Pets Blog

Posts Tagged ‘puppy training’

The primary requirements for housetraining a puppy are patience and a stoic outlook! But there are some other practical considerations.

Whilst there are ways of varying the process of housetraining a puppy, following basic principles will prove the most effective for the majority of young dogs. Praise for positive behavior rather than drawing too much attention to negative aspects work best with most puppies, especially on this most basic training.

• Depending on when you acquired a puppy, training indoors will be required if it has not completed its early vaccinations. If it has, indoors is actually the more practical route initially.
• Keep your dog in one area of your house until it is housetrained. It can be allowed to roam later; this entire process usually takes a few weeks at most.
• If you are at home during the day, then you can observe your puppy and possibly permit some roaming, if the other pointers are being followed.
• Establish a daily routine for elimination that your puppy will soon recognise. This has many benefits, especially if you are not at home during the day. In this case, the routine would be early morning and when you come home.
• Especially with a puppy, put newspaper down in a specific area consistently and encourage the puppy to use it at every opportunity without being excessive. Stay calm; this avoids unnerving your pet.
• Ensure that the puppy uses the paper and after a few accidents, the puppy will recognise the designated area, mainly through scent.
• If your puppy has eliminated in a wrong area, clean and disinfect the area to remove scents that will cause it to repeat the process in the same spot again.
• Watch for the puppy getting ready to eliminate in the wrong area and move it to the designated area immediately. This is the single most effective measure, from which it soon learns; the other pointers reinforce and speed up the process.
• When the puppy is familiar with the indoor routine, take him outside instead using the newspaper.
• Reinforce the above with a regular feeding schedule and a regular, routine schedule. These can be varied later, but in the initial phase these routines will definitely help.

By following this process, your puppy will soon start going to the door when it needs to. Mission accomplished!