Bringing a new puppy home is such an exciting event for everybody! The whole family gathers around and dotes on their cute and cuddly new companion. Then something happens. The new puppy goes and pees on the carpet. Suddenly you realize that training a puppy is the price you have to pay for having a puppy in your home.
Toilet training your puppy can be exasperating or it can be a fun part of raising your new dog. If you know just a little bit about puppies and dogs and how to train them, you can toilet train your puppy without traumatizing either yourself or your new family member.
All dogs have certain instincts that they are born with. One of these instincts is to not soil their sleeping den. In their natural environment they will know to immediately head outdoors if they feel an urge to urinate or defecate. But they may not have that option in the confines of your house. Your puppy will show signs of anxiety before it “does its duty” in your home.
To make matters worse, the poor thing doesn’t have the ability yet to “hold it in, ” so it may run around the room whimpering and then just have to let go wherever it happens to be at the time. It is important not to punish the puppy for its mistake. It hasn’t done anything wrong. On the other hand, it is equally important to teach it that the place where it relieved itself before is not the place to relieve itself the next time!
You absolutely should not press its nose into the poo, smack the dog and tell it that it has been naughty. You can, however, remove the waste matter and place it in where you do want the puppy to poopoo next time and show it where that is. Make sure that you clean the area where the puppy has made its “mistake” thoroughly, using the appropriate cleaner that will remove all traces of odor.
You will have to keep your eyes open for a few days or weeks if you want to successfully toilet train your puppy. Look for those behavioral signs that tell you it needs to go. Take it outside and wait for it to finish and then offer it a reward for good behavior. You will not only have shown your puppy the appropriate place to go, but have established yourself as the leader of the “pack.”
By nature, dogs are pack animals. While their charms may be hard to resist, the puppy must learn who is boss early in life or it may grow up thinking it is the boss and be very hard to train later in life. Dogs, like humans, learn best by reward. Harsh punishment results in neurotic behavior in dogs just as it does in humans.
Training a puppy from an early age is best for everyone. You will have a happy, well-adjusted pet and your life together will be satisfying for both of you.
