COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
You may have heard these little tidbits of advice from other dog owners:
“If you find a mess, rub their nose in it and tell them “NO!””
If you didn’t catch them in the act, don’t bother. Adult dogs have about 5 minutes of short term memory, and for puppies that is much lower.
Additionally, rubbing your dogs nose in their mess will only humiliate them and cause more problems in the future.
“Use Brand X Training Spray, it has special chemicals in it…”
I have been training dogs for many years and I have never come across a chemical that will deter a dog from relieving themselves. These sprays contain synthetic pheromones that can only encourage your dog to go. While this may give your dog incentive to do their business in a specific spot, it won’t prevent indoor accidents.
“Leave back door open so they can just go outside whenever they want.”
Initially this may sound like a great idea, providing your puppy the opportunity to eliminate whenever they want. A great tool once your puppy is grown and potty trained. However, for initial training this can be detrimental in two distinct ways:
#1 – This does nothing to train your puppy that “inside” is different than “outside”. How can you teach them which is the bathroom if you have no control over when they go?
#2 – Even if you do get them to distinguish where to go, you are not helping your puppy gain bladder control! This will eventually become going outside every 15-30 minutes, because they never developed the ability to hold it.
Tips
Crate training is by far the best way to house train your pet.
1) Crate train your puppy. Get him to love the crate with treats and things that keep him busy.
2) When not in the crate, keep your puppy on leash inside the house so you will notice restlessness or signs he needs to go out.
3) Accompany your puppy outside on leash to see the results and avoid distractions.
4) Exercise and play with your puppy as a reward after achieving potty.
5) Create a potty schedule to get all family members on board and to help your puppy expect potty time.
6) Find a good online puppy training course to guide you, or stop in to see us in person!
Remember,
Never put your puppy in the crate as punishment.
ALWAYS remove collars and leashes when unsupervised to prevent injury or death.
