Having a new puppy at home means that you need to develop puppy house training rules so that the little pup won’t mess up your house. House training must be worked through by every new puppy and its owners. Some puppies require more time and patience to catch on, while other puppies learn the process rather quickly. It can take a while to see a difference once you start your puppy training, so don’t get frustrated. Keep being consistent, loving, and patient and your puppy will learn what you want.
Looking Into the Mind of Your Puppy
Knowing how your puppy’s mind works can help a lot in effective puppy house training. Cleanliness has very different definitions when it comes to you versus your new puppy. You think it is important for your puppy to go to a chosen spot in the garden and “go”, but to your pup, what’s important is to relieve himself where the notion takes him. Your puppy’s only concern is to go away from his food and bed which is also the health and safety rule of nature. From your puppy’s point of view, a place away from his food and bed could be anywhere from behind the sofa up to the bedroom floor. You must teach your dog that places that may be acceptable to him are not necessarily acceptable to you, you must lead him to the spot that you have chosen for him.
Anticipation of the Signs
The early warning system of a puppy is not very reliable during his first few weeks, so make sure to work it out as early as possible for both your benefits. As soon as you can, pick out a spot near the puppy’s bed, food or play area. You will find it rewarding to predict when it’s time to take your puppy to go out. Puppies need to relieve themselves frequently particularly after they eat, drink, play or get excited.
As you get to know your puppy, you will get to learn the various signs that he needs to go out to the bathroom. When a puppy is persistently sniffing, circling a single spot or has his tail held high, those are common signals. All you should do if this happens is get your dog and go to the area that you have designated as their toilet area. By doing so, you are well on your way to completing your puppy house training.
Seeing family members and visitors, or being excited in general, can still make dogs, even those that have had dog training, have small accidents. This type of response is natural and is called submissive urination. You shouldn’t treat this differently from regular house training. And even with other accidents, you should never chastise your dog. They will only be confused by punishment, and become secretive about going to the bathroom.
When accidents happen during periods of excitement, do not shout at your dog, instead work things out until he breaks this habit. It is best to try to greet new people while you are both still outside and the setting is low key. Greet your dog gently in order to build up its confidence. If your puppy has an accident, it’s best to just clean it up without making a big deal of it. The next thing you know, your dog won’t be having these types of accidents and you will be celebrating for having finished puppy house training successfully.