Training your puppy to use the toilet is one of the most frustrating things pet owners face. Some puppies instinctively relieve themselves on the gardens. Other dogs take months to learn to use the designated place.
Sometimes it depends on the personality of your puppy. There are mistakes pet owners make that cause anxiety for dogs and make toilet training difficult. The advice and tips you get, help you train your puppy the right way.
Remember, puppies are like other animals when it comes to learning new skills, like going to the toilet. When dogs are young, they are not conscious of where to go like babies. So, they can go wherever they are sitting or standing. Unlike babies, puppies instinctively won’t do it in their resting places. This is where training is useful, and using the right methods can take you at most twelve weeks to condition the dog. When conditioned, the puppy will use the toilet and always remember where to go to relieve themselves.
Training is about strategic movements of the puppy litter box. You need patience and easy construction. Materials you need:
- A sturdy plastic tub that is 3 inches deep
- A platform that is two inches wide on both sides and sturdy enough to support your puppy. Set the tub down inside the platform – an old pallet with a hole cut out will work.
Training your puppy to use the toilet (Potty method)
Ensure you master each step before you move onto the next level. Remember, puppies respond better when praised for good behavior than when you punish them for bad trait.
The puppy needs to be house-broken. If you are not available, consider using some outdoor training tips to make potty training easier :
- Take the dog out on a leash
- Use the same place every time to make the puppy get used to going to that place each time.
- Use words like “out, go, pee, “every time. The puppy will learn to accommodate those words with doing their business.
- When the puppy is fully trained, and you can communicate with him well, it is time to go inside, because you are ready to begin toilet training.
- Take the pallet toilet you made to the dog’s spot and get the puppy to use it inside the tub.
- Move the tub inside. Expect the process to be frustrating at the beginning. Keep your paper towels and carpet cleaner handy, as there will be some accidents when the dog starts relieving himself inside the house.
- Move the tub to the bathroom, closer to the toilet as possible.
- Move it six inches at a time until it is the right height as the toilet seat. Ensure the pallet potty is sturdy each time you raise it. Having the potty crash or falling off from underneath the puppy can take you back outside, which you don’t want to happen.
- Position the tub inside your toilet but underneath the seat. According to drain cleaners dublin using a child’s toilet training comes in handy here, because it easily fits into the toilet under that seat. If your puppy is using a separate bathroom, ensure the tub remains ready at all time. If not, you can leave the tub in that toilet when it is not in use by anybody.
- Your dog needs to get used to balancing on that toilet seat by now. The bigger the puppy, the harder this task will be. It is good to consider the kind of toilet seat you have and its slipperiness. If the toilet going business is a long-term situation, you don’t want your puppy slipping into that toilet every time it tries to use it.
- Clean the tub out quickly after the puppy finishes. Dogs are clean animals, and if the tub is dirty, they will not want to use it anymore.
- Remove the tub and starts celebrating as the dog is toilet trained.
Alternative method: Puppy toilet training using a crate
It is an effective method and involves using a crate. Naturally, dogs are clean animals and intelligent. Dogs prefer to keep the place they are using clean and sleep in a clean place.
Buy a crate bigger than the puppy and bring it home. Let the puppy get used to the crate for a few days. You want the puppy to get used to staying in a crate. It is a stage by stage process to acclimatize the dog to the new home which requires patience.
When the puppy is in the crate, you learn to spot signs that the puppy needs to go to the toilet. Take the puppy out of the crate at regular intervals for a toilet break. The goal is to assist the puppy in holding it for longer when out of the crate.
Reward the puppy when they do it right to teach the puppy good behavior, and always be patient with the dog.
After two weeks of training, you will learn what to expect from your puppy in terms of toilet habits. The dog should use the crate for rest and the designated place for potty. The crate should make your puppy feel comfortable using it.
Important tips
- Remains in contact with your puppy throughout the day
- You should tell the signs when the puppy needs to use the toilet to enable you immediately take the dog to the right spot where he goes to the potty. Give the command word and praise the puppy afterward for his successes.
- Always use the same command e.g., go pee.
- Do not play with the puppy at the time they are to go potty.
How to clean the messes
Most pet owners use ammonia to clean the messes, including feaces and urine. The cleanup should be great as dogs have a good sense of smell, which means they can use the same spot again if it smells good. Puppies love using the same spot.
You can use a clean product from the pet store to break down the enzymes. A product that breaks down enzymes breaks down feaces and urine on a micro-level. The puppy will be unable to smell his urine.
Always allow the puppy to do the right thing by correcting his behavior. Teach the puppy acceptable things and what is not condoned. Reward acceptable behaviors and always discourage bad behaviors.