Doggy Pads Puppy Training

Think of training your puppy as an investment in the future. Puppy training can make your life with your dog easier for the rest of the time he is with you. Just a few weeks of puppy housetraining will last you for the rest of your life.

Crate training a puppy is just one of many methods people use. Generally, it goes like this: you buy a crate that will fit your puppy for the first four or fie weeks. Make sure it’s not too big though, and equip it with blankets, a water bowl, and maybe some toys. You put your puppy in the crate overnight to prevent him using your whole house as a toilet.

But you can’t keep your puppy in his crate all day- you have to keep and eagle eye out and let him roam around while making sure you take him out if he needs to go to the bathroom.  You may not have time to put your shoes on- as soon ad you see him sniffing and circling, grab him and go right away.

Try to be as fair as possible while crate training- it’s not your puppy’s fault he doesn’t understand the idea of ‘holding it’. You have to teach him. If he has an accident  it’s probably your fault, not his.

Make sure your whole family is on board with your training strategy- you don’t want to be sending your dog mixed signals, you’ll only confuse him. Also, make sure everyone is using the same spot in the yard as the ‘toilet’ or, again, he will become confused.  And choose a single ‘command word’ for everyone to sue, like “outside”, to signify that its time to go potty.

Later on, after the training has cemented, you can say “outside” when he hovers by the door, and if he signals that he still wants to be let out, you can let him out, but if he slinks away you’ll know it was a false alarm.

Think you’ve got this whole puppy training thing down? Feeling gung-ho to start on your puppy house training? There may still be a couple of details you didn’t think of that could actually have a pretty big impact on how well your potty training goes.

For one, it’s really key to make sure your little pup doesn’t actually ahve access to places to poo that you don’t want him to. Keep him away from carpets and rugs in the beginning, and keep a hyper-aware eye on him- if he starts slinking away from you, he may just be looking for a place to pee or poop. If you even think that he might be about to go, scoop him up and put him outside right away, or over his puppy training pads.

If your pup does happen to have an accident, you must be very thorough in your cleaning such that the scent of his own waste doesn’t mark the area as a good potty spot. Use a good enzyme-based deoderant. Try your best not to resort to ammonia-based cleansers, s ammonia degenerates into urea, which to a dog, stimulates his olfactory transduction cells the same way that urine does. You can use vinegar or lemon juice for particularly stubborn areas.

But again, it’s probably a good idea to just roll up your rugs for a few weeks as your train your pup. It’ll be worth it in the end.

Another good tactic to use is to make sure your puppy doesn’t have much water after a certain hour of the night. (Depending on what your and his ‘bedtime’ is.) This technique should NOT be used in hot weather, as it can lead to dehydration.

And another idea s to just spend a whole heck of a lot of time outside. If you’re having nice weather and you have a back yard, maybe you should get used to the idea of doing a lot of reading or work on your back porch, allowing your puppy to roam freely and cement the idea in his head that it’s totally okay to go in the back yard. In fact, praise him every single time he does.

It may sound very awkward, but knowing how best to housetrain a puppy includes a lot of observation, and even note-taking. Your your puppy’s urination and elimination patterns and ‘tells’ can really help you smooth the process of puppy training. You should keep track of how long between each ‘event’ elapses- can your puppy last for an hour? Two? What behaviors does he perform when the time draws near? What exactly does he do when  he’s about to pee? If you catch the warning signs, you’ll be better equipped to prevent accidents.

And important step is to measure time between urination and defecation, subtract fifteen to twenty minutes, and call that your ’safety zone’ for your puppy- the time during which you can pretty much trust him to hold it. Start timing from directly after he uses the puppy pad or goes during a walk.

Obviously, this time range will vary based on how much he’s had to drink or eat, an how much exercise he’s getting. Where this time range overlaps with the ‘danger zone’ should be thought of as the ‘gray zone’ in which you must be ultra-vigilant. Make sure he always has access to puppy pads during the gray zone, so he doesn’t get in the habit of going on the floor. (Or newspapers, which can become a problem later when you start leaving newspaper around the house!)

Once he’s reached his ‘danger zone’, you should take him outside or for a quick walk.

Keeping your puppy healthy is the first step to successful puppy training.

When you first get your puppy, you should have a veterinarian give him an exam and a urine/fecal check, to make sure that he gets the go ahead to start training and that he will not have any problems like urinary tract infections, cystitis, or worms.

Within the first day of getting your puppy, you should invest in high-quality puppy food- that means a good brand of dry dog food. As much as you may want to, its best not to givey our dog table scraps, as his digestive tract may not be able to handle rich human food. Also refrain from changing brands too rapidly- this can upset his tummy and make bowel movement control more difficult than necessary.  Also keep in mind that wet, canned dog food loosens puppies’ stool, which makes house training a puppy more difficult.

Throughout the first week, make sure you’re very closely supervising your puppy, not leaving him to his own devices. It only takes a fraction of a minute for your little puppy to have some sort of accident, so be super vigilant and watch for the signs. If you can’t supervise him, you should put him in his crate with plenty of fresh water and nice bedding. Keep in mind this strategy should not be used for extended periods of time.

Remember that crate training a puppy must also be balanced with lots of companionship and play time.

These three things, pertaining to physical and mental health, will make training your puppy that much easier.

Haven’t gotten a puppy yet, but considering your options? There’s a lot to take into consideration, especially for housebreaking your puppy when the time comes, and how easy it will be to train your puppy.

Try to keep in mind exactly where you’re buying your puppy from- buy from reputable, legitimate breeders, or from a shelter. However, shelter puppies can have emotional or physical problems that you may not be equipped to deal with.  Make sure to get your companion checked out before you bring him or her home.

Another thing to consider is the birth-order of your pup- birth order can affect birth weight, intelligence, and personality. Picking the right puppy for you out of a litter can be challenging.

Be sure you know what kind of puppy training you plan to provide- stricter obedience training, clicker training, crate training, and what form of housebreaking, or some combination therein. And some of these forms are more well-suited to certain breeds of dog.

It’s a good idea to talk to the breeder you’re buying from in-depth, and if they don’t sound like they know what they’re talking about, or are BS-ing you, just don’t buy from them. All of these things can combine to help determine the health, life-span, behvior, and well-being of your puppy.

One of the best aspects of being a dog owner is the forging of a tight and lasting bond between owner and canine. It’s one of the great joys of pet ownership. However, sometimes it can develop into an unhealthy dependance, and can lead to problems when you must be separated, and can make puppy training difficult.

Separation anxiety is a relatively common issue for puppy owners who are trying to train a puppy- around 10% of dog owners report having this experience. Their dog cries for hours when they leave, or demonstrates large amounts of fear and restlessness when they leave, or barks madly and nearly goes into a fit upon their return.

What you really have to do is look at it from the perspective of your puppy- you are the most important thing in her world. You are like a parent to her, and  she thrives on your company, support, and guidance as to proper behavior. When you leave, she gets confused, doesn’t understand where you might be going, or when you might return, and why she can’t just go with you.

The problem is especially prominent in dogs from shelters- they have a deep-rooted expectation that you will eventually leave them alone.

All you can do is provide entertainment while you are away, and ALWAYS come back. Establishing a routine can help her get over her anxiety.