Is there anything worse?
You wake up in the morning
the sun is shining and its another beautiful day. You come out of your bedroom
and discover your puppy rolling around in his poo! Hmmm. Its everywhere.
It’s going to be 30-45
minute clean up minimum. You’re going to be running late today for sure.
Is there anything more
frustrating?
You take your puppy or 1
year old dog outside to pee-pee. After they go pee-pee, you return inside.
Within seconds of coming inside your dog decides to continue with a little
sprinkle all over your new rug. Aaggghh!
Surely toilet training a
puppy or a dog should not take this long or be so hard? You’re right. It
shouldn’t and it isn’t. The thing is this...
There’s no magic wand but
there are a heap of little tricks that will turn your puppy’s toileting around
and you are probably not using most of them.
The crazy thing is that most
people don’t do any of these things because they have never been told exactly
what to do. Nobody has ever explained how important these little things are
when you are toilet training your puppy.
And they are all simple and
all logical. So let me point you in the right direction with a couple of them
so you can get the idea and then I’ll tell you about the most awesome
toilet training resource that I found for those of you who are interested.
1.
Staying calm:
Firstly the thing that you
have to accept is that you are responsible. Like training a young child or baby
to use a potty. You can’t blame them for not being toilet trained and take your
frustrations out on them.
In fact, it can really set
you back. Becoming angry, shouting at your puppy, being annoyed will do nothing
to encourage them to relax and follow your commands to toilet outside!
Imagine trying to go to the
toilet with an angry frustrated person standing there staring at you!
So all of that rubbish about
rubbing a dog's nose in it to show them not to do it again, is simply old
school and so out of date. People who do this sort of stuff have
completely missed the point.
Think about it…
Why do you think your puppy
pee-peed in the house? Because they needed to go. Right? They were holding on,
probably bursting, needed to go and so they thought, “OK, I gotta go
pee-pee…like NOW!” And if the door was shut as well, then what do you expect?
Your puppy is not
vindictive, or trying to wind you up. So when you rub your puppies nose in
it…they are still not sure where they are supposed to go.
Repeat…They are still not
sure where they are supposed to go. Got it yet? So when you start telling
your puppy off for going pee-pee in front of the couch all you are doing is
telling your puppy that this is not the right place. Try somewhere else… But…
“They are still not sure
where they are supposed to go!” That’s right. You need to show them. You need
to train them. That’s why its called toilet
training.
2.
Stay focused on the goal:
Its odd that the biggest
mistake that people make with toilet training is the most important one. Most
people take their eye off the goal too soon and start telling poor puppy off
when they get it wrong. The secret is this...
Keep rewarding your puppy
with amazing treats every time they go toilet in the right place…
That’s right. Every single
time. With amazing treats. For a long time!
Nothing will motivate your
puppy faster than rewarding them with a couple of amazing tasting little treats
immediately after they have finished.
Notice I say immediately.
Not 30 seconds later… It should be within 2 seconds. Too late and the
connection to the pee-pee they just did will be lost. Get your treat in their
mouth quick and they will very quickly start to link the two.
The Ah-Ha moment is when
your puppy thinks… “So if I pee-pee on the grass you give me the most amazing
treat?” “OK…Deal!”
Unfortunately most of us
will reward for a week or two and then stop. We forget, get bored, run out of
treats or can be bothered.
One little tip I heard on a
great 40 minute toilet training audio the other day is to leave a jar with
treats outside by the pee-pee area so that even if you forget to take treats
out with you there are already some at hand.
3.
It does take time
Remember that puppies are
still young and small. They are still learning and it will take time. Anyone
with young children will tell you…
Toilet training takes TIME
and PATIENCE! Sometimes 3 years or more for young children.
Think about this for a
second.
How old is your puppy? 16
weeks! Children can’t even lift their own heads at that age and we become
frustrated that our puppy isn’t perfectly toilet trained by that age…
So take a breath and relax.
The good news is that you can do it and your puppy is perfectly normal.
So focus on the successes
and learn to quickly put the mistakes behind you. It's great learning for life.
Look to see what you could have done differently but don't beat yourself up.
We've all been there and the good news is that its not forever.
4.
The rug
This is just a little tip I
heard from that toilet training audio file I mentioned earlier that I’ll tell
you about in a second. It made me smile because it is exactly what happens all
the time.
Here’s
the scenario…
Your puppy finds a nice
thick piece of rug that is not the carpet. The rug feels nice, a bit like grass
and looks like it is a good place to go peepee.
They go pee-pee or even
worse poo-poo! Unfortunately for you it is your brand new, thick, white, shag
pile rug and its very hard to get the stains and smell out of.
Even when carefully cleaned,
your puppy can still smell the pee and poo and so now it even smells like a
good place to go. Before long your beautiful expensive shag pile rug is a very
costly toilet mat.
They
secret is simple. Pick it up and put it back down in 6 months
time in perfect condition. No stains, no marks, no regrets. Trust me on the shag
pile rug. Do not take the chance! It is a very slippery slope.
5.
Knowledge is everything:
When it comes to toilet
training there really are so many things to think about and you will simply not
think of them all on your own. You need to be told the secrets before your toileting goes pear-shaped.
And the best place that I
have found by far to get hold of all the tips about dog and puppy training
including toilet training is Doggy Dan’s websiteThe Online Dog Trainer Dan even offers a 3 Day $1 trial of the site that
YOU can take advantage of, so I suggest the next thing you do today is take a
look inside the site!
Inside the site are over 250
videos including a whole section with an amazing 40 minute recording on toilet
training your puppy. It’s fantastic and covers off everything that you could
possibly want to know.
Here’s a couple of tips to
give you an idea of what's inside.
- Those tricky times. What
to do during the night and when you are at work to prevent accidents. How long
to leave them and what to leave them with.
- Setting your puppy up to
win so that they can’t make mistakes.
- Why some older puppy’s
regress at 4 months old and why you need to get them back on track immediately.
- Older dogs. Why much older
dogs who are several years old can suddenly start going toilet in the house and
what to do to stop it.
- Habit Breaking. How to
break an old habit if your puppy is toileting all over the house.
- Crate training. Everything
you need to know about crate training your puppy if you choose to use that
approach.
Plus all the tips, and
advice on every topic to do with toilet training such as cleaning up the mess,
feeding, watering and toilet frequency and schedules.
So that’s all for now. As
you can see it’s a big topic. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this and that you
get a handle on your puppy's toileting sooner rather than later.
If you really are struggling
and want to end all the frustration immediately then I strongly suggest you
take a look at Doggy Dan’s site The Online Dog Trainer and check out the Toilet
Training section inside the site.
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