on and even illegal for a dog to foul a footpath, this little trick means that your dog will (if at all possible) wait until you reach grass before relieving himself, thus leaving you free from hard stares from the rest of the world.

Place puppy on the designated area and let him have a sniff round and explore. If he comes out of the area, gently place him back in it again. Don't be impatient as until he relieves himself and is praised for doing so, puppy has no idea why you keep placing him in his area. Do this for ten minutes or so to give him ample time to go. If puppy goes then make a huge fuss of him. If puppy does not go then do not be disheartened. He might not want to go. Take him back inside and try again in an hour. Do exactly the same thing. Sooner or later you will catch him, when he does want to go. If during the hour you see puppy start to squat or start sniffing around a lot, take him straight outside there and then. You must be alert and watchful as to help puppy avoid an accident.

There are certain times that puppy is more likely to need to relieve himself than others. A little careful management and timing can mean that the process can be helped along a little. These times are no scientific secret as they follow the very same idea as the times that you or I are most likely to want to go. After a sleep, after eating, after a drink and after physical exertion. Just the same as us.

You can make things easier on yourself by establishing a routine. This will mean that you can make a pretty good guess as to when puppy is likely to want to go. Give puppy his food at the same time every day, place him in his bed for a nap at the same time each day. Water should be available when he wants it so watch every time he has just had a drink. While puppy is playing, if he stops and starts to sniff round for a good place to go, take him outside immediately. You will find that puppy quickly learns this routine of sleep and food too, so he will be expecting the same things at the same time each day.

Eventually he will start to have a hunt round for somewhere to go. As soon as you see this, take him straight to the designated area and wait for him to relieve himself. As soon as he does, make a huge fuss of him and praise him with a happy voice so that he knows that he has done something right. Keep at this for a few weeks and you will eventually get to the stage where puppy goes to door to ask you to let him out as he will know that this is what is expected of him when he wants to relieve himself.

Once this starts then barring a few accidents you've got it cracked!! .

Having problems? Feel free to email me or call for further help.