Puppy Education

• Tweet

• Tweet

Bringing home a new puppy is a joyous occasion. Unfortunately, potty training your puppy is not always as pleasant. Thankfully, there are many methods to choose from when potty training a puppy, and here are two of the best:

Crate Training:

This method is successful because it takes advantage of a dog’s natural reluctance to soil the same place they sleep. To begin this method, introduce the puppy to the crate slowly. Do not force the puppy to enter the crate. Instead, place treats inside, and allow them to wander in on their own. When beginning this process, occasionally place your puppy in the crate when you are home. If you fail to do this, then the puppy will associate going into the crate with you leaving and thus not like it very much.

Before crating your puppy, make sure they have gone to the bathroom. Never crate your puppy for longer than 5 hours aside from their overnight stay. If the puppy has an accident in the crate, simply clean it up with odor neutralizer, and do not punish him. Eventually, the puppy will no longer soil its crate.

The Bell Method:

Another method that is gaining popularity for puppy potty-training is the bell method. Begin this method by hanging a bell on the door jam or close to the door low enough for the puppy to reach. Every time you take your puppy out to the bathroom, make the puppy ring the bell. Make sure he sees that the bell is rang before proceeding to take the puppy out. When this process is repeated enough times, the puppy will begin to ring the bell on its own to communicate its need to go out.

In some cases, the puppy will have difficulty learning the bell method. If this happens, smear a little cheese on the bell to entice the puppy’s interest. Then, allow the puppy to touch the bell. Once the puppy has touched the bell, give him a treat. This will teach the puppy that a treat follows touching, or ringing, the bell.

Finally, to complete this method, open the door, and drop a treat on the outside of the door. Make sure the puppy sees the treat. Then, close the door, and encourage the puppy to ring the bell. Once the puppy rings the bell, open the door, and allow the puppy to get the treat on the outside of the door. This will teach the puppy the way to get out the door is to ring the bell.

These are two wonderful methods for potty training your puppy. Keep in mind that patience is necessary when going through this experience. Eventually, your puppy will catch on, and you will have a successfully potty-trained puppy.