Having a new puppy at home means that you need to develop puppy house training rules so that the little pup won’t mess up your house. Each new puppy and its owner needs to work through house training. All puppies are different, some pick up things rather fast and some don’t. So don’t be frustrated when you are not having that much progress with puppy training at first. Keep being consistent, loving, and patient and your puppy will learn what you want.
In the Puppy’s Mind
Understanding how your puppy thinks can make puppy house training much easier. You must realize that the meaning of being clean doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing to you and to your puppy. You think it is important for your puppy to go to a chosen spot in the garden and “go”, but to your pup, what’s important is to relieve himself where the notion takes him. Your puppy’s only concern is to go away from his food and bed which is also the health and safety rule of nature. This means that any place else in your house, away from his bed and food, may be considered appropriate, from behind your couch to the floor in your bedroom. Places like this are perfectly fine for him, although definitely not for you; what you must do is instruct him and show him a better spot — one that you choose for him!
Anticipation of the Signs
A puppy doesn’t have a terribly reliable early warning system for the first several weeks, so make sure to sort this out as soon as you can for both your sake. As soon as you can, pick out a spot near the puppy’s bed, food or play area. You will find it rewarding to predict when it’s time to take your puppy to go out. In general, puppies have to “go” after waking up, eating, drinking, getting excited, or playing as well as every hour in between!
You must familiarize yourself with your puppy’s body language and learn to see the indicators that tell you it’s time for him to “go”. Common signals that your puppy needs to go are circling a single spot, smelling the ground persistently and holding their tail up high. When this happens, all you have to do is get your pup and bring him or her to the appointed toilet area. Taking these steps will ensure that puppy house training is successful.
Seeing family members and visitors, or being excited in general, can still make dogs, even those that have had dog training, have small accidents. This is a natural response called submissive urinations and should not be treated apart from the normal house training. And even with other accidents, you should never chastise your dog. They will only be confused by punishment, and become secretive about going to the bathroom.
Do not shout at your dog when he has an accident due to excitement, instead take a patient approach and work things out with him until the habit is broken. It is best to try to greet new people while you are both still outside and the setting is low key. Greet your dog gently and build up his or her confidence. Don’t make a big deal out of an accident when it occurs. Soon your dog will no longer be having these accidents and you’ll be congratulating yourself for having successfully completed another round of puppy house training.
