P U P P Y H O M E S C H O O L
House-Training your puppy
thedogcoachonline.com P U P P Y H O M E S C H O O L
House-Training 1 Example of a puppy's daily schedule Transcript from one of the lessons in the 'Puppy Home School' online course
The more focus you give this in the first few days — that is, once again, the less opportunity your puppy has to make mistakes — the quicker your puppy will learn!
House-training your puppy is all about instilling a good habit. You may have noticed, we talk a lot about habits. So, here’s the simple bit — it’s all simple, but it is time-consuming to begin with …
If you have your puppy in the right place at the times she needs to pee or poo and, as soon as she’s finished, praise and reward (with a treat ... or three) she will quickly learn where the ‘right’ place is, and be eager to get to it when necessary. See, simple!
Now, you’re probably wondering how to predict this… well, it’s a lot easier than weather forecasting and we'll look at it shortly.
But let’s just get out of the way what to do if (realistically, when) she goes in the wrong place. Do not punish her. She won’t understand. Rather, tell yourself off for not having got her to the right place, and calmly clear up with a good enzymatic cleaner or diluted biological washing powder. Don’t use ammonia based products as they will attract your puppy back to the same area for another ‘mistake’. It’s a good idea to put the puppy somewhere away from your cleaning operation, or it may become a game to her to try and play with the mop or cloths you’re using.
I know some of you will remember people telling puppies off for mistakes in the ‘olden days’. It’s what we used to do. But we know now that dogs learnt in spite For guidance on all your early weeks of training, including house training and getting through the first nights, of it. see my online course Puppy Home School
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House-Training 2 Example of a puppy's daily schedule
I usually know when a puppy’s been told off as the client will tell me that the puppy 'knows it’s been naughty' and goes and hides behind the settee or somewhere to toilet. No, really, your puppy doesn’t know it’s been naughty. It’s doing something perfectly natural. Dogs don't have a concept of right or wrong. All the puppy knows is that toileting in front of you causes you to change into a scary monster — so, naturally, she learns to hide — thus making your life much more difficult! Now, back to getting it right …
Pups vary, but very roughly, during the day, you might expect an 8–10 week old puppy to toilet every 1-2 hours By 4 months old, a puppy may be able to hold on for up to 3 or 4 hours. But there will be times when your puppy pees twice or more in half an hour! You’ll soon begin to get an idea of what your puppy is likely to do.
To help you predict your pup's toilet needs bear in mind that puppies need to go: when they wake up (they nap a lot) not long after eating or drinking or, when they get excited
And, if none of these events have occurred, so you don’t miss opportunities to have her in the right place to reward, initially assume every 30 minutes or so during the day (but don't wake her up if she’s napping).
In almost all cases, the right place for your puppy to perform eventually is going to be outside! So, ideally you’d start by taking your pup outside in the garden, so she learns the right place from the get-go. But if you don’t have a garden, or it’s not easily accessible from the room your puppy will be in most of the time, you will have to start by using newspaper or puppy pee pads on the floor inside. For guidance on all your early weeks of training, including house training and getting through the first nights, see my online course Puppy Home School
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House-Training 3 Example of a puppy's daily schedule
During the day, when your puppy first comes home, I'd encourage you to offer your puppy the opportunity to toilet outside or on a pad every half hour or so. Encourage with a cheery ‘pup pup’ so she speedily follows you to the toilet area — the movement will help nature take its course more quickly — followed immediately by praise and those food rewards Someone needs to be with the puppy in order to praise and reward immediately she's finished.
If you don’t praise and reward within a second or two of the behaviour, your pup won’t make the connection.
I'd strongly encourage you to use a food reward (a treat or some of the pup's meal, whatever she is enthusiastic about) as well as praise.
So, when you see her start to toilet, hang around, but don’t distract her. If she doesn’t go after a few minutes, bring her back in but either carry her, pop her in her crate or keep her on a lead so you can closely monitor her and revisit her toilet area 5 minutes later (or sooner if it seems necessary).
If she likes being outside, be wary of always bringing her straight back in when she’s toileted — she may learn to hang on so she can be outside for longer. Puppies are not stupid! Maybe play a game or let her have a sniff round (and perhaps another pee) before you come in again.
Similarly, if it’s indoor toileting for now, take your pup to the appropriate place frequently until she learns to take herself. Praise and reward!
If I’m using newspaper or pee pads, I prefer to have plenty available in areas the pup will be in so that she gets more opportunity to get it right, which leads to more opportunities for a reinforcing reward.
For guidance on all your early weeks of training, including house training and getting through the first nights, see my online course Puppy Home School
thedogcoachonline.com P U P P Y H O M E S C H O O L
House-Training 4 Example of a puppy's daily schedule
We talked about using playpens or areas separated by gates earlier. If you put a pad in the pen it will reduce the likelihood of your pup making a mistake when you’re not monitoring her closely enough.
Your puppy will often give you a clue as to her intentions by sniffing and turning in circles when she's about to toilet Don’t hang around! The thought is usually followed by the action within seconds.
Encourage her to the designated area ('pup pup pup') or if you think that will take too long, pick her up and take her there. Wait with her, praise and reward with a treat when she’s performed. Be prepared at all times with a few treats in your pocket or to hand (out of pup’s reach) near the toilet spots.
So, we now know what to do during the day, but young pups will need to toilet once or twice during the night. In the next lesson we'll look at that, as well as settling them down for the night …. See you there!
Transcript from one of the lessons in the 'Puppy Home School' online course www.thedogcoachonline.com/p/puppy-home-school
For guidance on all your early weeks of training, including house training and getting through the first nights, see my online course Puppy Home School
thedogcoachonline.com