I’m thrilled to hear that most animal shelters are empty now due to Covid19 and people wanting a companion during this time of quarantine. That truly warms my heart. However, it’s a sad fact that behavior problems are a leading reason people surrender their pets to animal shelters according to the ASPCA. To avoid that from happening after this pandemic is over each new puppy parent has some more “work at home” to do!
Dogs are relinquished to shelters on a daily basis for common behavior problems like going potty on your favorite rug. Teaching a puppy to do their business outside is just as important as teaching a child to use the toilet. There are no quick fixes unless you get lucky, which can happen, but is rare. I have five tips, and while not a comprehensive guide, they will give you the added edge to make sure your potty training experience is rewarding for you and your pooch!
1) Wake Up Early
Wake up in the early morning hours before your puppy wakes up and take your dog outside immediately. You want to beat them to the punch and start teaching them to practice going potty outside as soon as possible.
2) Puppy Pad Partners
If your puppy is going on Puppy Pads inside, bring a soiled Puppy Pad or a small soiled piece of rug outside. To potty train successfully, bring your puppy out to the yard where you want them to go and have the puppy go on the pad outside. Each day make the pad smaller by cutting it down or covering the edges with dirt, so that within a few days, the pee pad has disappeared.
3) Create a Sniff and Circle Area Outside
On your puppy potty breaks, try to get them to sniff and circle. Sometimes I take a tiny bit of dry kibble and crumble it up into little crumbs and sprinkle it in a circular pattern in the yard. That helps the dog to start sniffing and circling. Once they start to sniff and circle they are more likely to do their business. If they are not sniffing or relieving themselves after about five minutes or so, bring them back inside, still on the leash, and try again in a few minutes. Make sure they only get off leash fun in the house after they learn to potty outside.
4) Potty = Play
When your dog has a successful potty in a timely manner, rather than bringing him right in and ending his fun, reward him with a tasty dog bite, a walk, or a little play as a reward for doing their business. Once they have gone potty you can let them run around in the house. This reinforces the positive, reward-based training.
5) Use the Down/Stay
I find that teaching a puppy or dog to do a down/stay really helps the process because most dogs won’t pee when they are laying down relaxing…it usually happens when they are off sniffing around somewhere and you’re not watching.
Remember, dogs want to go potty when they first wake up, after they play, drink water, when they are stimulated, when there are new people, new smells, and other doggies around. Keep this in mind as you try these training tricks and methods.
(http://www.aspca.org/search/node?search=behavior%20problems)
