7 Tips to Remember When Potty Training a Puppy

Potty training a puppy is not just a spectator sport, you need to be involved with the training process every step of the way. Not only does being totally involved when training your puppy help to accelerate the learning process, but your dog will come to trust you more and more, so then when you go to teach him other things, like obedience training, you will already be one step ahead.

Here are seven tips I have found to be very useful when potty training a puppy.

1.    The power of observation. Keeping a close eye on your puppy is one of the most important things you can do when potty training your puppy, not only will this help prevent accidents, but you will also be able to recognize when your puppy has to go out to the bathroom. Basically if you see your puppy walking around in circles or sniffing the floor, it is usually a sign that he has to go out.

2.    Feeding times for your puppy. Another important tip is to feed your dog at the same times every day. Not only will it help get your dog on a regular potty cycle, but you can also watch him for the next hour so that he doesn’t get the opportunity to go potty on your floor. When potty training a puppy, a good rule of thumb is to take him out about 15 to 20 minutes after he is done eating.

3.    Rewarding your puppy for a job well done. Anytime your puppy does something that is good, like go potty outside in his spot, it is always a good idea to praise your puppy enthusiastically and give him a treat or two. This will let your puppy know that what he did was right and if you keep praising him for a job well done then he will soon know exactly what to do.

4.    Know how long your puppy can hold it. This will save you a lot of headaches so the basic rule of thumb is that for every month old your puppy is, up to 4 months old, he should be able to hold it for an hour. So if your puppy is 2 months old, he should be able to hold it for about 2 hours. Of course this will depend on the breed of dog you have so it is still best to use observation.

5.    Control where your puppy can go. If you must leave your puppy alone for any length of time, it is very important that you don’t let him roam free in your house. It is much better to confine him to one small room of your house, or use a crate, so that he doesn’t have an accident on your floor.

6.    Go outside with him. When you are potty training a puppy it is very important that you go out with him to the designated potty spot. The reason you want to do this is because your puppy may not want to go without you there usually because of separation anxiety. If you are not with him he may not go until he comes back into your house.

7.    Take your puppy to the same place every time he goes to the bathroom. This is important to do and helps to establish a routine for your puppy to follow for the rest of his life. You want to make it as easy as possible for your puppy to be able to go potty, and using the same spot every time will help him out quite a bit.

Hopefully these 7 tips will get you started in the right direction, however if you would like to learn more about potty training a puppy in greater detail I recommend you read The Complete 7 Day Potty Training Guide by Sharda Baker. There are a lot more tips and tricks you can use to get your puppy potty trained in as little as 7 days.