House Training Quick Tips:
- Manage your puppy’s time and space consistently and effectively
- Create a small, safe puppy space where they have room to only sleep and turn around
- Provide your puppy with good safe chew toys like a stuffed Kong, rope toy or chew resistant rubber
- Don’t buy an expensive bed right away because it might get chewed up. Just use some comfy towels
- Take young puppies out consistently every two to three hours.
- Throw a puppy potty party when your puppy relieves himself. Tell him ‘Good potty!’ in a happy, excited voice and then play with him.
- Make sure that you give your puppy plenty of time to eliminate himself completely before bringing him inside.
- Allow your puppy time, 10-30 minutes to play and run around in a larger puppy proofed, gated off space while you are watching him.
- Always keep your eyes on your puppy so that he doesn’t eat something bad or make a potty mistake.
- You can connect him to your waist with a leash to keep him out of harm’s way.
- If you can’t watch your puppy closely—if you’re busy or if you need to leave the house—place him in his safe, small puppy place.
- As you gain more confidence in your puppy’s ability to hold it, you can lengthen the amount of time that your puppy is let out into the larger puppy proofed space and you can start to leave the crate door open at night.
- Make sure all wires, rugs, books, shoes, plants etc. are kept far away from your puppy’s exploring teeth.
- When your puppy is about four months you can expect him to hold it for sure for about four hours. At four months, if he is 95% potty trained you can start leaving him in a larger puppy proofed area of the house while you are away.
- Gradually expand areas of access throughout the house as you become more and more confident with your puppy.
- Remember, it’s usually human error—you expanded the time and space to quickly, didn’t throw enough puppy potty parties, didn’t have enough patience, etc.—that caused your puppy to mess up.
- Please don’t ever, ever smack or yell at your puppy. Otherwise you may damage your puppy’s trust and confidence in you.
- It’s a gradual process, but very successful, positive, stress-free experience in the end!
Clear Communication + Ample Exercise + Natural Diet + Time + Positive Play + Lots of Love = A Balanced, Good, Zen Dog
