TOILET TRAINING

With some vigilant training on your part you can have a completely housetrained dog in no time at all, and that’s no poop!!

The first part of toilet training is that no mistakes are made - every time your puppy soils inside the house, the time it takes to house train him will get longer. Make sure your puppy toilets in the right place every time. The second part of successful toilet training is that you must reward every instance of toileting in the correct place, as if it was the best thing your pup has ever done. Have a jar of extra special treats by the back door so you don’t get caught out.

To achieve ‘errorless’ toilet training you must supervise or confine your puppy AT ALL TIMES. Dogs are denning animals and therefore reluctant to soil their sleeping or eating areas. While your pup is learning where the toilet is, you should keep him confined in a relatively small area, such as a crate (see below for crate training) or single room, and taken for regular trips out to the backyard or toilet area.

Toilet Training:

• You puppy shouldn’t be unsupervised inside the house while you are training. If you are in a room, then shut the door so your puppy stays with you. It only takes a few seconds when your back is turned for an accident to happen so stay vigilant and key an eagle eye on your pup!
• Take your puppy outside every 1-2 hours or so. If he doesn’t toilet at this short interval then increase it to 3-4 hours. Be regimented about your trips outside – a little work for a few days at the beginning will mean your pup gets the hang of toileting outside much quicker.
• Between toileting trips, look for signs that your puppy is thinking about toileting, such as sniffing, circling, etc and take him immediately outside.
• Give a verbal cue (such as ‘go toilet’) that precedes toileting, so that the cue becomes associated with the behaviour. Eventually your puppy will learn to toilet on request.
• Supervise your puppy when outside in the toileting area and reward every instance of toileting in the correct place, with treats and praise. Your pup will soon learn he can trade poop and pee for food!
• Record your puppy’s toileting habits. This will help you plan toilet stops and will give you an idea of how long your pup needs between toilet breaks. For example, you may discover that there is a 2 hour gap after your pup has toileted. In this case the ‘rules’ of confinement can be relaxed slightly for the first of these 2 hours.
• Remember that if you cannot supervise your puppy then he should be confined, either in a play pen, crate, or single room in the house. Your puppy should not have the run of the house until he can be trusted not to toilet inside.
• If your pup is home alone at any time, limit his house access, preferable to one easy-to-clean room.
• Remember, confinement is only necessary until he can be trusted not to soil inside.
• If your puppy has an accident inside, DO NOT punish hm. Instead think about why you weren’t supervising him properly and plan a bit better next time!

Crate Training:

Crate training should be done properly to ensure that a crate is a place that your puppy likes to go. It should never be used as punishment or imprisonment. To crate train your puppy feed him in his crate, firstly with the door open, then once he is comfortable, with the door shut. Throw treats into the crate when your puppy isn’t looking so if he ever goes in there voluntarily he is rewarded. Throwing a treat into the crate and shutting your puppy on the outside is a great trick – this makes your pup WANT to get into the crate!

Initially, only shut the crate door for short periods of time (5-10 minutes), gradually increasing the time as your puppy gets accustomed to being inside. This should be done over the course of a week or two. You should leave plenty of chew toys inside, stuffed Kongs, etc and your puppy should never be left in his crate for more than 3-4 hours at a time.

Try putting your puppy’s crate in the lounge while you are there at night, so that he is still with you, but is also getting used to his crate. Crating your puppy at night is a good option.

Remember the rules of toilet training – no mistakes and catch every correct toileting occurrence so that you can reward it!