Learn How To Potty Train A Puppy

After adoption, it is very common for us to have difficulties teaching our puppy to go to the bathroom, or the area selected for it. At first, modifying this behavior may seem quite complicated, however, with proper guidelines, you can leave your puppy in the right place, you just need to be patient and be very consistent.

Also, remember that puppies usually learn to urinate in the newspaper between 3 and 6 months, however, some take up to 12 months to do so. Keep reading the dog57 article and find out how to teach a dog to go to the bathroom in the newspaper.

Tips for teaching a dog to relieve himself in one place

Before explaining how to teach a dog to go to the bathroom, it will be necessary to do some of the previous steps and take into account some basic tips, otherwise, this process will not work. Keep them in mind and apply them all:

Dog pen: It is a designated space where we leave our dog when we leave the house and it will also be the place chosen to do his work. It should be a large area (it can even be a room) and it is very important to choose a quiet area in the house without traffic. For example, the hall or the corridor will not be good places, it is preferable to use a room or a dining room.

Hours of urination: A puppy usually urinates upon waking, after eating, and after intense exercise or play. Those would be the perfect times to get him closer to his area and let him pee there.

Always follow the same procedures: regularity avoids stress and helps your dog better understand. Therefore, if you always follow the same meal and play schedule, your dog will likely learn to pee in the right place sooner.

Avoid Punishment and Reward Successes: It is essential to understand that we can never scold a puppy for doing his work in the wrong place, we must expect that the mistake is ours because we did not expect or that he would do it. On the contrary, we will always reward successes, in this way we achieve better memory.

Eliminate banned toilets. When a puppy does his work in the wrong place, there are smells of urine and feces that will prompt him to do it again. This behavior is normal in dogs and often lengthens toilet training time. Get rid of these smells and use a dog repellent made with natural ingredients.

Go to the vet: A puppy needs to receive its first vaccinations after about 3 months of age, for this reason, and to benefit from a visit to a specialist, it will be necessary to consult with him with all our doubts and to rule out any health problem that complicates this learning.

Thoroughly clean: Yes, never use products such as bleach or ammonia, and it is preferable to use enzymatic products.

If you follow these tips, you will rule out any health problems in your puppy and help him learn to pee on the newspaper faster.

Prepare the puppy pen

Once the puppy's pencil body is assembled, it's time to cover the area with newspaper. Likewise, remember that there are options other than newspapers, for example, in the market, you can find "dog believers", which are special odor-absorbing floor towels. You can also use artificial turf or other products.

Remember that your puppy's coop should be large enough that no urine or droppings are near his food bowl or home. Your dog should be in that room the entire time you are not supervised. Of course, you have to leave him some toys (big, which he can't swallow) to chew, his bed, and a bowl of water. Also, leave her her food bowl if she needs to breastfeed while you're away.

Over time, you will realize that your puppy prefers certain places to pee. When you notice it, you can start reducing the background space.

Determine the moment your puppy wants to pee

Your puppy will usually relax on its own at the same time, however, if not, there are also physical signs that we can identify that will help you when teaching your dog to go to the bathroom:

He walks very fast and nervous

smell the earth

They walk in circles

Others cry and look at their owner with sad faces...Training your dog also includes learning to understand the language of dogs. When you know that you are approaching the time or see a signal, take your dog to the chosen area so that it is there where it relaxes. If you can pick him up on time while he's peeing, don't interrupt him, wait until he's finished congratulating him, either with a treat, foreplay, or a kind word, everything goes as long as you use positive reinforcement.

Start reducing space

Over the days, you will learn to identify the puppy's favorite areas to urinate in his dog's kennel. First, remove some newspaper from the farthest place that your dog has bred. That is if your dog is messing around in the background, remove the papers from the entrance. Then remove more newspaper each day, but don't rush into it too much. If your dog is messing around somewhere not covered with wallpaper, it's because you removed the papers too soon. In this case, wallpaper a larger area, or even the entire room.

When your dog is used to doing it in a small area, you can start moving the sheets to where you prefer. Move them slowly, no more than three centimeters per day, to the place you have chosen. Of course, don't bring papers near his bed, bowls of water, or food. If you do, your dog will stop doing his work on the paper.

What happens if a puppy doesn't learn?

If for any reason you cannot teach your puppy to go to the bathroom and, therefore, he is not defecting in the designated area, do not worry and above all do not scold him, he is not doing so on purpose. Repaint the entire area and start the process over from the beginning.

Remember that if he is less than six months old, he will not be able to control himself for long. Some dogs do not achieve this until the year of life. Likewise, never leave your dog alone at home anywhere, you should always leave him in the puppy garden.

What if I punished my dog and he is now afraid

It is very common for some dog owners to stick their dog's noses near litter or soiled paper as a form of punishment. Even though it is not advisable to do this at all, doing this will not help your dog to understand more, on the contrary, your dog will fear and discourage his attitude, as well as the possibility of learning. It may also happen that because of this method, your puppy begins to resort to eating feces, that is, eating his feces or licking his urine, mainly for fear of being scolded again.

Completely avoid puppy and adult life punishment, betting on positive methods and reward-based education, as studies show it's the best way to get them to learn and remember. If you have punished your puppy while he is afraid of you, try to regain his confidence by doing new exercises, games, and activities, as well as rewarding him whenever you get the chance.

How do you prevent a dog from urinating where it should not?

During the training phase there will always be accidents and sometimes your pup rests where he shouldn't. To prevent the smell of urine and feces from stimulating you to urinate in this place again, it is advisable to apply a dog repellent and, of course, disinfect the area well.

For insecticides, we recommend that you refer to the article on homemade insecticides because they are completely safe and harmless. When disinfecting the area to prevent them from urinating again, it is essential to avoid cleaning products with bleach or ammonia as this only helps encourage the dog to urinate again. Therefore, enzyme products must be used.

Remember that puppies do not fully control their sphincter until after 4 months of age, so it is very normal for these incidents to occur. Don't worry and above all don't scold him, your pup isn't doing this on purpose. Try not to leave your dog indoors anywhere, and when you leave the house always leave him in the kennel.

A newspaper can't replace the park

It is important to note that the presence of an area where the puppy learns to relieve himself at home cannot in any way replace his walks. Once the dog can go outside (initially he must stay indoors for vaccinations), you must learn how to teach the puppy to walk outside. Establishing an area in the house is a temporary solution until the puppy learns to control his bladder.

What is the importance of walking the puppy after vaccination?

What we just mentioned is very important for two reasons. The first is socialization, which is the process by which your puppy learns to relate to other humans, other dogs, and the world in general. If the puppy does not come out in the first months, he can become so afraid and stressed that later it will be impossible to redirect him to normal behavior.

The second reason is that without realizing it, we may be teaching our dog to only pee on the newspaper. Although it may seem strange to you, some dogs refuse to defecate in the garden. Naturally, they would have learned that they should only do this in the papers.

Once your dog has had all his vaccinations so far, it's time to teach your puppy to pee outside the house, i.e. teach him to go to the bathroom again. It is necessary for their well-being and socialization, do not forget about this.